While it is not a legislative body, the ACC can determine whether a new province can be created. “There are clear guidelines set out in the Anglican Consultative Council reports, notably ACC 10 in 1996 (resolution 12), detailing the steps necessary for the amendments of existing provincial constitutions and the creation of new provinces,” a spokesperson for the Archbishop of Canterbury bishop has said.
Other issues expected to be on the agenda are proposals for an Anglican Covenant, as well as reports from various Anglican bodies and networks dealing with issues like peace and justice, mission, and theological education.
Ahh, the ACC arrogating itself powers beyond the mere Lambeth Conference of mortals and beyond moral suasion! Where precisely is obedience to the ACC required, I wonder? In what document consented to by all the Provinces? Just because it is the favored by the ECUSA/TEC/GCC/EO-PAC because it is most like the vaunting American polity?
And we have historical evidence for how reliable spokespersons for the ABC are, too. Not to mention the evidence in regard to the ABC.
So I predict and prophesy that nothing will come of the meeting and the current fractures and tearing of the fabric will proceed apace. The global climate may indeed warm from the amount of CO2 produced however! Anyone calculated the carbon footprint for this meeting yet? Exclusive of the CO2 from all the blather, I mean. That number is inestimable.
Two things to watch will be ABC “leadership” and TEC input. If the Anglican Covenant is sent out for another draft then it’s future influence is even less certain. The best ACNA can hope for is a “maybe”. If nothing happens (per prophet dwstroudmd) then the ABC and Canterbury Anglicanism have demonstrated once again that they are less relevant and ACNA and the Golbal South are more relevant in the 21st century.
The quote cited in this story speaks to the inexperience of the archbishop’s staff. While it is true that a spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury said this, what she said is untrue.
Back in December the spokesman said: “There are clear guidelines set out in the Anglican Consultative Council Reports, notably ACC 10 in 1996 (resolution 12), detailing the steps necessary for the amendments of existing provincial constitutions and the creation of new provinces. Once begun, any of these processes will take years to complete.”
There are no regulations guiding the creation of provinces, merely suggestions. In 1996 ACC legal advisor John Rees said the ACC10 guidelines were not intended to be a legal requirement but a flexible aid in provincial formation.
Canon Rees noted that in many cases provincial formation had taken place without input from the ACC. “In a number of instances in recent years, although the ACC has been ready and willing to offer advice and assistance to Provinces in process of formation, it has not in fact been consulted until the process has become so far advanced that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to incorporate any of its suggestions into the proposed constitutional documents.â€
In 1996 the Anglican Communion News Service said the guidelines would “ensure new Provinces the opportunity to benefit from the advice of the ACC and the experience of other Provinces†but were not necessary steps for creating new provinces.
Repeating the untruth that there are rules that must be followed does not make it true.