There had been 103 Archbishops of Canterbury before Dr Rowan Williams arrived at the ultimate seat of Anglican power, yet few can have presided over more turbulent times.
From women bishops to gay clergy, it has been the scholarly Archbishop to whom people have looked for guidance and leadership as the warring factions have warned repeatedly that the Church would split.
However, while he may hold the greatest sway in theory, a panel of experts – enlisted by The Sunday Telegraph – argued that to claim he is the most influential figure in the Anglican communion is no longer a foregone conclusion, and that the Lambeth Conference, which opens on Wednesday, will test that claim to its limit.
In drawing up The Lambeth Power List, they said that Dr Williams has been buffeted from one side by the liberal actions of the American Church, led by Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the reactionary zeal of the Africans, led by Peter Akinola, the Archbishop of Nigeria, on the other.
++Rowan lost every claim to power and authority when he short-circuited the enforcement of the DeS Communique by sending out Lambeth invitations early. As he commented to Christopher Hitchens, he’s just trying to keep his head down.
I love the smell of reactionary zeal in the morning.
Invigorating, isn’t it?
Tutu says that the world is facing a pandemic of HIV and AIDS, but the Church is obsessed with sex. Heaven forbid that the Church of Jesus Christ might have a message from its Master on how we are to order our sexuality.