Election to the General Synod by his fellow deans in 1995 took him into a prominent role as an uncompromising upholder of the Church’s liberal tradition. He spoke frequently in the debates, but his abrasive style sometimes alienated rather than attracted support. This was not a problem for the media, which made much use of him.
From 2006 Slee was a member of the Crown Nominations Committee, where he fought ”“ without much success ”“ to inhibit Evangelical influence over the appointment of diocesan bishops. When the Evangelical Bishop Nazir-Ali of Rochester refused to attend the 2008 Lambeth Conference, Slee accused him of trying to form a rival Church and questioned whether he should remain an Anglican bishop.
A proposal that a formal Anglican Covenant should be entered into by the many provinces of the Anglican Communion in order to safeguard the Church’s essential unity at a time of sharp disagreements about such matters as biblical interpretation, women clergy and homosexuality, also earned his strong disapproval. He believed that this would restrict freedom, and said that centralised Church government was something the English Reformation had abolished.
O.k,
Did he have any qualities worth mourning the loss of?
This is very sad news. I am deeply sorry that he is gone.
May he rest in peace and may light perpetual shine upon him.