Addressing the theme of primacy within the church, Dr. Williams offered his views on the \u201cmany-layered issue\u201d\u009d of the relationship between the local and denominational church and the charism of the episcopacy. While not directly addressing the divisions within the Anglican Communion, his remarks illustrate the reasons for his actions in relation to the Bishop of New Hampshire and the American bishops under African jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
In its essence, \u201cthe life of the local congregation is founded on something received, not discovered or invented\u201d\u009d he said, for local churches come into being as \u201cpart of a continuous stream of life being shared\u201d\u009d in Christ.<\/p>\n
The local church can therefore not lay claim of being \u201ccomplete and self-sufficient,\u201d\u009d in itself, but must be in relation with a wider body. \u201cA local church is indeed at one level a community to which is given all the gifts necessary for being Christ\u2019s Body in this particular place; but among those gifts is the gift of having received the Gospel from others and being still called to receive it,\u201d\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
Following upon Tertullian\u2019s dictum that \u201d\u02dcone Christian is no Christian,\u2019 Dr. Williams argued that we should say that \u201cone bishop is no bishop\u201d\u009d and \u201cone local church alone is no church.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n