THE MANNER in which the election of the Archbishop of Canterbury is conducted will have to be revised if the proposed Anglican Covenant is adopted, because the new measure gives significant new powers to the post which will compromise the autonomy of other Churches, the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne & Ross, the Rt Revd Paul Colton, said on Saturday.
He told his diocesan synod that although the new Covenant might be necessary to preserve the unity of Anglicanism, it none the less represented a partial move towards universal primacy at the expense of local conciliarity.
Bishop Colton, who is a specialist in ecclesiastical law, said: “If the Covenant proposals and the framework for resolution of conflict are to be adopted internationally, a new approach to the appointment of future Archbishops of Canterbury will be needed, as well as international involvement in those appointments. At a minimum, this international involvement should involve a new process of formal and transparent consultation throughout Anglicanism.”
He said that the problems this created for the Church of England would consequently have to be addressed, but, equally, a failure to confront the questions raised by the new Covenant would raise ecclesial constitutional concerns throughout much of the rest of Anglicanism.
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