THEOLOGICAL differences remain and are acknowledged, but the 19th Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) has overwhelmingly rejected a change of governance in the Anglican Communion under which shared Primatial leadership would replace the central position of the Archbishop of Canterbury as the focal point of unity. The proposal was rejected by 72 votes to eight.
Discussions at ACC-19’s eight-day Belfast meeting, on the theme “Called to One Hope” (News, 3 July), together with the Derry/Londonderry pilgrimage experience on Wednesday of last week, had indicated: “Our walking together requires prayer, study of Scripture, dialogue, and structures that encourage relationships and trust to grow, and affirms the Archbishop of Canterbury’s words [from her opening address] that ‘lasting unity is built by trust. . . We cannot simply vote trust into existence, nor can we create hope through anxiety, fear, or urgency.’”
The resolution passed last Saturday “notes widespread agreement that communion with the See of Canterbury remains vital to any articulation of Anglican identity”, and “affirms the existing understanding of Anglican identity as expressed in the Nairobi-Cairo proposals”.
It affirms the “present reality” of “a Communion of autonomous churches, identified by full communion with the See of Canterbury, that now experiences the pain of some describing themselves as being in full communion with Canterbury, while others do not, and seeks together to receive again God’s gift of full communion with Canterbury as one family.”
It calls for a three-year period of continuing discernment and dialogue on the structural changes proposed by the Inter-Anglican Standing Committee on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO). Discussions had been marked by “vitality” and had been “respectful”, the resolution affirms.
It requests several steps aimed at “strengthening relationships, structures, shared space and our spiritual life together”, and “welcomes the Archbishop of Canterbury’s intention, following consultation with the Primates Standing Committee, to call a Primates’ Meeting to consider developing collaborative ways of working and sharing responsibility for representing and caring for the Member Churches of the Communion”.
NEIL TURNER/ACOMembers take part in the Resolutions debates in the morning session on day seven of ACC-19
Dialogue to help to rearticulate and develop Anglican identity must involve all four Instruments of Communion (the ACC, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates’ Meeting, and the Lambeth Conference), and engage member Churches. Deep consideration of “Primacy and Synodality” is to include learning from previous Anglican Communion commissions and existing ecumenical agreements.
Archbishop Mullally acknowledged the “interesting” position she was in, as president of the ACC, in being present at discussions that concerned the future of her authority in the Anglican Communion, and she praised the ACC for modelling constructive Christian dialogue.
The Episcopal News Service (ENS) quoted her as saying: “I hear very much the pain of doctrinal differences. I do hear that, and I understand how deep that goes and the pain that it causes in the Communion.”
The Archbishop drew comparisons with her time as Bishop of London, when, “in the most theologically diverse Church in the Anglican Communion”, she had navigated similar differences.
Other proposals agreed at the meeting include the implementation of “Vision36”, an initiative calling for one million new churches to be planted in the next decade.
Peace and reconciliation was a recurrent theme: there were resolutions on the creation of an Anglican Communion Young Peacemakers Fellowship, arising out of an evening of interaction with young people, hosted by the Archbishop in Jerusalem and the Middle East, Dr Hosam Naoum.
Another resolution noted the “ecumenical momentum” gathering around the 2030 and 2033 anniversaries of the public ministry of Jesus. This resolution has a focus on “Blessed are the peacemakers” and encourages member Churches to get involved.
On matters of women and war, the ACC affirmed “the vital role women play as peacebuilders and decision makers in places of conflict around the world”. Further resolutions encompassed the environment, science, and matters of disability.
In her sermon at the closing service in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on Saturday, Archbishop Mullally said: “We have heard stories from each other about how member Churches across the Communion are proclaiming the message of hope that we have in Jesus Christ. We have heard stories of care for creation, standing up against violence against women and girls, welcoming the stranger and the refugee, building a safer Church, peacebuilding, and revitalising and planting churches — stories that tell of our shared purpose in Jesus Christ.”
She went on to acknowledge the Anglican Churches’ fragility and “brokenness”, which, she reflected, could be Anglicanism’s greatest gift, something recognised by a previous Archbishop of Canterbury, the late Michael Ramsey, who had called it as “clumsy and untidy . . . but its very brokenness points to the universal Church wherein all have died’.
“Being with you this week has reminded me that what unites us is greater than what divides us. As Christians, as a Communion, we are a family who love God and earnestly seeks to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.
“This week we have treated one another with respect and with dignity. We have spoken openly and honestly, and we have acknowledged each other’s pain. Maybe this is the enduring fruit of this week — may it be a gift of grace and blessing to the whole Church. In this way, we proclaim with confidence the hope we have found in Jesus Christ, as we become the body of Christ.”