What Way Ahead?

 by The Rev. Doctor Ephraim Radner, Senior Fellow (Mar 22, 2007)

To a certain kind of faithful Episcopalian, things may indeed look bleak. The recent House of Bishops meeting in Texas seems to put a seal of finality to the fraying hopes many of us had for the renewal of our common life. To be realistic, however, is not to lose hope; rather, it is see more clearly where our true hope must lie.   (read more)

Making Promises: the Proposed Anglican Covenant in the life of communion

 by The Rev. Doctor Ephraim Radner,
Senior Fellow (Mar 2, 2007)

The Proposed Covenant recently commended by the Primates to the Communion for study and response deserves serious discussion, not only with regards to its particulars, but more importantly, with regard to its larger purpose and character. However critical may be the recommendations of the Primates with regard to TEC in their Tanzania Communiqu?, it is essential to see these as but the outline for an ?interim? arrangement until the Covenant itself will be finalized and accepted or rejected by individual churches. It is possible, of course, that Lambeth ?08 will choose a different path forward, but I believe this is unlikely. For the present it appears clear: the Covenant frames the Communiqu?. This is crucial to understand, because it tells us something about how we are invited to approach the entire calling as a Communion that we have been given in this difficult time.   (read more)

Commentary on Sub-Committee's Report

 by The Rev. Dr. Andrew Goddard (Feb 17, 2007)

The Report of the Communion Sub-Group of the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates’ meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council produced instant responses of horror from those committed to Lambeth I.10 and delight from those wishing to see The Episcopal Church (TEC) remain fully integrated in the life of the Communion. It is not difficult to see why these were the initial reactions but it may be that a more measured judgment needs to be made which, while highlighting the serious flaws in the report’s analysis, also recognises its potential significance in shaping a reconfiguring of the relationship of TEC to the Communion, the Communion’s development and the ongoing Windsor process.   (read more)

ACI'S PROPOSAL FOR AN INTERIM ARRANGEMENT WHILE AWAITING A CONCILIAR COMMUNION COVENANT:

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Nov 30, 2006)

Introduction

It must be pointed out that this appeal was originally to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and thereby to the Primates of the Communion, and not to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, she herself symbolizing the very problems necessitating such alternative arrangements.    (read more)

Theological resources for Anglican ?communion? issues

 (Nov 25, 2006)

Theological resources for Anglican ?communion? issues Three documents produced at the recent meeting of the Inter-Anglican Doctrinal and Theological Commission (ACNS 4189, 15 September, 2006) have been commended by the Archbishop of Canterbury for study throughout the Anglican Communion. In common with other commissions and networks, the IATDC considered the proposal of the Windsor Report for the creation of an Anglican covenant which could express the way in which Anglicans in different parts of the world live together. ?Responding to the Proposal of a Covenant? reflects on the biblical and ecclesiological background to the idea of covenant, and observes ways in which the concept of covenanting may be fruitfully employed to demonstrate a way in which Anglicans seek to stay together in times of controversy.    (read more)

The Panel of Reference & New Westminster Diocese

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Oct 18, 2006)

Origins For over three years now, most of the Communion?s attention has been focussed on the Episcopal Church of the USA due to its decisions at the 2003 General Convention. It is easily forgotten that the current crisis was really triggered a year earlier when, in June 2002, the Diocese of New Westminster decided to authorise same-sex blessings through a synodical vote (the third, following similar votes in 1998 and 2001) and the consent of its bishop, Michael Ingham. This action was not only clearly in opposition to Lambeth 1998 Resolution 1.10 but also to the 1979 statement of the Canadian House of Bishops that they ?do no accept the blessing of homosexual unions?. In response to the Synod?s decision, eight parishes left the Synod and took various actions to distance themselves from the diocese.   (read more)

ACI Response to the Presiding Bishop's Letter

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Oct 4, 2006)

We appreciate the Presiding Bishop's reference to papers published on our web-site in his most recent letter to his own House of Bishops. As he comes to the end of his tenure, we only regret that he has not chosen to engage the Anglican Communion Institute until this point and now only in this manner. In this case, we fear he may not have read very thoroughly or accurately.    (read more)

The Anglican Communion: Where are we now and where are we headed? A brief analysis by the Anglican Communion Institute

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Sep 17, 2006)

It is now nearly three months since General Convention ended and, with the latest letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the situation and difficult path in the months ahead is becoming clearer.   (read more)

PETITION TO THE THIRD GLOBAL ANGLICAN SOUTH TO SOUTH LEADERSHIP TEAM AND PRIMATES ADIVSORY GROUP: SOME COMMENT & CRITIQUE FROM THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION INSTITUTE

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Sep 16, 2006)

Who are the authors? The two signatories on behalf of The Society for the Propagation of Reformed Evangelical Anglican Doctrine (SPREAD) are Bishop John Rodgers Jr and Bishop John Rucyahana from Rwanda.   (read more)

What Are We Meeting About? The Current Shape of our Common Discussions in the Episcopal Church

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Sep 5, 2006)

A reflection by the ACI Several important meetings, mostly of American bishops, are soon to be held (e.g. in New York , in Texas , and, we are told, elsewhere). It is important to think through, in advance, what can and cannot, or what should and should not, be pursued at these gatherings. It is no longer possible, we believe, to ?patch up our disagreements? within the Episcopal Church; it is no longer possible to ?broker deals? with the Communion or, for that matter, with this or that part of the Communion (the Global South, Africa, South America, etc..).    (read more)

General Convention, The Windsor Report and ECUSA's Relationship to the Anglican Communion

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Aug 1, 2006)

The significance of the General Convention?s response to the Windsor Report should not be in any doubt. The Report itself concluded We have already indicated (paragraphs 134 and 144) some ways in which the Episcopal Church (USA) and the Diocese of New Westminster could begin to speak with the Communion in a way which would foster reconciliation?.There remains a very real danger that we will not choose to walk together. Should the call to halt and find ways of continuing in our present communion not be heeded, then we shall have to begin to learn to walk apart. We would much rather not speculate on actions that might need to be taken if, after acceptance by the primates, our recommendations are not implemented?.. (Paras 156 and 157)    (read more)

How does the ACI see the present challenge in the Communion?

 by The Rev. Doctor Ephraim Radner,
Senior Fellow (Jul 13, 2006)

A response to Matt Kennedy about American Anglican strategy in response to General Convention.

1. There is no doubt that people at certain and varying points feel the need to leave the Episcopal Church - most likely because of the burden they have to protect their spiritual and emotional health. This is all quite appropriate. It is not, however, a "strategy". It is a matter of individual discernment for the moment. On the other hand, "separation" of Christian bodies requires, well, a "body" to act and to act in a corporate fashion. Our concern is that this is not happening well at present, and that there are signs that it will not happen well in the near future. The result will in fact not be the protection of our Anglican corporate gifts, but their squandering.   
(read more)

Our New Season of Anglican Maturing

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Jul 10, 2006)

Amongst conservatives in the United States , two different understandings of Communion and how to maintain it appear to be vying for ascendancy in our present season.    (read more)

The Archbishop of Canterbury?s Letter to the Faithful

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Jun 27, 2006)

Archbishop Rowan Williams recently shared his views regarding the current ?crisis? in the Anglican Communion and the way forward he believes we must follow if we are to surmount it.?The paper, entitled??The Challenge and Hope of Being an Anglican Today: A Reflection for the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful of the Anglican Communion?, provides a careful outline of some of the main elements in this crisis, a summary of his sense of Anglicanism?s identity and vocation as a Christian communion, and a proposed way forward that Anglican churches might adopt to maintain the evangelical integrity and vitality of this communion.    (read more)

General Convention in Review

 by The Rev. Dr. Andrew Goddard (Jun 23, 2006)

In his response to General Convention, the Archbishop of Canterbury noted that ?It is not yet clear how far the resolutions passed this week and today represent the adoption by the Episcopal Church of all the proposals set out in the Windsor Report?. What follows is an initial attempt to set out the necessary details and possible assessments in order to gain greater clarity on the crucial test of whether or not the Episcopal Church has adopted ?all the proposals set out in the the Windsor Report?.   (read more)

A New Season for Anglicanism?

 by The Rev'd Professor Christopher Seitz (Jun 22, 2006)

I wonder if what we are seeing--quite apart from all the issues ACI and others know are at the forefront, sexuality, etc--is the collision of deeply US instincts, borne of revolutionary governmental deism and its Federalisms (Washington and Jay in conflict with Madison and Jefferson) being played out, coming to final fruition in the food fight of General Convention 2006. I am almost dizzy from the last ten days. The last moments of General Convention were like something out of The Twilight Zone.    (read more)

Initial Observations on General Convention

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Jun 21, 2006)

The Windsor-related resolutions coming out of General Convention today require, as the Archbishop of Canterbury has noted, some time for study before their significance and import can properly be evaluated. Such study, furthermore, must be done in the context of the wider Communion, and not simply from the limited perspective of our individual circumstances. However, a few initial observations can be made.   (read more)

Statement of the Anglican Communion Institute

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Jun 19, 2006)

ACI hopes to respond to the Windsor-related resolutions in the form in which they are finally accepted by the General Convention. We will do so as soon as we are able. In the meantime, we wish to express our deep concern over the potential negative significance for the Windsor process of +Katherine Jefferts Schori's election as PB. In the light of the public statements and actions of +K. Jefferts Schori:    (read more)

Wounded in Common Mission :
The Term of Inter-Christian Divisiveness

 by Christopher Wells*
(May 31, 2006)

I. Banishing Fear: ?Anglican? Evocations within Earshot of the Church Catholic Soon after the publication of The Windsor Report in 2004?a text embraced by the Primates of the Anglican Communion, and subsequently the Anglican Consultative Council, as having described ?the way in which we would like to see the life of the Anglican Communion developed? [1] ?Archbishop Rowan Williams reflected on the nature and purpose of the Church in what remains his most programmatic and interesting ecclesiological essay to date.  
(read more)

What It Will Take

 by The Anglican Communion Institute
(May 24, 2006)

As General Convention approaches there is inevitably increased attention being paid again to the Windsor Report and ECUSA?s response to it.    (read more)

?Sooner or Later? ? California Consents and General Convention 2006 A Thought Experiment on the Future of ECUSA*

 by The Anglican Communion Institute (Apr 24, 2006)

What follows is not an effort at maximally accurate speculation, but is intended as a thought experiment on where ECUSA appears to be, in the light of its various reports and actions over the past months. General Convention 2006 is now but 50 days away.    (read more)

>OPEN LETTER TO THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS AND THE HOUSE OF DEPUTIES...

 by the Officers and Fellows
of the Anglican Communion Institute
(Apr 4, 2006)

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church U.S.A. meeting in Columbus Ohio in June of 2006 constitutes a watershed in its history and in the history of the Anglican Communion. Will the dioceses that make up ECUSA continue as full members of the Anglican Communion or will the status of some or all of them within that communion be radically altered? Will Anglicanism continue as a communion or will it fragment and become at best a loose federation held together by a rapidly fading historical memory?   (read more)

If there is a future for ECUSA and the Anglican Communion, then what?