Response by REFORM to February 2005 Communique issued by Anglican Primates
In a response to the Primates’ communiqué, the Chairman of Reform, the Rev’d David Banting, said that it had generated a sense of relief, but that there was no cause for complacency.
“We feel relief” he said, “because the Primates have reaffirmed that the Anglican Communion seeks to live under the authority of the Bible, that they are fully committed to the 1998 Lambeth Statement, and that they have decided to take some clear action to distance the Communion from the unbiblical position on homosexuality which exists in parts of the church in Canada and the USA. We also think that the Primates have acted wisely in being cautious about centralising authority within the Communion.
“Some commentators have suggested that the exercise of discipline over the Episcopal churches in the USA and Canada is the first step towards schism. We see it as an essential step to help preserve unity. Church unity must depend on shared convictions about the authority of God’s Word and our calling to be faithful. Where this has been so overtly challenged – as it has in ECUSA and the diocese of New Westminster in Canada over the endorsement of gay lifestyles – that threat to unity has to be addressed firmly.”
However, Mr Banting noted that the purpose of the action being taken by the Primates was not punitive so much as restorative. By giving the USA and Canadian churches ample time for their own decision-making processes to work, there was a clear opportunity for them to re-consider their positions. Members of Reform would therefore be praying that these churches are led into genuine repentance so that they can again take their place within the Communion.
Mr Banting said that despite the positive elements in the Primates’ communiqué, there was no cause for complacency. Major elements of concern remain. One is that by exercising such gentle discipline, the coming three-year period will simply be used by the liberals to enforce their position in the USA and Canadian churches, bringing great suffering to those parishes in the USA and Canada that wish to remain faithful to Anglican teaching. It is not at all clear how far the proposed panel of reference will be able to ensure adequate pastoral and Episcopal support in the face of opposition from some USA and Canadian bishops. One of the first tests of the effectiveness of this panel will be in the way it provides support for the Diocese of Recife in Brazil where the doctrinally biblical Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti has had to face outright hostility from the Primate. If the panel fails this test, then it cannot be right for Primates to refuse to come to the aid of those being persecuted for their faith.
Reform also believes that a firm statement should have been made to make it unequivocally clear that the position taken by ECUSA and New Westminster is unbiblical and therefore not Anglican. This would have helped to prevent the spread of heresy within the Communion, and enabled the wider world to understand Christian teaching more clearly.
Reform notes that the Primates have agreed that the Anglican Consultative Council should now initiate a process of listening and study as recommended by the 1998 Lambeth Conference. We urge that the experience and outlook of those Christians who recognise themselves as gay, but who believe that a holy lifestyle requires them to remain celibate, become a major part of this process. All too often, those keen to secure the church’s affirmation of actively gay lifestyles accuse leaders of not listening simply because, having listened, they have decided not to accept such lifestyles as godly.