correspondents
To: Primates of the Anglican Communion
& Moderators of the United Churches
From: The Most Revd Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
G
reetings in the name of the One move forward; and it is historically an
‘who is and was and is to come, aspect of the role of the Archbishop of
the Almighty’, as we prepare Canterbury to ‘articulate the mind of the
in this Advent season to celebrate once Communion’ in moments of tension and
more his first coming and pray for the controversy, as the Windsor Report puts
grace to greet him when he comes in it [§ 109]. I do so out of the profound
glory. conviction that the existence of our
You will by now, I hope, have Communion is truly a gift of God to the
received my earlier letter summaris- wholeness of Christ’s Church and that as the gift shaped by the Holy Spirit
ing the responses from Primates to the all of us will be seriously wounded and which decisively interprets God to the
Joint Standing Committee’s analysis of diminished if our Communion fractures community of believers and the com-
the New Orleans statement from the any further; but also out of the no less munity of believers to itself and opens
House of Bishops of The Episcopal profound conviction that our identity our hearts to the living and eternal
Church. In that letter, I promised to as Anglicans is not something without Word that is Christ. Our obedience
write with some further reflections and boundaries. What I am writing here is an to the call of Christ the Word Incar-
proposals, and this is the purpose of attempt to set out where some of those nate is drawn out first and foremost
the present communication. Although boundaries lie and why they matter for by our listening to the Bible and con-
I am writing in the first instance to my our witness to the world as well as for forming our lives to what God both
fellow-primates, I hope you will share our own integrity and mutual respect. offers and requires of us through the
this letter widely with your bishops and words and narratives of the Bible. We
people. recognise each other in one fellow-
As I said in that earlier letter, the we need to honour the ship when we see one another ‘stand-
responses received from primates dif-
fered in their assessment of the situation.
intentions and the hard
ing under’ the word of Scripture.
Because of this recognition, we are
Slightly more than half of the replies
work done by the bishops
able to consult and reflect together
received signalled a willingness to accept on the interpretation of Scripture
the Joint Standing Committee’s analysis
of TEC
and to learn in that process. Under-
of the New Orleans statement, but the standing the Bible is not a private
rest regarded both the statement and the process or something to be under-
Standing Committee’s comments as an The Communion is a voluntary asso- taken in isolation by one part of the
inadequate response to what had been ciation of provinces and dioceses; and so family. Radical change in the way we
requested by the primates in Dar-es- its unity depends not on a canon law that read cannot be determined by one
Salaam. can be enforced but on the ability of each group or tradition alone.
So we have no consensus about the New part of the family to recognise that other (ii) The common acknowledgement
Orleans statement. It is also the case that local churches have received the same of an authentic ministry of Word and
some of the more negative assessments faith from the apostles and are faith- Sacrament. We remain in commun-
from primates were clearly influenced by fully holding to it in loyalty to the One ion because we trust that the Lord
the reported remarks of individual bish- Lord incarnate who speaks in Scripture who has called us by his Word also
ops in The Episcopal Church who either and bestows his grace in the sacraments. calls men and women in other con-
declared their unwillingness to abide To put it in slightly different terms, local texts and raises up for them as for us
by the terms of the statement or argued churches acknowledge the same ‘con- a ministry which can be recognised
that it did not imply any change in cur- stitutive elements’ in one another. This as performing the same tasks – of
rent policies. It should be noted too that means in turn that each local church teaching and pastoral care and admo-
some of the positive responses reflected a receives from others and recognises in nition, of assembling God’s people
deep desire to put the question decisively others the same good news and the same for worship, above all at the Holy
behind us as a Communion; some of structure of ministry, and seeks to engage Communion. The principle that one
these also expressed dissatisfaction with in mutual service for the sake of our local church should not intervene in
our present channels of discussion and common mission. the life of another is simply a way of
communication. expressing this trust that the form of
Common acknowledgements ministry is something we share and
Lack of consensus So a full relationship of communion that God provides what is needed for
Where does this leave us as a Com- will mean: each local community.
munion? Because we have no single (i) The common acknowledgment (iii) The common acknowledgement
central executive authority, the answer that we stand under the authority of that the first and great priority of each
to this is not a simple one. However, it is Scripture as ‘the rule and ultimate local Christian community is to com-
important to try and state what common standard of faith’, in the words of the municate the Good News. When we
ground there is before we attempt to Chicago–Lambeth Quadrilateral; are able to recognise biblical faithful-
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newdirections
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January 2008
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