Anglicans: Discipline of Episcopal Church Derailed

The Episcopal Church will not face discipline from the worldwide Anglican Communion for its liberal stance on homosexuality, which has pitted the U.S. church against more conservative members of the global church.

Wrapping up their annual meeting at a North Carolina conference center in early March, the presiding bishops, or primates, of the 38 autonomous churches in the Anglican Communion deferred a proposal that would have sanctioned the Episcopal Church.

The 70-million-member Anglican Communion, which has its roots in the Church of England, officially condemns homosexual behavior. But the Episcopal Church unofficially allows local dioceses to ordain practicing homosexuals and to bless same-sex unions.

Conservative leaders wanted to give the primates authority to reprimand the U.S. church and even excommunicate it if its policies did not change.

That proposal will now be considered by an Anglican theological panel.

In a pastoral letter issued at the end of the closed meeting, the primates said they had engaged in honest discussion. "We also resolved. … to show responsibility toward each other, and to seek to avoid actions that might damage the credibility of our mission in the world," the primates said.

The head of the U.S. church, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, had the support of the communion's leader, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, in derailing the proposal.

The issue will likely continue to nag church leaders, even though they would prefer to focus on issues such as the African aids crisis, global debt, and anti-poverty efforts. When the primates meet again next year, the theological commission may issue a report on the proposal, as well as present a paper on authority in the communion and how each church should understand it.

When the primates met last year in Portugal, they had warned the U.S. church that its "clear and public repudiation" of teachings on homosexuality had "come to threaten the unity of the communion in a profound way." In their statement this year, the primates said this was "a time of vitality, generosity, and growth," but also admitted, "This is a crucial and testing time for our communion."

Related Elsewhere

Classical Anglican Net News, a conservative-leaning Weblog from Canada, has reams of resources and links about the North Carolina meeting.

The primates' pastoral letter is available at the Anglican Communion News Service site.

See Christianity Today's earlier coverage of the North Carolina meeting, as well as past articles about the homosexuality debate among Anglicans:

Priests Continue to Challenge U.S. Episcopal Authority | Conservative Anglicans gather to demonstrate their solidarity in a confirmation service. (Dec. 14, 2000)

Conservative Anglicans Defy Episcopal Church | Anglican bishops from abroad launch U.S. ministry for Episcopal reform. (Oct. 5, 2000)

Healing Genocides at Home and Abroad | Commentary from Amsterdam 2000. (Aug. 4, 2000)

No Balm in Denver | Episcopalians defer debate over same-sex blessings for another three years. (July 17, 2000)

Intercontinental Ballistic Bishops? | Maverick conservatives gain a toehold among Episcopalians. (April 25, 2000)

Episcopal Church on Brink of Ecclesiastical Civil War Over Consecrations | (Feb. 2, 2000)

Dwelling in Unity? | Lutherans, Episcopalians aspire to full communion, but differences remain over the role of bishops. (Oct. 4, 1999)

One Church, Two Faiths | Will the Episcopal Church survive the fight over homosexuality? (July 12, 1999)

Will Episcopalians Step into the 'Radical Center'? | Episcopalians hope a liberal new bishop can unite the flagging denomination in spite of divisions over homosexuality and women's ordination. (Sept. 1, 1997)