Instruments of Unity, or Not-So-Much … High Noon in Lusaka
by Bill Atwood, Anglican Ink:
The Anglican Communion has a long history, but despite centuries of some form of life, not until the 19th century did an actual Communion begin to emerge. Before that time, there were merely chaplaincies (both military and ex-pat) and a few indigenous churches springing up. In about 1850, the Church Missionary Society first posed the idea of having a global gathering of all Anglican Bishops. It took a while for the idea to take hold, with the first meeting being spurred by concerns from some Canadian Bishops. In 1867, 76 Bishops met at Lambeth, after which the custom of meeting every ten (or so) years developed. Not surprisingly, there was a gap during World War II. The meeting was not so much legislative as it was a way to discern “the mind of the Bishops of the Communion.” Rather than having institutional authority like a congress, it was a good-natured gathering that sought to address issues of mutual concern – with Christian charity and clarity.
In the twentieth century, especially in the second half of the century, the church in the two-thirds world grew to robust size while the churches in the industrial West began to shrink. Here is something I wrote after the 1998 Lambeth Conference:
In 1978 Archbishop Joseph Adetiloye of Nigeria [Dec. 25, 1929 – Dec. 14, 2012] stood at the microphone at the Lambeth Conference for 30 minutes waiting to be recognized. For all that time, the chair continued to recognize bishops from Western Provinces at other microphones and overlooked Archbishop Joseph.
When he was finally recognized, he said, “Here at this meeting, I have struggled to be recognize by the chair, but it will not always be this way.” He went on to prophesy, “In ten years time in 1988 the voice of the Africans will not only be allowed, it will be sought. In 1998,” he said, “The Global South bishops (especially those in Africa) will set the agenda.”
At the Lambeth Conference in 1998, that is exactly what happened. Well-organized Global South bishops overwhelmingly passed Lambeth Resolution 1.10 affirming the historic Biblical position on human sexuality. Scrambling liberals were not able to stop the clarity as it emerged and then was expressed in the vote for the resolution of 526-70. Liberals were only able to marshal 70 votes opposing the overwhelming vote from the bishops around the communion.
The liberals were completely surprised by the strength of the orthodox voice. In trying to recover from the stunning strength of the resolution, they latched on to the phrase “We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God … ”
That phrase was originally intended to provide pastoral care for those seeking to stop acting out by engaging in same-sex intimacy, but liberals have insisted that the intention of the resolution was to “listen” to the experience of those practicing same-sex intimacy – austensibly until the conservatives are convinced of liberal values.
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