This week a number of the primates of the Anglican Communion met together in Rome on the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The four-day event is billed as “Primates’ Meeting 2024” by the Anglican Communion Office, a gathering of the senior clergyperson from each of the 42 provinces, which is purported to work for unity amongst Anglican churches globally.
From the beginning, this Primates Meeting has been different. While previous meetings have been tense affairs due to diverging views in regards to the authority of Scripture and problems with human sexuality, this one seems to have been much calmer. The fundamental reason for that is the non-attendance of not less than nine Primates on account of the failure of the Lambeth Conference to hearken to the views of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s role in the choice of the Church of England to bless same-sex couples. This leaves well over half of all Anglican worshippers unrepresented.
Archbishop Justin Badi, the leader of the GSFA outlined the explanations for his or her decision in an interview last week by which he said they’d heard in regards to the meeting and received an invite to go to Rome “but in accordance with the Ash Wednesday Statement that we issued, a few of us may not have the opportunity to be a part of that meeting in Rome”.
“We cannot sit along with those that have intentionally violated the biblical truth that we received from our forefathers. We cannot go and share anything with them unless they repent,” he said.Â
In the identical interview he outlined plans for first GSFA Assembly which can happen in Cairo in June – where plans are afoot to re-set the Anglican Communion.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, acknowledged that some couldn’t come to Rome for “conscience reasons” and warranted them that “they were no less loved for his or her absence.” Speaking on the press conference after the Meeting, the Most Rev Albert Chama, Primate of Central Africa, said that having been in Rome, he may also be attending the GSFA Assembly in Cairo in June and will probably be in search of to steer his fellow Primates to reconsider and return to the following Primates Meeting.
Archbishop Tamihere, from the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, said that discussions centred around becoming “instruments of peace” in places of war and conflict, and “first responders” within the face of utmost weather events attributable to climate change.
There were also discussions in regards to the role of the Church of England in a ‘maturing’ Anglican Communion, though Bishop Graham Tomlin told reporters that the Primates rejected the concept of electing a Primate to work alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury and chair Primates Meetings in the longer term.
This Primates Meeting has been hosted by the Anglican Centre (ACR) in Rome, which works with Anglican Communion and Vatican offices to cultivate friendship between Anglicans and Catholics to deepen communion. So much of the Primates’ time has been spent on a pilgrimage, visiting many holy sites, including the Abbey of Tre Fontane, the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and culminating with an audience with Pope Francis.
In his speech to the gathered Primates, the Pope covered themes of unity in diversity and walking together in love, but he also acknowledged the tensions that exist. “I realise,” he said,”that the role of the Bishop of Rome continues to be a controversial and divisive issue amongst Christians,” and went on to suggest there needed to be “a patient and fraternal dialogue” on the subject, which “strives to grasp how the Petrine ministry can develop as a service of affection for all.”
Welby was very encouraged by his time in Rome, saying, “This Primates’ Meeting has been wonderful and has now grow to be a moment in history where now we have seen the closeness of our relationship with Rome on the pastoral, the missional and the spiritual level, which demonstrates the progress made during the last half century form real antipathy, to deep bonds of friendship all around the world.”
Perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury, having accepted that he cannot reconcile the provinces of the Anglican Communion, will set his sights on the reconciliation of all Christians under the Petrine ministry of the Bishop of Rome? If he does he can have some difficulty squaring it with the 39 Articles, considered one of the founding documents of the Church of England.
Susie Leafe is director of Anglican Futures, which supports orthodox Anglicans within the UK.
