New Try At Consensus In Anglican Church

The second draft document towards an ultimate covenant is an attempt to reach a consensus and avoid a split in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez chaired the recent meeting of the Covenant Design Group (CDG) in London, which produced the St. Andrews Draft covenant.

The Anglican Church has been teetering on the verge of a highly feared split primarily over differences related to matters of sexuality.

The new draft contract urges respect for the constitutional autonomy of all of the Churches of the Anglican Communion, while upholding their interdependent life and mutual responsibilities. It also called for "openness and patience in matters of theological debate and reflection" while listening, praying and studying together to discern the will of God.

"Some issues, which are perceived as controversial or new when they arise, may well evoke a deeper understanding of the implications of God’s revelation to us; others may prove to be distractions or even obstacles to the faith:  all therefore need to be tested by shared discernment in the life of the Church," the document said.

"…to seek with other Churches, through the Communion’s shared councils, a common mind about matters understood to be of essential concern, consistent with the scri ptures, common standards of faith, and the canon law of our churches."

At their meeting in January 2007, the covenant group produced a first draft – the Nassau Draft – which was received at the meeting of the Primates and the Joint Standing Committee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in February of that year. 

This draft was subsequently sent to the Provinces, Churches and Commissions of the Anglican Communion for consultation, reflection and response.

When he last addressed the Anglican Synod, Archbishop Gomez said the Anglican Communion would have to undergo a drastic reformation if it was to stave off a split.

The crisis over same-sex blessings and openly gay clergymen has been simmering ever since some liberal Episcopalians endorsed both, much to the chagrin of conservative Anglican primates.

"It is clear that the future of the Anglican Communion is unclear at the moment but there can be no doubt that the future shape of Anglicanism will have to undergo significant adjustments if the Communion is to remain intact," Archbishop Gomez said at the time.

Under the proposed contract, members of the Anglican faith would be ready to participate in mediated conversation among parties, which may be in conflict, according to established procedures outlined in the covenant.

"However, commitment to this covenant entails an acknowledgement that in the most extreme circumstances, where a church chooses not to adopt the request of the Instruments of Communion, that decision may be understood by the church itself, or by the resolution of the Instruments of Communion, as a relinquishment by that church of the force and meaning of the covenant’s purpose, until they re-establish their covenant relationship with other member churches," added the document.

The head of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, said recently that as a result of the action taken by the Episcopal Church in the United States in 2003 there is no way the Anglican Church can remain unchanged by what is happening.

Late last year the Episcopal diocese of California and the Anglican diocese of Montreal voted to allow priests to bless same sex unions. The moves further infuriated conservatives within the worldwide Anglican Church.

Divisions in the worldwide church have steadily grown since the ordination of Gene Robinson as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 and the Anglican Church of Canada diocese of New Westminster in British Columbia approved same sex blessing ceremonies.

Worries of a schism in the 77-million-member Anglican Communion have lingered for years. The Anglican Church is the third largest Christian denomination in the world. Some conservatives have opined that the global family is torn beyond repair.

"I think schism can be avoided but I think it depends on the willingness of parties involved to sit down and discuss the proposals and attempt to come to a common mind," Archbishop Gomez said of the second draft.

The draft is accompanied by a number of supporting documents, including a brief commentary which outlines the thinking of the CDG on some of the issues considered, and which also gives responses to some of the specific suggestions and criticisms made to them. It also includes a tentative draft of a procedural appendix, the status of which is set out in the commentary.

Following the Lambeth Conference, the CDG is expected to meet to review the progress on the development of the Covenant project within the Communion, and then submit a Covenant draft to the Provinces and ecumenical partners of the Communion for formal comment and response.  The group intends to produce definitive proposals for adoption in the Communion following another round of consultation. 

Earlier, the primates admitted that the proposal for the Covenant was born out of a specific context in which the Communion’s life was under severe strain.  However, the document stopped short of focusing on specific issues as the group felt that it was important that the strength of a covenant would be greater if it addressed broad principles.

The covenant’s introduction is viewed as urgent in order to restore trust within the Communion.