Anglicans say bishop rift imperils 'unity'

Autonomy upheld for each province

By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff, 10/17/2003

LONDON -- The world's Anglican leaders unanimously agreed yesterday that they "deeply regret" the election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire and warned that his consecration would "threaten the unity" of the global communion.

But in a carefully worded document signed by 37 primates of the Anglican Communion, they also upheld the autonomy of each province and left the door open for the Episcopal Church USA to carry out the scheduled Nov. 2 consecration of the Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson.

"If his consecration proceeds, we recognize that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion," read the four-page final statement that emerged out of a two-day emergency meeting held behind closed doors. "We have had to conclude that the future of the communion itself will be put in jeopardy."

The leaders were invited to the meeting along the banks of the River Thames in the medieval Lambeth Palace by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Williams, who is regarded as "the first among equals" within the communion of leaders that represent 160 countries and some 75 million Anglicans worldwide, has sought to find a delicate balance within the deeply divided group of primates.

Seen as a liberal at heart but a cautious pragmatist in his leadership, Williams maneuvered the Anglican leaders so that they could avoid, at least for the moment, a threatened schism within the church over homosexuality.

He said the primates had issued "an honest statement of where we are, a statement of our willingness to work together, and our recognition of the obstacles to our working together."

American conservatives, organized under the banner of the American Anglican Council, had hoped that the leaders would expel the Episcopal Church and recognize them as the true Anglican body in the United States.

But while the wording of yesterday's document went a long way in calming the bitterness of the debate, it was short on details of a plan of action. The only concrete proposal was to set up a commission to more clearly define the archbishop's leadership role and how such crises in the future should be handled. The commission is to complete its work within 12 months.

It left open the possibility that Robinson could stand down -- as did the gay theologian Jeffrey John, who was to be bishop of Reading, England, but stepped aside last summer. That would perhaps quiet the conflict within the church, but only temporarily.

Robinson could not be reached for comment, but Episcopal leaders who know him well said it was unlikely he would withdraw.

The Rev. Michael Hopkins, the past president of Integrity, a US group that advocates an acceptance of homosexuality by the church, said he had spoken with Robinson yesterday.

"He told me, `If there are rumors I may back down, you should quash them,' " Hopkins said after the meeting.

In a statement, the Diocese of New Hampshire said: "We grieve that others in the Anglican Communion have felt deep pain with these issues. . . . Much energy and many resources have been expended over the issues of sexuality in the life of the Church. We long for a time when the Church can focus her ministries on the many urgent needs in so many other places."

There was no clear sign last night whether the American church would back down from the looming consecration of what would be the first openly gay man to be a bishop in any mainstream Christian denomination. But both liberal and conservative factions still believed it is likely that the consecration will go ahead.

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, head of the US Episcopal Church, joined in support of the final statement -- a point that American conservatives who have vehemently opposed the church's growing acceptance of gay relationships took as an encouraging sign.

Griswold told reporters after the meeting that he intended to be in New Hampshire on Nov. 2 for the consecration. "I stand fully behind the careful process used by the Diocese of New Hampshire to discern who it wishes to have as its next bishop," he said.

He has said he believes "different points of view can be held . . . without the issue of sexuality becoming church-dividing."

Within minutes after the press conference, the two opposing sides of the debate were back at it, arguing again over the divisive issue. The Rev. Louie Crew, a member of the executive council of the Episcopal Church, who is openly gay and has supported Robinson's election, said the document showed that the primates have recognized the limits of their authority.

"They have moral authority, but not juridical authority," he said after the meeting. "There is nothing in the document that tells the American Episcopal Church that it must not consecrate Robinson."

Canon David C. Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council, the group of conservative Episcopalians that opposes Robinson's consecration, said: "If Frank Griswold fails to honor what he signs, then a split is probably inevitable. My sense is [the consecration] will go forward. They are self-centered enough and narcissistic enough to actually threaten the entire global communion."

Few clerics ventured to guess what would happen after the looming consecration of Robinson. The big question, they agreed, is whether Nigerian primate Peter Akinola, who views homosexuality as "satanic" and heads the second-largest national church of 17 million, will then lead a breakaway movement from the communion and split the church between the more liberal Western countries and the more socially conservative countries in Africa and Latin America.

The small minority of American conservatives could break away as well, leaving the US church internally divided.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.