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Welby's 8,400-mile flying detour to stave off Anglican schism
The Archbishop of Canterbury is stepping in to head off the break-up of the worldwide Anglican church with a surprise appearance at a summit in Kenya for traditionalist clerics at the centre of the crisis
Challenge to Welby as traditionalist Anglicans stage 'fragmentation' summit
By John Bingham Religious Affairs Editor
THE TELEGRAPH http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/
October 7, 2013
Around 1,200 conservative bishops, archbishops and senior clergy from around the world are gathering in Nairobi later this month to discuss the "fragmentation" of the 77 million-strong church because of what they see as the liberal drift of some branches.
Lambeth Palace said last week that, although he had been invited, the Most Rev Justin Welby, could not attend the meeting, organised by the powerful Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA), who claim to represent around 40 million churchgoers around the world, in person but would address them by video link.
He is due to be in Iceland for an international church leaders' gathering which had long been planned.
But, in a move seen as an olive branch to the traditionalists, it has now emerged that he is to make a detour to Kenya on his way to Iceland to meet the group's leaders before the summit begins - adding more than 8,400 miles to his journey.
Dr Peter Jensen, general secretary of the FCA, announced the "flying visit" to meet Anglican primates ahead of the main meeting, a decision he said was "recognition" of the event's importance.
Lambeth Palace said he would be making the visit to show "solidarity" with the Kenyan people in the wake of the Westgate shopping centre atrocity.
Five years ago the same alliance of traditionalists triggered one of the biggest crises of Dr Rowan Williams's tenure as Archbishop when many of them boycotted the once-in-a-decade Lambeth Conference, in protest at what they saw as his liberal stance on homosexuality.
They have refused to be "in communion" with American Anglicans following the decision of The Episcopal Church to consecrate of the world's first openly gay bishop, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, a decade ago.
The move triggered what many saw as the effective end of the worldwide Anglican church as a single body.
Instead the traditionalists staged a rival gathering in Jerusalem - the so-called Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) - forming what was seen as a "church within a church".
They also challenged the "colonial" structure of the Anglican church, based in London and with the Archbishop of Canterbury as titular head.
Five years on, the group is staging a second Gafcon gathering where leaders from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australasia hope to establish new, more permanent organisational structures.
Also at the top of the agenda will be drawing up an "action plan" on marriage and sexuality, which will be an uncompromising reassertion of a traditionalist interpretation of the Bible.
That is likely to set them on a collision course with Archbishop Welby, who has openly spoken of reassessing his own views on the subject.
Although Archbishop Welby comes from the born-again evangelical wing of the Church and voted against David Cameron's Same-Sex Marriage Bill, he has recently spoken about wanting to get his "mind clear" on the issue.
His comments caused concern among traditionalists who had already accused the Archbishop of ignoring the Church's "historic biblical teaching" by supporting civil partnerships.
But his decision to attend a gathering of primates ahead of the Gafcon event could help neutralise developing tensions.
Dr Jensen, said: "The Archbishop's decision to come to the primates' meeting is a recognition of the importance of such a large and significant gathering of Anglicans from around the world and he will be made very welcome."
A Lambeth Palace spokesman later confirmed that the Archbishop had now scheduled a short-notice trip to Kenya but declined to give details of his itinerary, saying only that he could not attend the main Gafcon gathering.
"The Archbishop will be making a flying visit to Nairobi to be in close solidarity following the recent terrorist attack," he said.
"He will be there over the weekend of 19 and 20 October as a guest of the Archbishop of Kenya.
"The programme of the visit is not yet confirmed. Archbishop Justin cannot be at the Gafcon meeting due to long-standing commitments, but will record a video greeting."
Welby's 8,400-mile flying detour to stave off Anglican schism
The Archbishop of Canterbury is stepping in to head off the break-up of the worldwide Anglican church with a surprise appearance at a summit in Kenya for traditionalist clerics at the centre of the crisis
Challenge to Welby as traditionalist Anglicans stage 'fragmentation' summit
By John Bingham Religious Affairs Editor
THE TELEGRAPH http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/
October 7, 2013
Around 1,200 conservative bishops, archbishops and senior clergy from around the world are gathering in Nairobi later this month to discuss the "fragmentation" of the 77 million-strong church because of what they see as the liberal drift of some branches.Lambeth Palace said last week that, although he had been invited, the Most Rev Justin Welby, could not attend the meeting, organised by the powerful Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA), who claim to represent around 40 million churchgoers around the world, in person but would address them by video link.
He is due to be in Iceland for an international church leaders' gathering which had long been planned.
But, in a move seen as an olive branch to the traditionalists, it has now emerged that he is to make a detour to Kenya on his way to Iceland to meet the group's leaders before the summit begins - adding more than 8,400 miles to his journey.
Dr Peter Jensen, general secretary of the FCA, announced the "flying visit" to meet Anglican primates ahead of the main meeting, a decision he said was "recognition" of the event's importance.
Lambeth Palace said he would be making the visit to show "solidarity" with the Kenyan people in the wake of the Westgate shopping centre atrocity.
Five years ago the same alliance of traditionalists triggered one of the biggest crises of Dr Rowan Williams's tenure as Archbishop when many of them boycotted the once-in-a-decade Lambeth Conference, in protest at what they saw as his liberal stance on homosexuality.
They have refused to be "in communion" with American Anglicans following the decision of The Episcopal Church to consecrate of the world's first openly gay bishop, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, a decade ago.
The move triggered what many saw as the effective end of the worldwide Anglican church as a single body.
Instead the traditionalists staged a rival gathering in Jerusalem - the so-called Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) - forming what was seen as a "church within a church".
They also challenged the "colonial" structure of the Anglican church, based in London and with the Archbishop of Canterbury as titular head.
Five years on, the group is staging a second Gafcon gathering where leaders from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australasia hope to establish new, more permanent organisational structures.
Also at the top of the agenda will be drawing up an "action plan" on marriage and sexuality, which will be an uncompromising reassertion of a traditionalist interpretation of the Bible.
That is likely to set them on a collision course with Archbishop Welby, who has openly spoken of reassessing his own views on the subject.
Although Archbishop Welby comes from the born-again evangelical wing of the Church and voted against David Cameron's Same-Sex Marriage Bill, he has recently spoken about wanting to get his "mind clear" on the issue.
His comments caused concern among traditionalists who had already accused the Archbishop of ignoring the Church's "historic biblical teaching" by supporting civil partnerships.
But his decision to attend a gathering of primates ahead of the Gafcon event could help neutralise developing tensions.
Dr Jensen, said: "The Archbishop's decision to come to the primates' meeting is a recognition of the importance of such a large and significant gathering of Anglicans from around the world and he will be made very welcome."
A Lambeth Palace spokesman later confirmed that the Archbishop had now scheduled a short-notice trip to Kenya but declined to give details of his itinerary, saying only that he could not attend the main Gafcon gathering.
"The Archbishop will be making a flying visit to Nairobi to be in close solidarity following the recent terrorist attack," he said.
"He will be there over the weekend of 19 and 20 October as a guest of the Archbishop of Kenya.
"The programme of the visit is not yet confirmed. Archbishop Justin cannot be at the Gafcon meeting due to long-standing commitments, but will record a video greeting."
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