Anglicans Address Key Issues of Identity, Authority, Relationships
Thursday, Mar. 2, 2006
Posted: 11:12:10AM EST

Top Anglican theologians and bishops are beginning a new round of talks on “key issues” that threaten to break apart the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, such as varying viewpoints on homosexuality and the changing structure of the global church.

In a letter issued late last month, the Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission (IATDC) called on “all bishops and theological education centers” to offer their answers to “some of the key questions troubling the Anglican Communion.”

“I realize that you have many calls upon your time, but am sure that you agree with me about the need for the widest possible participation in the conversation that is now being resumed,” wrote the Rt. Rev. Professor Stephen Sykes, Chair of the IATDC.

The new round of dialogue comes during a time of heightened tension in the Church over issues of the autonomy, authority and subsidiarity of national denominations. While such conflicts developed through several decades, they were thrust to the fore in recent years following the ordination of a gay bishop in the U.S. denomination, and the subsequent frustration among “global south” churches over what they viewed as an inadequate punishment of their northern counterpart. The rest