Meeting Must Honor Past Decisions, Primates Say

February 2, 2009

If the meeting of the primates of the Anglican Communion in Alexandria fails to address the issues of same-gender blessings and homosexual bishops this week in Egypt, some of the archbishops of the Global South may not participate in future meetings.

Global South primates affiliated with the GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) movement told a reporter that they see little merit in continued calls for dialogue when past undertakings of the primates’ meeting are ignored. The primates must be consistent, the Most Rev. Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria, said to his colleagues in an informal conversation outside St. Mark’s pro-Cathedral on Feb. 1, and their past statements must be honored.

However, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has signaled his continued desire for conversation rather than action. In a sermon delivered Feb. 1 at St. Mark’s, the archbishop said the church must be open to a diversity of views. the rest