Canon Phil Ashey: Just the facts on the Anglican Consultative Council

Posted April 23, 2016

The 16th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council ended this week in Lusaka, Zambia. I could tell you my interpretation of what the council did, which is quite different from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s interpretation.   However, I think it would serve you best if I focused on just the facts and let you draw your own conclusion.

◦On January 15, 2016, the Primates of the Anglican Communion resolved as follows: “It is our unanimous desire to walk together. However given the seriousness of these matters we formally acknowledge this distance by requiring that for a period of three years The Episcopal Church no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, should not be appointed or elected to an internal standing committee and that while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity.” Addendum A, paras. 7 and 8

◦On April 19, at the conclusion of the Anglican Consultative Council, an internal body of the Anglican Communion, the delegates from The Episcopal Church wrote in “A Letter from Lusaka”: “We want to assure you that we participated fully in this meeting and that we were warmly welcomed and included by other ACC members.”

◦According to the Anglican Communion Office,  Bishop of Connecticut, Ian Douglas proposed or seconded several resolutions for ACC-16. These include but are not limited to resolutions on:

◾Anglican inter-faith engagement
◾Ensuring both continuity and turnover of the leadership of the Anglican Consultative Council
◾An Anglican Congress

the rest