Senior church of England bishops have challenged the Archbishop of Canterbury to declare a split in the Anglican Communion for the sake of orthodox Christianity.
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 9:57PM BST 02 Aug 2008
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams speaks during a news conference at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, Kent
They said that the Archbishop, Dr Rowan Williams, would fail to avert a schism because liberals were determined to press ahead with their pro-gay agenda.
Instead, they called on Dr Williams to acknowledge that there were now two distinct Churches and negotiate an “orderly separation” to preserve a traditional identity for Anglicanism.
Liberals warned that such an action could lead to civil war in the Church.
The comments from the bishops of Winchester and Exeter, came as bishops at the Lambeth Conference released their final briefing paper on plans to solve the crisis over homosexuality.
Among the key proposals, they suggest a new framework that could censure rebellious Churches and a central “pastoral forum” to settle disputes.
However, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishop of Winchester, said that the Archbishop’s plan to maintain unity lacked a sense of urgency and was unlikely to work.
“The Lambeth Conference is required to do something rather than live down to the worst expectations of the bishops who stayed away,” he said.
“We need to negotiate a separation in the Communion sooner rather than later, to leave the strongest possibility of remaining in some kind of fellowship.”
Bishop Scott-Joynt said that he was concerned that traditional Churches in Africa would break away unless the Lambeth Conference delivers a clear definition of what Anglicanism represents in the final report.
About 250 bishops have boycotted the conference and undermined the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury by setting up a movement that could appeal to bishops disillusioned with an unsatisfactory outcome to the summit
“The most unhealthy thing would be to allow the debate to continue for a long time,” said Bishop Scott-Joynt. “We would have only ourselves to blame if more of the provinces go their own way.”
His fears were echoed by the Rt Rev Michael Langrish, the Bishop of Exeter, who accused America’s Episcopal Church, which consecrated Anglicanism’s first openly gay bishop, of being selfish and establishing a rival Church...............