American Anglican Council on the Archbishop of Canterbury announcement

Posted on November 10, 2012 
Filed under Anglican Communion, Opinion

Bishop David Anderson of the American Anglican Council writes:

“Archbishop Welby, in his new appointment, will have to work with the more orthodox Global South provinces, especially the GAFCON Primates who represent a huge majority of the churchgoing Anglican world. The new Archbishop will need to find a way to disengage the Anglican Communion Office and the office and work of the Archbishop from the incestuous ties with the American Episcopal Church’s money, influence and power.”

“Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The long awaited announcement from England has come, and we have a new Archbishop of Canterbury appointee and Primus Inter Pares of the Anglican Communion. It has been much commented on by church pundits that Bishop Justin Welby has more experience in the business world than in the church, having been in his previous life an oil executive, and in the church a bishop slightly more than one year. Perhaps we should not rush to assume that this is a disadvantage. We have had a “professional academic” churchman for Archbishop for the last decade in Dr. Rowan Williams, and it has been a stunning failure of Biblical witness, spiritual growth and theological orthodoxy, and, coupled with inept leadership skills, it is not a model many would want to repeat. Yes, Bishop Welby has more experience in running a for-profit corporation than in running the church, but maybe that is an advantage. Perhaps he will be able to speak to the general population in terms that they can understand, and provide leadership that they can respond to in a positive way. I am all for giving the new Archbishop appointee a chance to address the difficulties in the church and set a more positive, more historically orthodox course.

Archbishop Welby, in his new appointment, will have to work with the more orthodox Global South provinces, especially the GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) Primates who represent a huge majority of the churchgoing Anglican world. The new Archbishop will need to find a way to disengage the Anglican Communion Office and the office and work of the Archbishop from the incestuous ties with the American Episcopal Church’s money, influence and power. When Welby recently spoke to the TEC House of Bishops in the United States, he appeared to make observations that were, in fact, in error. He seemed to think that TEC was more broadly based theologically, when in fact those few who are still orthodox are either under suspicion or actual charges have been filed against them by TEC’s version of the Star Chamber. He seemed to think that the disagreements within TEC had been generally handled well, which is a gross misunderstanding of TEC’s all-out war of litigation and deposition. I hope he will educate himself before he speaks, once he wears the Canterbury mitre.

He will also need to lead the Church of England’s push-back to their UK government’s homosexual agenda capped by the so-called “marriage equality” insistence of the Cameron regime. I am grateful that he has remained firm about marriage being uniquely a union of a male and female, and in this he is joined by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, who is also clear about the proper gender context of marriage.

Bishop Justin Welby has been reported to have made some initial comments about needing to rethink his stance on homosexuality. If he is serious about such and moves to the left to accommodate the homosexual lobby in England, he will further erode the position of Archbishop of Canterbury in the more conservative African and Asian Anglican world. Dr. Williams has recently commented that the job is too large for one man to cover, and that is undoubtedly the case. The time is well upon us for the Primates to elect their own chairman or presiding person, so that this position better represents the mind of the Communion.

It would be well for the Primates, while welcoming his selection and acknowledging his place of honor, to move forward with discussion about choosing their own chair. The upcoming weeks will be interesting as the media examine every aspect of his life, his family (married with five children), and past sermons and papers to distill some idea of where he might try to lead the Communion.

In the meantime the American Anglican Council wishes him well, and for God’s grace to cover him abundantly.

Faithfully in Christ,

+David

The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council