The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, came out [kind of] in support of gays and lesbiansdays before a crucial vote by American bishops at a gathering in New Orleans. "On Tuesday, the American bishops, the majority of whom are liberals, are expected to vote to support a greater role for gays and lesbians in the Church, both with regard to the creation of new bishops and the blessing of same-sex relationships. Unless they can be persuaded otherwise, it seems certain the move will irrevocably split the Church, ending the Anglican Communion and creating an alternative alliance between Africa and conservatives in the US."
Flying in the face of conservative African church leaders, Williams said: "I do not assume that homosexual inclination is a disease...violence against gay and lesbian people is inexcusable. Gay and lesbian people have a place in the Church as do all the baptised."
The Telegraph added: "Dr Williams also said that the American Church faces 'no ultimatum' to end its stance on gays, which includes the ordination of the openly homosexual Bishop of New Hampshire three years ago. His words will force the African church leaders to decide whether to leave the Anglican Church or accept that the American Church cannot be forced to stop appointing gay bishops."
At this point, a compromise between the warring factions looks unlikely. Though the damage may already be done: "If Anglicanism continues on the path of slow but steady splintering, it will effectively do as much harm as a formal schism. Anglicans in Africa, who derive much of their stature from their global ties, will become just another church. The 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church, which has played such a central role in U.S. history, will also be marginalized. 'If that happens, people will say, 'This wasn't much of a church anyway,'' said Ephraim Radner, an evangelical Anglican and a theology professor at Wycliffe College in Toronto. 'The results will be the disappearance and dissolution of Anglicans as a whole in North America.'"
[Rowan's Anglican website still states that gay people are incompatable with scripture. So he really isn't that supportive.]
Meeting Held on Potential Anglican-Episcopal Split Over Gay Issues
In closed-door talks with the archbishop of Canterbury, Episcopal leaders are confronting demands that they roll back their support for gay priests or lose their place in the world Anglican fellowship.
Archbishop Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, suggested Thursday that Episcopalians show greater concern about the impact of their decisions on the wider Anglican Communion, according to Canon Jim Naughton, spokesman for the Diocese of Washington. He asked Episcopal bishops ''how far they were willing to go,'' Naughton said, to preserve the communion, a 77-million-member group of churches with roots in the Church of England.
''He made it clear that he believed the Episcopal Church had acted preemptively in consecrating Bishop Robinson,'' Naughton said.
Williams doesn't have the direct authority to force concessions from the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church, so he has been struggling to keep the communion from breaking apart. Episcopal bishops implored him to attend their meeting here so they could explain their views in person.
Canon James Rosenthal, a spokesman for Williams, said that in the first few hours of the meeting alone, about 25 of the more than 100 participating bishops had a chance to discuss their concerns directly with the archbishop.
Williams, 57, was enthroned as archbishop of Canterbury in 2003 with a record of some support for gay priests. But as leader of the entire communion, he has operated with the understanding that most Anglicans believe the Bible bars gay relationships.
He recently told Time magazine he found it ''bizarre and puzzling'' that Episcopalians consecrated a bishop who is ''living in a relationship not theologically officially approved by the church.''
In closed-door talks with the archbishop of Canterbury, Episcopal leaders are confronting demands that they roll back their support for gay priests or lose their place in the world Anglican fellowship.
Archbishop Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, suggested Thursday that Episcopalians show greater concern about the impact of their decisions on the wider Anglican Communion, according to Canon Jim Naughton, spokesman for the Diocese of Washington. He asked Episcopal bishops ''how far they were willing to go,'' Naughton said, to preserve the communion, a 77-million-member group of churches with roots in the Church of England.
''He made it clear that he believed the Episcopal Church had acted preemptively in consecrating Bishop Robinson,'' Naughton said.
Williams doesn't have the direct authority to force concessions from the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church, so he has been struggling to keep the communion from breaking apart. Episcopal bishops implored him to attend their meeting here so they could explain their views in person.
Canon James Rosenthal, a spokesman for Williams, said that in the first few hours of the meeting alone, about 25 of the more than 100 participating bishops had a chance to discuss their concerns directly with the archbishop.
Williams, 57, was enthroned as archbishop of Canterbury in 2003 with a record of some support for gay priests. But as leader of the entire communion, he has operated with the understanding that most Anglicans believe the Bible bars gay relationships.
He recently told Time magazine he found it ''bizarre and puzzling'' that Episcopalians consecrated a bishop who is ''living in a relationship not theologically officially approved by the church.''
Anglican Head Says 'Compromise' on Gay Issue Is Key
The archbishop of Canterbury indicated Friday that the Episcopal Church isn't on the brink of losing its place in the world Anglican fellowship, despite the uproar over Episcopal support for gay clergy.
Anglican leaders, called primates, had set a September 30 deadline for the Americans to pledge unequivocally not to consecrate another gay bishop or approve an official prayer service for gay couples. Episcopal bishops have dedicated their meeting here to crafting a response.
But after two days of private talks with Episcopal leaders, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, said ''there is no ultimatum involved.'' The goal, he said, is ''compromise.''
''It's been presented sadly as a set of demands,'' Williams said in a news conference before he left. ''I don't think that what was in the primates' minds. In fact, I'm sure it isn't.''
Over the past four years, Anglican leaders have held emergency summits and private negotiations, trying to prevent differences over gay issues from shattering the Anglican Communion. ''This has consequences for the full participation of the church in the life of the communion,'' the primates said, in the document they approved in Africa.
Williams acknowledged that ''some primates would give a more robust interpretation of the demands, some less.'' But the archbishop said the Sept. 30 date was chosen simply to coincide with the meeting this month of the Episcopal House of Bishops.
Williams will work with Anglican leaders and with members of the Anglican Consultative Council, an international lay-clergy panel, in evaluating whatever statement Episcopal bishops make before they end their gathering Tuesday.
Pittsburgh bishop Robert Duncan, head of a network of conservative Episcopal dioceses that are considering splitting from the Episcopal Church, said that Williams is ''de-emphasizing the ultimatum piece to try to get the best results'' from American leaders.
''A great number of the primates see that deadline very much as a real deadline,'' Duncan said, ''just as many of us had.''
The archbishop of Canterbury indicated Friday that the Episcopal Church isn't on the brink of losing its place in the world Anglican fellowship, despite the uproar over Episcopal support for gay clergy.
Anglican leaders, called primates, had set a September 30 deadline for the Americans to pledge unequivocally not to consecrate another gay bishop or approve an official prayer service for gay couples. Episcopal bishops have dedicated their meeting here to crafting a response.
But after two days of private talks with Episcopal leaders, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, said ''there is no ultimatum involved.'' The goal, he said, is ''compromise.''
''It's been presented sadly as a set of demands,'' Williams said in a news conference before he left. ''I don't think that what was in the primates' minds. In fact, I'm sure it isn't.''
Over the past four years, Anglican leaders have held emergency summits and private negotiations, trying to prevent differences over gay issues from shattering the Anglican Communion. ''This has consequences for the full participation of the church in the life of the communion,'' the primates said, in the document they approved in Africa.
Williams acknowledged that ''some primates would give a more robust interpretation of the demands, some less.'' But the archbishop said the Sept. 30 date was chosen simply to coincide with the meeting this month of the Episcopal House of Bishops.
Williams will work with Anglican leaders and with members of the Anglican Consultative Council, an international lay-clergy panel, in evaluating whatever statement Episcopal bishops make before they end their gathering Tuesday.
Pittsburgh bishop Robert Duncan, head of a network of conservative Episcopal dioceses that are considering splitting from the Episcopal Church, said that Williams is ''de-emphasizing the ultimatum piece to try to get the best results'' from American leaders.
''A great number of the primates see that deadline very much as a real deadline,'' Duncan said, ''just as many of us had.''
Nigerian archbishop, foe of Episcopal gay clergy, preaches obedience
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, a strong critic of Episcopal support for gay clergy, said unity in the Anglican Church can come only when people are obedient to the word of the Gospel.
Akinola's remarks in a sermon in Wheaton, Ill., Sunday coincided with debate among Episcopal bishops meeting in New Orleans over how to answer a request by senior Anglican bishops. The bishops have asked that the U.S. church not approve an official prayer service for gay couples and stop consecrating gay bishops.
Akinola did not mention the New Orleans meeting or differences in the Anglican Communion over homosexuality, but said he believes divisions in the church spring from people straying from the Gospel as it's written. ''Unity, yes, but before that, transformation that can only come from the power of the word of God,'' Akinola said, addressing about 2,000 people at a gathering of churches called the Midwest Anglican Awakening.
Last week, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, said the goal is to find a compromise with the U.S. church, which holds a more liberal view of Scripture than most Anglicans overseas. Chief Jimmy Delano, an organizer of Sunday's event on the campus of Wheaton College, said he did not know whether Akinola had met with Williams.
Protester Gini Lester, a lesbian and church member, said Akinola is trying to draw churches away from the U.S. Episcopal Church, which is moving toward greater tolerance and openness toward issues important to gays. ''I don't think he needs to be preaching hate,'' Lester said.
The Rev. Liz Steadman, Episcopal chaplain at Northwestern University, also among the protesters, said the chapel where Akinola preached is named for her grandfather, Victor Raymond Edman, a former president of Wheaton College. ''It just made it even more personal to us,'' said Steadman, a lesbian in a committed relationship. ''We stand here firm in our conviction that the Gospel stands for justice and for love.''
Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, a strong critic of Episcopal support for gay clergy, said unity in the Anglican Church can come only when people are obedient to the word of the Gospel.
Akinola's remarks in a sermon in Wheaton, Ill., Sunday coincided with debate among Episcopal bishops meeting in New Orleans over how to answer a request by senior Anglican bishops. The bishops have asked that the U.S. church not approve an official prayer service for gay couples and stop consecrating gay bishops.
Akinola did not mention the New Orleans meeting or differences in the Anglican Communion over homosexuality, but said he believes divisions in the church spring from people straying from the Gospel as it's written. ''Unity, yes, but before that, transformation that can only come from the power of the word of God,'' Akinola said, addressing about 2,000 people at a gathering of churches called the Midwest Anglican Awakening.
Last week, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, said the goal is to find a compromise with the U.S. church, which holds a more liberal view of Scripture than most Anglicans overseas. Chief Jimmy Delano, an organizer of Sunday's event on the campus of Wheaton College, said he did not know whether Akinola had met with Williams.
Protester Gini Lester, a lesbian and church member, said Akinola is trying to draw churches away from the U.S. Episcopal Church, which is moving toward greater tolerance and openness toward issues important to gays. ''I don't think he needs to be preaching hate,'' Lester said.
The Rev. Liz Steadman, Episcopal chaplain at Northwestern University, also among the protesters, said the chapel where Akinola preached is named for her grandfather, Victor Raymond Edman, a former president of Wheaton College. ''It just made it even more personal to us,'' said Steadman, a lesbian in a committed relationship. ''We stand here firm in our conviction that the Gospel stands for justice and for love.''
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