Why did the Archbishop of Canterbury invite the US Episcopal Bishops who had consecrated Gene Robinson to Lambeth and threaten the unity of the Anglican Communion? And this before the September 2007 deadline when the Primates gave the TEC one last chance to repent of its support for the gay agenda and being complicit in the consecration of Gene Robinson?
Archbishop Akinola explains: “Strangely, before the deadline, and before the Primates could get the opportunity of meeting to assess the adequacy of the response of TEC [the Episcopal Church] and in a clear demonstration of unwillingness to follow through our collective decisions which for many of us was an apparent lack of regard for the Primates, Lambeth Palace in July 2007 issued invitations to TEC bishops including those who consecrated Gene Robinson to attend the Lambeth 2008 conference. At this point it dawned upon us, regrettably, that the Archbishop of Canterbury was not interested in what matters to us, in what we think or in what we say.”
Well here is the simple reason: According to Jonathan Wynne-Jones writing in today's Daily Telegraph the Archbishop of Canterbury believes homosexual relationships are synonymous with marriage:
Archbishop of Canterbury compares gay relationships to marriage
The Archbishop of Canterbury has claimed that active homosexual relationships are "comparable to marriage" in the eyes of God.
In private correspondence, seen by the Daily Telegraph, Dr Rowan Williams, refutes the Anglican Communion’s traditional teaching that homosexuality is sinful.
Furthermore, he expresses his hope that the Church will change its position to be more accepting of gay partnerships.
His comments – made in a letter written shortly before he became Archbishop of Canterbury – will infuriate the conservatives who boycotted the recent Lambeth Conference in protest at the presence of liberals who elected Anglicanism’s first openly gay bishop.
Leading evangelicals have claimed that he is in an "untenable position".
"The Bible does not address the matter of appropriate behaviour for those who are, for whatever reason, homosexual by instinct or nature," Dr Williams writes.
"By the end of the 80s I had definitely come to the conclusion that scripture was not dealing with the predicament of persons whom we should recognise as homosexual by nature.
"I concluded that an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if and only if it had the about it the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness."
Although Dr Williams was known to have liberal views on the issue of homosexuality when he was appointed as archbishop in 2002, since moving to Canterbury he has tried to hold a traditional line for the sake of unity in the Church.
However, he makes clear in the letter that he believes that the Church could relax its strict teaching with time.
"The Church has shifted its stance on several matters – notably the rightness of lending money at interest and the moral admissibility of contraception so I am bound to ask if this is another such issue," he says.
"If I am really seriously wrong on this, I can only pray to be shown the truth."
Dr Williams is critical of those who have politicised the issue, "treating it as the sole or primary marker of Christian orthodoxy".
This will be perceived as an attack at conservative Anglican leaders who have since claimed that the Church is split following the consecration of Gene Robinson, the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire.
Conservative Anglican leaders said that the disclosure of the letter revealed the true mind of Dr Williams and significantly weakens his position as he battles to save the Church from schism.
The Rev Canon Chris Sugden, executive secretary of Anglican Mainstream – an orthodox group, said: "Clearly he is in a conflicted situation, while holding these personal convictions with the job description of the Archbishop of Canterbury to uphold the teaching of the church.
"It puts him in an untenable position that he has neither fulfilled the expectations of those who share his beliefs on this matter, to their considerable disquiet, and that his understanding of the concerns of the orthodox has not been met by the appropriate action. It’s an impossible situation."
The Most Rev Gregory Venables, a leading Anglican archbishop, said: "It’s no secret and no small matter that a significant part of the tension in the Anglican Communion is being played out in the heart of its leader."
Rod Thomas, chairman of the conservative evangelical group Reform, added: "Even if he formally holds to the church’s teaching that he personally disagrees with, one cannot but wonder whether his personal views affect the ways in which he tries to resolve difficulties.
"Instead of leading the church out of this crisis, we feel the Archbishop of Canterbury is prolonging it because of his personal unhappiness about disciplining a section of the church with which he personally agrees."
