A personal highlight of the service was to see my dear friend, Archbishop Samy Shehata of the Province of Alexandria and Bishop of Egypt, receive a new primatial cross from the hand of Archbishop Welby, in the presence of His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, one of the ecumenical guests at the service. It was a moving moment. The Episcopal / Anglican Province of Alexandria was inaugurated as the 41st Province of the Anglican Communion during 2020.
Read moreOne bishop from South Sudan said he could not sign this as he did not respect people who behaved in such ways, rather he disagreed with them very profoundly. He was told that he would not be allowed to enter the conference unless he signed the undertaking. He consulted his fellow bishops who all took the same line.
Read moreVOL: It seems the orthodox bishops here are having to straddle the fence with one foot in Lambeth and the other foot in the theology and mindset of GAFCON. How do you reconcile that?
WONG: As long as our belief is in a God who is working in this world, we will maintain our stand in the Communion and there will be no breaking away.
Most of the Global South bishops present here will be in Kigali, Rwanda for GAFCON next year.
Prior to the 2022 Lambeth Conference, Welby said he hoped to unite the 85-million-member communion under common expressions of faith and social engagement, rather than focusing on debates over human sexuality that have divided bishops at past conferences.
Read moreSudanese Archbishop Justin Badi disagreed, and said Jesus modeled the family by saying, Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you. He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." (Luke 8:19-21)
Read moreIt is only just less blasphemous than a queer Eucharist or marching to save the whales in Mexico, octopi in Spain or forests in Brazil.
Read moreArchbishop Welby issued a "call" that reaffirmed Resolution 1.10 from 1998, prescribing that marriage is only the union between a man and woman. Two days before LC2022 was to begin, the conference staff issued a revision that removed the "call" to reaffirm that resolution, thumbing their noses at those Anglicans who believe "same-sex marriage" as biblically unacceptable."
Read moreHoping to avoid potential schism over the issue, the palace's deep thinkers opted for "calls" to replace resolutions, hoping to move away from divisive decisions on contested issues in favor of guidance to be interpreted locally. The Archbishop of Canterbury is urging prayer to avoid calamity.
Read moreMost LGBTQ Anglicans will insist that their dignity and witness are harmed if they are deprived access to same-sex marriage, which 1:10 does. 1:10 undermines marriage equality, which is at the heart of homosexual and lesbian demands and angst.
Read moreWhy? The first three writers were men of their times - The Twentieth Century. Guinness updates the great and unending quest for truth in the fast-changing world of the Twenty-First Century, and he does so in this gentle, urgent, but unyielding call to look at life's meaning, purpose and man's final destination.
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