Anglicans gather amid splits over gays and women

ANGLICAN bishops from around the world were gathering in Canterbury yesterday for the opening of the Lambeth Conference, with the 10-yearly meeting set to be overshadowed by deep splits over the roles of women and homosexuals.

Some 650 bishops were to attend the 20-day conference in the cathedral town in south-east England, for an intensive period of worship, study and conversation. However, the position of gays and women in the worldwide Anglican Communion, which has around 77 million followers, is likely to dominate proceedings.

About a quarter of the communion’s bishops — including most from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda — are staying away, a week after the Church of England, the communion’s mother church, gave the green light to women bishops. Another notable absentee is the first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire in the United States, who was not invited but will be in Canterbury, holding events on the conference fringes.

It was Robinson’s consecration as bishop in 2003 that effectively carved out the battle lines in the ongoing bitter struggle between Anglican liberals and conservatives over gay and, most recently, women bishops.

The conference, being held at the University of Kent in Canterbury, got underway with a plenary session yesterday afternoon, followed by an evening meal and night prayers.

Bishops will spend three days in retreat at Canterbury Cathedral considering God’s mission and each bishop’s discipleship, before the discussions begin on Monday.

In a welcome message, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who leads the worldwide fellowship of Anglicans, admitted the communion was experiencing tough times.

“The chief aims of our time together are, first, that we become more confident in our Anglican identity, by deepening our awareness of how we are responsible to and for each other; and second, that we grow in energy and enthusiasm for our task of leading the work of mission in our Church,” he said.