Archbishop of Canterbury Clarifies Role in Camp Allen Meeting

As reported in The Living Church

Archbishop of Canterbury Clarifies Role in Camp Allen Meeting
10/2/2006

The Archbishop of Canterbury has clarified his relationship to the recently concluded meeting of 21 bishops at Camp Allen. A spokesman for Archbishop Rowan Williams said there was no discrepancy between the statements of Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and the 21 bishops attending the Camp Allen meeting last month.

In his Sept. 28 letter to the bishops of The Episcopal Church, Bishop Griswold said the Camp Allen meeting was not initiated by Archbishop Rowan Williams nor was the Sept. 19-22 meeting of Windsor-compliant bishops planned in collaboration with him. Furthermore, Bishop Griswold said the two bishops from the Church of England “did not attend as delegates of the Archbishop, nor were they empowered to speak on his behalf,” he noted.

In his letter of invitation, the Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly, Bishop of Texas, stated the Archbishop of Canterbury had been party to the discussions and that the Rt. Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt, Bishop of Winchester, and the Rt. Rev. N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, “having had thorough discussions with [Archbishop Williams], are coming with his blessing to discuss with us the nature of our future relation to the See of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion.”

The archbishop’s role in the meeting was further highlighted in the letter to the House of Bishops signed by the participants at the Camp Allen meeting. The 21 signatories stated they were “grateful for the helpful briefing from the Archbishop of Canterbury, brought to us through the Bishops of Durham and Winchester. We have corresponded in turn with the Archbishop and communicated our hopes with respect to continuing in full constituent Communion membership.”

Asked to explain the apparent contradiction on Sept. 29, the Rev. Jonathan Jennings, Archbishop Williams' press secretary, said both sides were correct.“The Archbishop of Canterbury was not involved in the organization of the Texas meeting and the Bishops of Durham and Winchester did not attend at his request,” Mr. Jennings noted.

“Once they had been invited by the organizers, they sought his consent to become involved in these discussions. This was discussed in the context of other initiatives and of the statements publicly made by the Archbishop since the General Convention, and consent was given to their participation in their own right in the Texas meeting,” he said.

by (The Rev.) George Conger

P.S. -- See also: No Wonder the Kingdom Hasn't Come Yet!
Susan