Three bishops who served on the Lambeth Commission that prepared the Windsor Report released on Oct. 18 offered reflections on the process that led to the report’s completion, and on the impact they hope it will have.

The Rt. Rev. J. Mark Dyer, professor of theology at Virginia Theological Seminary and retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem (Pa.); the Most Rev. Bernard Malango, Primate of Central Africa; and the Most Rev. Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales, were among 18 commission members.

“I am proud of the document that was released today,” Bishop Dyer said in a statement after the report’s release. “The commission based its work on sound biblical authority, theological principles and pastoral concern for God' s Church and God's people.” He pointed out that the report was produced by a diverse group of people, all of whom are dedicated to the Anglican Church and who unanimously agreed on the report’s contents.

Bishop Dyer noted that the report’s contents were the subject of fevered speculation in the days and weeks leading up to its release. “Those who take time to read the full report will find it to be a comprehensive statement concerning the issues that came before the commission,” he said. “It is my hope, and that of the commission, that all members of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion will take time to study this document and understand what it says, so that we may renew our understanding of that it means to be an Anglican and to share in the mission of the Church.”

Bishop Malango noted that while it was not the commission’s job to “reopen the standard of teaching” set at the 1998 Lambeth Conference, he was “glad to see a recognition” in this report that the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of New Westminster (Canada) had breached “the bonds of affection that hold us together.”

He said the report’s final paragraph emphasizes the commission’s work toward healing and restoration “but it also recognizes that there remains the danger that our brothers and sisters may still choose to walk apart. If the recommendations of our report are not taken seriously, then the question of our future together in the Anglican Communion will remain, and greater division may result.”

“The presenting issues in these instances were the ordination of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire and the approval of public rites for the blessing of same sex unions in New Westminster (issues on which the Lambeth Conference and primates had expressed their minds), but other contentious issues could arise in the future which could affect the life of the whole Communion,” Bishop Morgan said. “In other words how does a province exercise restraint and consult the wider body before taking decisions on matters which affect the life of that body and not just its own? Provinces that ordained women both to the priesthood and episcopate certainly did that. Unilateral actions by some provinces have in turn led to the actions from other provinces and archbishops, which have further fractured the Communion.

“The report acknowledges the seriousness of all these issues and asks all the provinces concerned to realize the effects their actions have had by expressing their regret in disregarding the proper constraints of communion and refraining from any further actions that would harm the Communion,” Bishop Morgan continued.

Bishop Dyer expressed hope that the report would aid the Church in moving forward with its mission. “Through the Windsor Report, we have a way to move forward with God's work in the world,” he said. “Our mission is to seek to serve God and the ministry of Jesus Christ in the world, a task which we can do much better together in unity than we can bitterly divided.”

“I hope that we will all pray for God's help in finding his way forward, and that everyone will read the report with careful consideration of our proposals,” Bishop Malango agreed. “The report we have agreed to now offers to our brothers and sisters in Christ very real ways in which we could begin to strengthen our common life in the Lord, and to strengthen the workings of the instruments of unity so that they will be able to function more effectively in drawing our 44 churches into greater interdependence and mutual life.”

“The report needs to be pondered long and hard by the provinces of the Communion and its implications studied before reacting in any precipitate way,” Bishop Morgan noted. “The subtleties of the report may not be noticed on first reading. However, if the way forward advocated by this report is found unacceptable then the future for the Anglican Communion is indeed bleak.”