Because of “the confusion and theological chaos” that has been introduced into the region starting with the 2003 General Convention, the Archbishop of the West Indies and the Archbishop of Southern Cone (Argentina) said they would join with the Moderators of the Anglican Communion Networks in the U.S. and Canada to establish a Council of Anglican Provinces of the Americas and Caribbean. The umbrella network will be based on “an agreed theological foundation” for collaborative projects within the Anglican Communion and will be shared with the representative provinces and organizations for discussion and ratification.

The Rt. Rev. Robert W. Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, is Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network in the United States and the Rt. Rev. Donald F. Harvey, retired Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland, is Moderator for the Anglican Network in Canada. Details of the agreement were finalized at a meeting July 6-8 in Nassau, Bahamas, and are consistent with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent statement that now is the time for provinces and networks of the Communion to begin collaboration on the Anglican covenant proposed in the Windsor Report.

Modeled after the Council of African Provinces in Africa, the new organization also seeks to provide “regional solutions to regional needs” and a “common call to unify Communion-committed Anglicans currently fragmented by history and the present strident challenges to the historic faith,” according to a proposed “Covenant of Understanding.”

“This is important for the future of the faith,” said the Most Rev. Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies. “As we move ahead it must be on an agreed theological foundation. We envision CAPAC not only to build on the theological foundation of Anglicanism, but also to seek to collaborate with structures like the Instruments of Unity and the Panel of Reference.”

While the Panel of Reference has been formed to monitor provisions for adequate episcopal care, its slow start and pace have left many clergy and congregations in even greater peril, according to the Rev. Canon Bill Atwood, general secretary of the Ekklesia Society and a spokesperson for CAPAC. “Faithfully engaging mission means both reaching out to the unchurched and caring for those inside the Church,” he said.

Canon Atwood said the new organization would neither deny the existence of nor allow itself to become consumed by the current theological crisis, mentioning plans to compile existing missionary literature in Spanish and identify others for translation as one such specific initiative.

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