The primates of the Anglican Communion will assist The Episcopal Church to comply with certain recommendations addressed to it in the Windsor Report after concluding that “sincere” but insufficiently clear previous attempts, particularly resolutions approved by the 75th General Convention, failed to mend relationships which were “torn” by “the controversial events of 2003.”

Those conclusions and discussion related to the implications of the Windsor Report consumed more than 85 percent of the content contained in a carefully worded, nine-page communiqué that was released Feb. 19 during a press conference held after 11 p.m. local time at the White Sands Resort, located outside Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The late hour of the communiqué’s release, which was reportedly due to protracted negotiations over the language of the proposed remedies, meant that a number of meeting participants and media had already departed East Africa to catch flights of 20 hours or more back to their home countries by the time the communiqué was available. Four primates were present at the concluding press conference.

Aside from a daily press briefing, the primates had committed not to speak publicly about the meeting until after it had adjourned. That practice was honored with the one notable breach being an announcement published on the official website of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. That statement explained that seven of the 38 Anglican Communion leaders had declined to share in the Holy Eucharist with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori during the meeting as “a poignant reminder of the brokenness of the Anglican Communion.”

At the final press conference, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, said the meeting had damaged the church’s witness in the eyes of the world.

“Looking at the levels of human greed, terror and suffering around the world, it is difficult for people to have transformed views about the Anglican Communion when we have our own internal divisions,” he said as quoted by Episcopal News Service. “I do hope that people will bear the MDGs as the primary vision.”

After an introduction, the communiqué reported that the primates were delighted to hear about the vision made by Mrs. Hellen Wangusa, who was commissioned the new Anglican Communion Observer to the United Nations during a festive Eucharist on Feb. 18. The Millennium Development Goals were established by the United Nations to decrease world poverty by half.

Most of the remaining eight pages are devoted to the Windsor Report or recommendations on how to overcome the fissures which began in 2003.

Prior to the start of the Feb. 15-19 meeting, a network of primates who identify as the Global South said they would refuse to be seated with Bishop Jefferts Schori. When she remained and no walkout occurred, it appeared as though The Episcopal Church would not face further sanction from the Instruments of Unity. In June 2005 delegates to the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), one of four Instruments, voted to ask The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada to withdraw their delegates and to stand down from serving on the two elected bodies of the ACC.

The perception that The Episcopal Church would be treated leniently was reinforced after a report released Feb. 15 by a Communion sub group appointed by the joint standing committee of the primates and the ACC concluded that the 75th General Convention had substantially complied with two of the three specific requests in the Windsor Report that the primates had asked The Episcopal Church to address directly after their last meeting in February 2005.

“The response of the 75th General Convention to the Windsor Report as a whole in its resolutions was positive,” the report stated. “There was clearly a strong groundswell within the General Convention to walk more closely with the Communion and in the commitment to a common life.”

While agreeing that in its deliberations the General Convention had satisfied the request for regret and demonstrated a sincere commitment to remaining in full communion, the primates’ communiqué disputed that Resolution B033, which cautions bishops and standing committees from giving consent to any candidate for the episcopate whose manner of life might cause offense to others, adequately met the request for a moratorium on the consecration as bishop of clergy living in a same-sex union.

The primates’ communiqué said Bishop Jefferts Schori must convey “reassurances” to the other primates by Sept. 30, 2007, that there are no authorized rites of blessing for same-sex unions and that Resolution B033 is interpreted to mean “that a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent.” The communiqué included an elaborate three-page description of how the primates would monitor and share in the internal work the primates stated was necessary to indicate that The Episcopal Church was implementing the recommendations.

“If the reassurances requested of the House of Bishops cannot in good conscience be given, the relationship between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as a whole remains damaged at best, and this has consequences for the full participation of the church in the life of the Communion,” the communiqué warned.

The primates involvement in the internal polity of The Episcopal Church as envisioned in the communiqué involves creation of a pastoral council and a revised proposal for a primatial vicar, which Bishop Jefferts Schori offered in November 2006 in response to a request by seven dioceses for alternate primatial oversight.

“It is clear that despite the subcommittee’s report, a number of primates were unhappy with General Convention’s response,” Bishop Jefferts Schori said as quoted by ENS. “There is awareness that these issues are of concern in many provinces of the Communion and that The Episcopal Church’s charism is to continue to encourage the discussion.

“The hope is that the proposed primatial vicar will provide enough relief on both sides that the property disputes can be resolved in a way that does not alienate property and allows congregations access,” said Bishop Jefferts Schori, who promised “further reflection” after her return to New York.

In a related development, the Anglican Communion News Service reported on the final day that Bishop Jefferts Schori had been elected to represent the Americas on the five-person primates’ standing committee. The primates standing committee advises the Archbishop of Canterbury on matters pertaining to the Communion and also appointments to Communion task forces and subcommittees among other responsibilities. At the ACC meeting in June 2005 it was also proposed that the primates standing committee be named ex officio members of the ACC, suggesting that Bishop Jefferts Schori's ability to fulfill all of the duties assigned to members of the primates standing committee would depend on whether the primates are satisfied with The Episcopal Church's response to the latest communiqué.

More on the Primates' Meeting

• Divisions Remain as Deadline for Communique Approaches

• Inside the 'Ring of Steel,' Primates Under Intense Pressure to Reach Agreement

• Amid Lowered Tensions, Primates Review Draft Covenant

• Communion Broken, Says Global South

• Cordial Day of Listening Marks Opening Sessions in Tanzania

• Presiding Bishop Attends Primates' Orientation Session

• On Day 1, Spotlight on The Episcopal Church

For complete coverage of the primates' meeting, and to find more news, feature articles, and commentary about the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion not available online, we invite you to subscribe to The Living Church magazine. Call 1-800-211-2771 today to start your subscription.