Editor’s Note: This essay by Bishop Graham Tomlin, chair of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) and director of the Centre for Cultural Witness, continues our extended series of essays on the related subjects of the succession at Canterbury and the recent Nairobi-Cairo Proposals.
When Anglican bishops from around the world met for the Lambeth Conference in 1930, they discussed topics that sound familiar to this day. Issues of marriage, race, the ministry of women, and relationships with other world churches were on the agenda. Yet of the 75 resolutions they approved, one outlived all the others. The most enduring legacy was Resolution 49, which begins: “The Anglican Communion is a fellowship, within the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted dioceses, provinces or regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury.”
It seems they felt the definition was provisional. The bishops did not think they were doing anything remarkable. Yet since 1930, the phrase “in communion with the See of Canterbury” has been quoted in virtually every Anglican textbook as a shorthand definition of what it means to be part of the Anglican Communion. In fact, the bishops gathered in 1930 thought of it less as a definition than a description of the Anglican Communion as it was then — a fellowship of churches centered on the Church of England and the See of Canterbury. It presumed a big mother church surrounded by a number of smaller, autonomous daughter churches in different parts of the world.
In December, the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith, and Order (IASCUFO), which reports to the Anglican Consultative Council and includes Anglicans across the entire geographical and theological spectrum of the communion, published a report that suggests far-reaching changes to our understanding of the Anglican Communion. The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals: Renewing the Instruments of Communion suggest a rearrangement of the communion, removing “communion with the See of Canterbury” as the criterion of being a member church of the Anglican family, effectively removing the Church of England as the central church of the communion to which all others relate.
The Anglican Communion is very different today from what it was in 1930. In a postcolonial world, it makes little sense to focus a world communion of churches on one member, or for the faith of that church to set the terms for the rest.
To complicate things further, the Church of England’s explorations in Living in Love and Faith — its decision to authorize prayers for couples in same-sex relations, and to contemplate both standalone services and allowing clergy to enter same-sex marriages — has led many in the communion to distance themselves from the ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
For many, historic affection for the See of Canterbury, and loyalty to a missionary history, remains. But presuming full “communion with the See of Canterbury” as a defining criterion of Anglican authenticity no longer makes sense. The churches of the Anglican family have come of age.
The revised description offered by the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals suggests that the churches of the Anglican Communion “seek to uphold and propagate the Catholic and Apostolic faith and order as they are generally set forth in the Book of Common Prayer as authorized in their distinct Churches.” It says that they are “bound together through their shared inheritance, mutual service, common counsel (of bishops and others) in conference, and historic connection with the See of Canterbury, by which they seek interdependently to foster the highest degree of communion possible one with another.”
The symbolic, historic significance of Canterbury as an ancient, apostolic See is reaffirmed, but the presumption of acceptance of the Church of England’s faith and order is replaced by a shared pursuit of agreement by everyone, even when it is hard to find. This, in fact, is how the communion has functioned since at least 1968, when the Anglican Consultative Council was created, followed in 1979 by the similarly consensus-oriented Primates’ Meeting. All are on an equal footing.
Thus the report’s second major proposal is that the presidency of the Anglican Consultative Council should no longer be held by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but by another primate — to help diversify the face and leadership of the communion and to make the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury more manageable. Since the resignation of Archbishop Justin Welby, many have said the job has become unwieldy and very hard to do — this should make it a little easier to manage.
The Anglican Communion today is a family of churches that share a range of networks and ministries, gathered around mission, geography, and doctrine. Member churches that belong to the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans, for example, or that gather with the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, or that associate with various initiatives of the Anglican Alliance all flourish in distinct and complementary ways. And much of this happens without the involvement of the See of Canterbury. Debate happens, agreements and disagreements emerge. Meanwhile, it remains vital to remain as connected as possible across our differences, in order to learn from and inspire one another, cooperate with other Christians, and serve the needs of the world.
All Christian churches are called to change with the times — not for the sake of fashion but to respond to the Holy Spirit’s call to bear witness to Christ in changing cultural circumstances. The world and the Anglican Communion have changed a great deal in the nearly 100 years since 1930. It is time we had a better description of who we are and who we hope to be that reflects the changing nature of our communion, as we look for its flourishing and development in the coming 100 years.
The Rt. Rev. Graham Tomlin, PhD, is a Guest Writer. He chairs the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith, and Order. From 2015 to 2022 he was Bishop of Kensington in the Church of England. He is currently President of St. Mellitus College in London. He is the author of several books including Looking Through The Cross – The Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book 2014