Archbishop Rowan Williams, Homosexuality & a Third Province

In a wide-ranging interview with the London Church Times (29th November), Dr Williams states that the Church of England should seriously consider creating a Third Province (to exist alongside those of Canterbury & York) for those parishes and priests opposed to women bishops. (It will be recalled that it was Dr Williams who pushed the Church in Wales to appoint an Episcopal Visitor for parishes in Wales which did not wish to receive bishops who ordained women.) At the moment there is a C of E Commission headed by the Bishop of Rochester looking into the ordaining of women to the Episcopate and these statements will probably have an influence on what is recommended to the Church.

Further, since Williams will have great influence in the General Synod when this is discussed this is good news for traditional anglo-catholics and evangelicals.

Williams also states that he will not ordain any person who is living in "a relationship" or partnership with a person of the same sex and that he will publicly abide by the resolution of the Lambeth Conference, 1998 on this matter. He had already made this clear in a Letter to all the Primates. Yet, at the same time, he would like the topic of sexuality still to be discussed.

In my judgment Williams' theology has been somewhat misunderstood and unfortunately attacked by some conservative evangelicals. There is no doubt but that he is a liberal Catholic theologian who has drunk deeply of Orthodox theology (he studied orthodox theology in Russia for his doctorate) and so he is deeply committed to the traditional and orthodox dogmas of the Person of Christ as the God-Man and of the Holy Trinity as Three Persons and one God. He has the great ability to take seriously all competent expressions of theology and is much more tolerant of traditional believers than most bishops I know. Further he is very gracious and kind person.

I repeat my call again to pray for him as he gets near to taking up his new Vocation in the See of Canterbury. Here is the Collect that I wrote several months ago, and I am grateful that some parishes in several provinces use it weekly.

"Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in thy providence hast established the ancient See of Canterbury as the primary instrument of unity of the Anglican Communion of Churches, we pray for Rowan whom thou hast called to be the Archbishop of Canterbury: By the abundance of they mercy, grant that he, repenting of his sins and conforming to thy holy law and wisdom, will enter into this holy office in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be ascribed glory and dominion now and for ever. Amen."

Web site of the CT is www.churchtimes.co.uk

The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon