Threatened absences from Lambeth "misguided and missing the point"

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds has criticised Anglican bishops who are threatening to withdraw from next year's Lambeth Conference on issues of principle as "misguided and missing the point”

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE DIOCESE OF RIPON:  29th November 2007

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds has criticised Anglican bishops who are threatening to withdraw from next year's Lambeth Conference on issues of principle as "misguided and missing the point”, saying that the purpose of the ten yearly gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world has always been to discuss divisions and differences since it was begun by his predecessor, 140 years ago.

In his annual Advent Address at Ripon Cathedral today, (November 29th at 11am), the Rt. Revd John Packer has told clergy and lay leaders from throughout the diocese that it was precisely the need to air disagreements that led to his predecessor, Charles Longley, the first Bishop of Ripon (who went on to become Archbishop of Canterbury), to call the first Lambeth Conference in 1867.

In his Address, Bishop Packer states unequivocally that both he and the suffragan (or deputy) Bishop of Knaresborough, James Bell, will be attending the Lambeth Conference - where he said it was important that divergent views were listened to. Speaking of his predecessor, the first Bishop of Ripon, Charles Longley, Bishop Packer said, "The act for which he is remembered in history is that calling of the (Lambeth) Conference in 1867 in which bishops were invited to express their differences in the context of their unity in Christ... There was strong disagreement over the necessity for Christians to believe in the reality of eternal punishment following the publication of 'Essays and Reviews'.

"There could not be a greater contrast between the attitude of the bishops at Lambeth in 1867 and those who appear unwilling to attend in 2008 who I believe to be misguided and missing the point….. (In 1867) there was no sense of a need to achieve unity before meeting, or refusal to attend on the grounds of the deep divisions which then split Anglicans from each other. Indeed the fact of such divisions was the chief incentive to meet.”

The 2008 Lambeth Conference is to take place in Canterbury next July, but many bishops, both in England and around the world are 'reserving their position' on whether to attend, with divisions over the place of Lesbian and Gay people in the church as the main area of contention. Bishop Packer says that he is not surprised by this, but in his lecture points out that there are many other divisive issues too. "I do not believe that it is coincidental that sexuality is at the heart of our current debate. It provokes a deep reaction, while we live happily, though in profound disagreement, with a variety of ethical views on issues of peace and war.”

Bishop Packer, in his Address, urges bishops to avoid trying to create the 'perfect church', an enterprise which he describes as "a disaster, in terms both of scripture and of the Anglican tradition.” He argues that controversy can never be avoided: "The view that Christians should avoid controversy has never been more than a will o'the'wisp in Christian history. God has revealed himself, and does reveal himself, in Christians of very different perceptions, traditions and convictions.”

Bishop Packer concludes his Advent Address by saying that it is important that bishops from around the world come to Lambeth despite their differences. "We shall only grow in Christ if we are prepared to listen to one another and learn from one another. For the bishops they can only hear one another if we go in our disunity to Lambeth as bishops have done every decade since 1867. To argue for unity before we can pray or talk together would mean that we shall never, ever be enabled to grow in Christ through his ministry and through each one of us.”

ENDS

Note: The Bishop's Advent Address is held every year at Ripon Cathedral on the Thursday closest to Advent Sunday, which this year falls on Sunday December 2nd. All clergy and many lay leaders from parishes in the diocese attend.

The Diocese of Ripon, as it was then known was established in 1836 with the Rt Revd Charles Longley as its first bishop.

Issued by John Carter (Rev)

Press and Communications Officer, Diocese of Ripon and Leeds