epiScope

Voice for the voiceless?

Sir Ian McKellen becomes bishop for a day
By Richard Eden
The Telegraph (UK)
07/04/2008

Never one to shy away from controversy, Sir Ian McKellen is secretly plotting to launch a campaign to shame the Anglican Church over its refusal to give equal rights to homosexual clergy.

In an act of solidarity with the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, the Church's first openly homosexual bishop, the celebrated actor intends to read out a sermon written by the prelate, who has been barred from the landmark Lambeth Conference this summer that is seeking to prevent a schism over the issue.

Standing alongside the bishop, who will remain silent throughout, the star of The Lord of the Rings will deliver a broadside against the Church's attitude to homosexuals with the kind of passion and force normally reserved for his performances on the stage.

It’s all here …

Bishop readies for next round

Key conference, book lie ahead for Robinson
By Michael Paulson
Boston (MA) Globe
March 25, 2008

CONCORD, N.H. - Five years after he was consecrated a bishop in a nearby hockey arena, wearing a bulletproof vest under his new golden vestments, Gene Robinson is bracing for another round of controversy.

Next month, his new book is to be published, and in it, amid the assertions of his deep faith in Jesus and a self-examination of his theological beliefs, are the emphatic expressions of disappointment in the leadership of his Anglican Church. Robinson is frustrated that those Anglican leaders, known as primates, asked for time to consider the issues but then refused to meet with him.

In June, Robinson plans to enter into a civil union with his partner of 20 years, Mark Andrew. He says he will do everything he can to keep photographers away, out of deference to those who find his same-sex relationship offensive, but he acknowledges that the event is likely to attract negative attention nonetheless.

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AbC's "non-offer" rejected

Gay bishop criticises Williams for Lambeth snub
Riazat Butt
The Guardian (UK)
March 11 2008

The gay American bishop whose ordination caused ructions in the Anglican church has criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury for his failure to unite the communion.

Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire, made the remarks after declining to attend the Lambeth conference, the 10-yearly gathering of the world's bishops, because his invitation was a "non-offer".

He told a spring gathering of the US Episcopal Church House of Bishops: "It has been a very difficult 48 hours sitting here and hearing your plans for Lambeth.

"In my most difficult moments it feels as if, instead of leaving the 99 sheep in search of the one, my chief pastor and shepherd, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has cut me out of the herd."

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Gay Bishop Out of Anglican Summit
By RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The first openly gay Episcopal bishop announced he will have no official role in a meeting this summer of world Anglican leaders, saying restrictions that organizers wanted to place on his involvement had caused him "considerable pain."

New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson had been told last year that he could not fully participate in the once-a-decade gathering in England, called the Lambeth Conference, as the world Anglican Communion sat on the brink of schism over his 2003 election.

Still, Episcopal leaders had been negotiating with the Anglican Communion Office to allow him to join the event in some capacity. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the U.S.

At a Texas meeting Monday night of the Episcopal House of Bishops, Robinson said that the final offer to include him was in effect a "non-offer," and he had declined it.

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Gay bishop won't attend conference
V. Gene Robinson said he would not have been allowed to actively participate in the global gathering of Anglicans in London.
By Rebecca Trounson
Los Angeles Times
March 11, 2008

The Episcopal Church's only openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, said Monday that he would not attend a global gathering of Anglicans in London this summer, telling fellow Episcopal leaders he had declined an offer that he said would not have allowed him to play any meaningful role at that meeting.

Robinson, who is attending a retreat this week in Texas with other Episcopal bishops, told the group he had decided not to attend the Lambeth Conference, after negotiations for him to participate or be granted official observer status had failed. His remarks were released by the Episcopal Church late Monday.

The Lambeth Conference is a once-a-decade gathering of leaders of the Anglican Communion, the world's third- largest Christian denomination. It is hosted by the archbishop of Canterbury, currently the Most Rev. Rowan Williams.

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Gay priest not welcome at world meeting
By Michael Conlon
Reuters
March 11, 2008

LEADERS of the US Episcopal Church were told that the gay man they elevated to bishop will not be allowed to attend a top, once-a-decade worldwide Anglican Church meeting this year.

"It feels as if, instead of leaving the 99 sheep in search of the one, my chief pastor and shepherd, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Rowan Williams), has cut me out of the herd," said Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, after receiving the definitive word that he will be excluded from the Anglican Communion's Lambeth Conference in England.

It was the US church's consecration of Bishop Robinson in 2003 as the first bishop known to be in an openly gay relationship in more than four centuries of Anglican Church history that jolted the 77 million-member global church, already divided over biblical interpretation, the ordination of women and the blessing of same-sex unions.

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Gay bishop excluded from world church meeting
Malaysia Sun
11th March, 2008 

Leaders of the US Episcopal Church have been told that a gay man who was once elevated to bishop will be unable to attend the worldwide Anglican church meeting this summer.

According to Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, he has been told by his superiors in the Anglican Communion that he will be asked to stay away from the Lambeth Conference in England.

It is believed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, made the decision after the US branch of the Anglican church negotiated the issue in an effort to have Bishop Robinson attend the conference.

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Duelling archbishops

Archbishop aims to save divided Church
Call for Anglican bishops to attend Lambeth Conference as conservative clergyman draws up formula to avert schism over gay priests
Ruth Gledhill
The Times (UK)
February 4, 2008

The Anglican archbishop in charge of drawing up the document intended to reunite his warring Church said he believes that schism can still be averted in spite of divisions over the issue of homosexuals.

The Archbishop of the West Indies, the Most Rev Drexel Gomez, said that a new formula had been found that would allow the disciplining of errant churches while respecting the traditional autonomy of the 38 worldwide Anglican provinces. Urging all Anglican bishops to attend the Lambeth Conference this year, he said that it would be a “tremendous tragedy” if the Church fell apart.

A new document to be published this week would form “a basic way of holding each other accountable as a Communion”, he said. But he indicated that the Episcopal Church of the United States was unlikely to face discipline or any form of exclusion from the Anglican Communion as a result of consecrating Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.

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Bishops ticked over Lambeth boycott
The Australian
February 05, 2008

THE head of the Anglican Church in Australia says he is disappointed Sydney bishops have pulled out of the church's top global meeting.

The boycott of the Lambeth Conference is being spearheaded by the Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen, a leading conservative voice in the acrimonious row over the ordination of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson in the US.

Dr Aspinall said in a statement today he was disappointed over the move by Dr Jensen, and urged him to reconsider.

"I find it difficult to understand the view that the Lambeth Conference is not a proper place to deal with issues facing the international Anglican Communion," Dr Aspinall said.

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Seven days in...June

Bishops attack rival summit for Anglican clergy in Holy Land
Guardian Unlimited
Riazat Butt
January 22, 2008

Plans for a rival "Lambeth" conference - the gathering of the world's Anglican bishops every 10 years - have prompted a row after the Bishop of Jerusalem demanded organisers change the event's location away from the holy city.

The Global Anglican Futures Conference, known as Gafcon and scheduled for seven days in June this year, is being seen as an alternative meeting for conservatives unwilling to take part in Lambeth due to the row over the ordination of gay clergy.

At meetings the Right Rev Suheil Dawani, Bishop of Jerusalem, told the Gafcon organisers - the Right Rev Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria, and the Right Rev Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney - he was "deeply troubled" by the prospect of the conference being held in his city.

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Climate change

Gay 'climate of controversy' clouds Anglican gathering
Riazat Butt
Guardian Unlimited
January 21, 2008

Homosexuality dominated today's official launch of the Lambeth Conference, the 10-yearly gathering of the world's Anglican bishops taking place in Kent this summer, with the Archbishop of Canterbury speaking frankly of the "climate of controversy" in which they were meeting.

Dr Rowan Williams acknowledged that despite the "painful controversies" clouding the life of the communion for the past few years, about 70% of bishops worldwide had formally registered for the conference while a number of others had signalled their intention to attend. It showed, he said, "a strong loyalty to each other and a desire to stay together".

His remarks came amid threats of a boycott from conservative Anglican leaders following the consecration of the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, in the US in 2003.

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Permission

Bishops to protest Anglican liberal tilt
By Julia Duin
Washington Times
January 7, 2008

A coalition of conservative Anglican and Episcopal bishops has announced an eight-day conference in Jerusalem in mid-June to register their disenchantment with the liberal direction of the Anglican Communion.

It will be six weeks before the once-per-decade Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops, scheduled for July 20-Aug. 3 at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. Although more than 800 bishops are invited to Lambeth, up to one-third may boycott it to protest the 2003 consecration of the openly homosexual New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson.

Bishop Robinson has not been invited to the Lambeth gathering, but the 18 active bishops who helped consecrate him in November 2003 were invited, sparking furious reactions from Anglican conservatives, who declared they would not attend the same conference.

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Face to face

Bishops 'must face gay clergy debate'
By Jonathan Petre
Daily Telegraph (UK)
01/01/2008

A Church of England bishop has criticised the Lambeth Conference, which starts in July, for shying away from the issue of homosexuality.

The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, said it would be "odd" and "irresponsible" for the meeting to sweep the controversy "under the carpet".

There are no plans for a major public debate on the issue of gay clergy and much of the conference will take place behind closed doors.

It's all here ...

GAFCON: The not-a-rival-Lambeth conference

Conservative Anglicans plan rebel summit
Riazat Butt
Guardian Unlimited
January 1, 2008

Conservative Anglican leaders have revealed plans for a breakaway summit for the hundreds of bishops expected to defy the Archbishop of Canterbury by boycotting the Lambeth conference.

Organisers of the Global Anglican Future Conference, to be held in Jerusalem, say it will not be a rival to Lambeth, held every 10 years in Canterbury, but "will provide opportunities for fellowship and care for those who have decided not to attend Lambeth".

It comes six weeks before the archbishop's flagship conference that up to a third of the Anglican church's 900 bishops may boycott in protest at his perceived fudging over the US Episcopal church's approach to gay clergy.

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Rivals

Meeting Will Rival Lambeth
The Ledger
December 29, 2007

Anglican conservatives angered by the liberal drift of the U.S. Episcopal Church are planning their own world meeting on the future of the global Anglican Communion.

The meeting, announced over the Christmas holiday, is set for July 15-22, a few weeks before the Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade gathering of world Anglican leaders. Theological conservatives and liberals have separately threatened to boycott the Lambeth Conference because of who was and wasn't invited.

Organizers of the conservative meeting, called the "Global Anglican Future Conference," insist their gathering is not an alternative to Lambeth. They say some Anglican archbishops will attend both events.

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Anglican disarray

Faithful find controversy within ranks
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY

In 2007, believers took their principles into the streets and the political arena. And sometimes, they found themselves opposing fellow believers. USA TODAY's Cathy Lynn Grossman recaps key events and controversies:

… Anglican disarray:

Cracks widened between conservatives in the Anglican Communion, the world's third-largest Christian denomination, and its U.S branch, the Episcopal Church, over homosexuality and whether the Communion can include opposing views. In February, the presiding bishops of the Communion's national and regional churches met in Africa and issued a vague threat that the Episcopal Church needed to change course by October. Nothing happened. By May, conservative archbishops in Africa and South America began ordaining their own bishops in the USA in violation of Anglican tradition. But Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the Communion, has been unable to halt the fractures. This month for the first time, the entire Diocese of San Joaquin in Fresno, Calif., seceded from the Episcopal Church. In Virginia, several historic, wealthy parishes that quit last year are in court fighting for control of properties.

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Conservative Anglicans Plan Separate Meeting
Washington Post
December 27, 2007

Anglican conservatives angered by the liberal drift of the U.S. Episcopal Church are planning their own world meeting on the future of the global Anglican Communion.

The meeting is set for July 15-22, shortly before the Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade gathering of world Anglican leaders that has become a focus of tension within the fellowship of churches.

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Boycott

English bishop hints at joining boycott of Anglican meeting over gay issue
By Robert Barr
Associated Press

LONDON --A senior Church of England bishop says he would have difficulty joining U.S. Episcopal bishops at a gathering of global Anglican leaders next year because they have not repented for consecrating a gay bishop, according to a news report published Monday.

The Daily Telegraph quoted Michael Nazir-Ali, the bishop of Rochester, as siding with African bishops who believe the American church has not adequately dealt with protests about the installation of V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire.

The dispute has caused some Anglican leaders to threaten to boycott next year's Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world.

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JSC: TEC OK

Panel Says Episcopalians Have Met Anglican Directive
By NEELA BANERJEE
New York Times
October 4, 2007

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 — In a victory for the Episcopal Church in its effort to remain in the Anglican Communion, a high-ranking Anglican advisory committee said Wednesday that Episcopal bishops had complied with a directive by Anglican leaders on same-sex unions and gay bishops.

The Episcopal Church is the American branch of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, which has been torn by disputes over the church’s liberal stance on homosexuality.

Earlier this year, the communion’s regional leaders, or primates, issued a directive to the Episcopal Church to curtail the consecration of partnered gay and lesbian bishops and the authorizing of rites of blessing for same-sex unions.

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Anglican Panel Praises Episcopalians
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 3, 2007

A world Anglican panel acknowledged Wednesday that Episcopal bishops are making some concessions to ease the turmoil they created in 2003 by consecrating their church's first openly gay bishop.

But the committee said that all sides in the long-running conflict over the Bible and homosexuality need to do much more to keep the beleaguered worldwide Anglican fellowship from splitting.

The advisory report from the lay-clergy Joint Standing Committee was written for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, as he struggles to prevent a schism in the 77-million-member Anglican Communion.

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Anglican leaders urge unity
A key panel responds to Episcopal bishops' pledge of restraint on issues that have threaten the worldwide communion.
By Rebecca Trounson, Los Angeles Times
October 4, 2007

Leaders of the global Anglican Communion responded largely positively Wednesday to pledges from the Episcopal Church to use restraint in consecrating gay bishops and other contentious matters.

But an influential joint standing committee of Anglican bishops, clergy and lay leaders also called on all sides in the continuing debate over homosexuality and biblical authority to work harder to ease their differences and keep the 77-million-member Anglican Communion intact. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of Anglicanism.

The panel's report to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican Communion's spiritual leader, came in response to a statement by Episcopal bishops last week at a meeting in New Orleans.

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African Anglican bishops steer away from gay row
By Ed Harris
Reuters
Oct 4, 2007 1

QUATRE BORNES, Mauritius, Oct 4 (Reuters) - African Anglican archbishops ducked homosexuality, the issue dividing the worldwide Communion, on Thursday and instead drew attention to the poorest continent's problems.

Last month Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, one of the Church's fiercest critics of gay rights, blasted bishops from the U.S. Episcopal Church for "ignoring" pleas to take a clear stand against consecrating gay clergy or blessing gay unions.

Chairing a meeting of African archbishops in Mauritius, Akinola was at pains to avoid the topic.

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White Anglicans accused of pressuring African churches on anti-gay agenda
By staff writers
Ekklesia
4 Oct 2007

Lesbian and gay Christians in the UK have criticised primarily white conservative Christians for pressurising African Anglican leaders to back them, and have said that the US Episcopal Church's compromise in saying it will not ordain gay people or bless partnerships at the moment is likely to backfire.

The response comes after a press release from the conservative Church Society network in England, effectively telling African Anglican churches meeting in Mauritius over the next few days to take a series of measures to outlaw Western churches who take a different view to them.

The bishops will be meeting under the banner of CAPA (Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa) which includes the provinces of Burundi, Congo, Central Africa, Egypt, Indian Ocean, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Southern Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and West Africa. CAPA is chaired by Archbishop Peter Akinola - an outspoken opponent of recognising lesbian and gay people.

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Let's stay together

Robinson still hopes to be included in international meeting
By Associated Press
August 1, 2007

LONDON - The first openly gay Episcopal bishop, whose 2003 consecration has moved the Anglican fellowship to the brink of schism, says he remains hopeful Anglicans can stay together.
    "I think we need each other," said New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, in an interview with The Times of London, published July 27. "We need to learn and grow with the presence of each other. I think it would be a terrible loss to all of us."
    The Episcopal Church is the U.S. province of the world Anglican Communion. Theological conservatives are demanding that the American church pledge by Sept. 30 not to consecrate any more gay bishops or face losing full membership in the communion.

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RSVP

Bishops threaten to boycott Lambeth Conference
Ruth Gledhill
The Times of London (UK)
July 26, 2007

Six out of ten senior Church of England bishops could boycott next year’s Lambeth Conference of more than 800 Anglican bishops and archbishops from around the world because of the row over gays.

Such a boycott would be unprecedented in the history of the Anglican Church and would be an indication of how deep the divisions go, in England as well as in the rest of the communion.

The fifth most senior bishop in the mother church of the Anglican Communion warns today that a majority of English diocesan bishops could consider a boycott if the US does not row back on its pro-gay agenda.

A UK boycott would confirm the gravity of the splits within even the Church of England, traditionally the model for Anglicanism’s “via media”. It would effectively spell the end of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s dream of maintaining unity.

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Boycott may backfire

Archbishop warns Anglican conservatives
By Jonathan Petre
Daily Telegraph
23/07/2007

The Archbishop of York has warned conservative Anglican leaders that they will effectively expel themselves from the worldwide Church if they boycott next year's Lambeth Conference.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Dr John Sentamu pleaded with them to attend the conference despite their war with liberals over homosexuality.

But he told them that if they "voted with their feet" they risked severing their links with the Archbishop of Canterbury and with historic Anglicanism, a breach that could take centuries to heal.

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Invitation lists

Gay bishop invited to Lambeth
Ruth Gledhill
Times Online
June 29, 2007

The gay American bishop Gene Robinson, whose consecration in 2003 brought the worldwide Church to the brink of schism, is to be invited to the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Church next summer, The Times has learnt.

The decision to include the bishop on the guest list makes a boycott by bishops of the Nigerian Church more likely.

The Times understands that Bishop Gene will be able to attend meetings as an official guest but will not have the right to vote on motions at the conference - the meeting of leaders of the world wide Anglican communion which takes place every 10 years.

Martyn Minns, bishop of the conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America, which is sponsored by the Church of Nigeria, remains off the Lambeth guest list.

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Nigerian man to speak tonight on being gay in his native land
Possible peril: criminalization of homosexuality
By Stephanie Innes
Arizona Daily Star
06.29.2007

The notice on the Anglican Church of Nigeria's Web site warns of a man named Davis Mac-Iyalla: Anyone relating to him does so at his or her own risk.

Mac-Iyalla, a 35-year-old openly gay Nigerian, will be in Tucson tonight as part of a 20-city tour titled "Journey of Truth" to talk about what it's like to be gay in a country that's considering criminalizing homosexuality.

That proposed Nigerian law, which would make homosexuality a crime punishable by prison, has been condemned by the U.S. State Department, the European Union and the United Nations, though it has been supported by religious bodies in Nigeria.

Mac-Iyalla says that contrary to what the Anglican Church of Nigeria claims, he's a devout believer and a faithful member of the church. He is currently living in exile in Togo because of the death threats he received in Nigeria since publicly declaring his homosexuality in 2005. His supporters say he has served as an inspiration to faithful gay Africans.

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Anglican church hypocritical: reverend
ROBYN YOUNG
The Halifax Daily News

A Halifax reverend is disappointed the Anglican church continues to shy away from blessing same-sex unions.

Rev. Malachy Egan of the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Spryfield said the Anglican church is a den of hypocrisy. "The Anglican church, in my opinion," he said, "is very much a gay church."

Last weekend, bishops, clergy and laity of the Anglican Church of Canada gathered in Winnipeg for a General Synod, part of which included a vote on the blessing of same-sex unions within the church.

The allowance of such blessings was lost by two votes, a decision that will not be revisited for another three years.

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Instrument of disunity

Bishops to Boycott Anglican Conference
Rwanda News Agency/Agence Rwandaise d'Information (Kigali)
28 June 2007
Kigali

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Honourable Rowan Williams invited some Rwandan Anglican Bishops to the Lambeth (UK) Conference 2008, but the Rwandan clergy have "unanimously" decided to boycott the conference, RNA has established.

According to a communiqué from the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, the manner in which the invitations by Archbishop Williams to the bishops of Rwanda were issued is "divisive" as some of "our bishops were not invited".

The Lambeth Conference 2008 will take place on the campus of the University of Kent in Canterbury, from July 16 to August 4, 2008.

Archbishop Williams invited one section of the bishops in Rwanda and left out others because apparently they do not have similar approaches to Anglican faith.

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R.S.V.P. Uganda

Uganda: Orombi Skips Talks Over Gays
Alfred Wasike
New Vision (Kampala)
1 June 2007

The Church of Uganda is to boycott the Lambeth Conference 2008 if bishops supporting homosexuality are invited, Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi announced yesterday.

"We have decided that if the American bishops are invited, the bishops of the Church of Uganda are not going," Orombi told The New Vision at his Namirembe residence.

The archbishop made the news last February when he refused the Holy Communion during an Anglican primates' summit in Tanzania.

"We took a position last December and we want to affirm that. We are not going to ride on the wings of the Americans. As members of this Communion, we have the right to uphold what we feel is the right thing."

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Reservations

Stand up for yourself, Rowan
Andrew Brown

May 29, 2007 5:20 PM

I don't pretend to be an expert on the thoughts of Rowan Williams: the last time I spoke to him was at a party some years ago, where our conversation, not very profound to start with, was quickly interrupted by a mutual friend who lurched up very drunk and started to upbraid the archbishop for cowardice. It was a ludicrous moment. But it was also a serious charge. I like Rowan, and I admire his wife, but as he has struggled with church politics over the last four years I have wondered if there is any better explanation for his behaviour than that he is an easily bullied man who won't, when it counts, stand up for his beliefs.

Now, in the last couple of days, a situation has arisen which may settle the issue once and for all. He has invited all but a handful of the 800 or so bishops of the Anglican communion to their regular conference next year. The three most prominently excluded represent a variety of sins: there is the openly homosexual American Gene Robinson; the Zimbabwean Mugabe crony Nolbert Kunonga and the schismatic Martyn Minns, whose installation last month as a Nigerian bishop in the US was a formal declaration that the Nigerian Anglican church no longer recognises the American Episcopal church as proper Christians since Gene Robinson was elected a bishop there.

…

Yet from the confusion of this hissing snake pit, one demand has already emerged quite clearly. Dr Akinola, the leader of the Nigerian church, has let it be announced that: "The withholding of invitation to a Nigerian bishop, elected and consecrated by other Nigerian bishops, will be viewed as withholding invitation to the entire house of bishops of the church of Nigeria."

It’s all here … but remember: until the day Lambeth opens, only the airlines will know for sure.

Comments continue

Individual bishops respond to Lambeth Conference invitations announcement
Episcopal Life Online
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
May 24, 2007

[Episcopal News Service] Some Episcopal Church bishops have responded to the May 22 announcement that a small number of bishops have not been invited to the 2008 Lambeth Conference.

New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson and Martyn Minns -- the latter chosen by the Anglican Church of Nigeria to be the "missionary bishop" for its Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) -- were among the bishops Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, did not invite. Only serving diocesan bishops, suffragans and assistants, as opposed to retired bishops, were invited.

It's all here...and we're sure comments and reactions will continue.

Reactions abound

Decision on Lambeth Conference invitations draws reaction
Episcopal Life Online
By Matthew Davies and Mary Frances Schjonberg
May 22, 2007

[Episcopal News Service] The Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to withhold a small number of invitations to the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Bishops drew reaction as soon as the announcement was made public May 22.

The once-a-decade gathering of Anglican Communion bishops is due to be held July 16-August 4 at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. About 880 invitations are being sent out from the Archbishop, Dr. Rowan Williams.

It's all here...along with many reactions.

Gay and Dissident Bishops Excluded From ’08 Meeting
New York Times
By Laurie Goodstein
May 23, 2007
The archbishop of Canterbury sent out more than 800 invitations yesterday to a once-a-decade global gathering of Anglican bishops. But he did not invite the openly gay Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire and the bishop in Virginia who heads a conservative cluster of disaffected American churches affiliated with the archbishop of Nigeria.

The exclusions offended liberals and conservatives in the worldwide Anglican Communion, which has been threatened by schism since the election in 2003 of the bishop of New Hampshire, V. Gene Robinson, who lives with his gay partner.

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Gay Bishop Kept Out of Anglican Meeting
The Associated Press
By Rachel Zoll
May 22, 2007

NEW YORK -- The first openly gay Episcopal bishop will not be invited to a once-a-decade meeting of world Anglican leaders next year, as the fellowship tries to avert a schism over homosexuality. A breakaway conservative U.S. bishop also was snubbed.

New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who lives with his male partner, called the decision Tuesday "an affront to the entire Episcopal Church." The other prelate, Bishop Martyn Minns, leads a U.S. parish network formed by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola to counter the liberal-leaning American denomination on its home turf.

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Anglican event excludes two U.S. bishops
LA Times
By Rebecca Trounson
May 23, 2007

Two bishops at the heart of a deepening rift between the U.S. Episcopal Church and much of the worldwide Anglican Communion will not be invited to a global gathering next year of Anglican leaders, the secretary-general of the communion said Tuesday.

Neither Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire nor Bishop Martyn Minns of the breakaway Convocation of Anglicans in North America have been asked to attend the next Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade gathering hosted by the archbishop of Canterbury. The conference is scheduled for next summer in England.

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