"The Highest Degree of Communion Possible": Initial Reflections on the Windsor Report 2004

The Lambeth Commission on Communion's Windsor Report 2004, released in October 2004, analyzes current situation of sustained controversy and makes numerous recommendations as to how Anglican Communion can restructure itself in order to preserve the highest degree of communion possible. Beyond its recommendations for dealing with events that prompted appointment of Commission, Windsor Report proposes strengthening Instruments of Unity in a way that would, it is hoped, limit amount of divisiveness in future controversies. However, these proposals pose significant theological and ecclesiological problems: they attempt to curtail work of Holy Spirit in leading church into all truth, and they give too much weight to agreement in a church that has cherished and promoted diversity of theology and practice in all but most important areas of faith. On October 18, 2004, Anglican Communion released Windsor Report 2004, report of Lambeth Commission on Communion, formed by Archbishop of Canterbury in response to situation that has developed in Anglican Communion in wake of decisions in Anglican Church of Canada and Episcopal Church relative to homosexuality, and decisions of a number of provinces to declare they are now or may soon be no longer in communion with Diocese of New Westminster or Episcopal Church. The Lambeth Commissions charge was specifically not to consider issues of human sexuality as such, but rather to focus on how Anglican churches might maintain the highest degree of communion possible1 in what is a serious and widespread situation of conflict. The Windsor Report has numerous recommendations. The headline grabbers are three invitations: 1) The Episcopal Church has been invited to make a statement of regret for damage it has done to Communion in consecrating Bishop Eugene Robinson. 2) The Diocese of New Westminster, Anglican Church of Canada, and Episcopal Church have been invited to make a similar statement of regret for authorizing same-sex blessings. 3) Various conservative elements have been invited to make statements of regret for damage they have done to Communion by escalating rhetoric and by uncanonical crossing of diocesan boundaries. In all three cases, there is also an to enter into a moratorium on all such future acts.2 These have teeth. The Report both declines to speculate, and also notes that in any situation of conflict among human groups or organizations, there are approximately four options, in escalating degrees of seriousness: mediation and arbitration; removal of invitation to attend important meetings as participants; invitations to attend these same meetings as observers only; and finally revocation of membership (para. 157). These are serious matters. They require a great deal of careful thought, diligent prayer, and sustained though difficult discussion and debate. More important than headline grabbers, however, are some of other more general recommendations that both indicate a particular view of church and also propose how church might go about embodying that view. That is what I will focus on: changes in ecclesiology and ecclesial practice that require very careful consideration not only to assess benefits of such changes, but also to assess what they may cost. These have to do with fundamental perennial tensions in our understanding of church-tensions between unity and diversity, and between autonomy and communion. Along with these is always question of who and what has what kind of authority. These are tensions that must be held for any ecclesiology to be sound theologically, and also for it actually to work in practice. The Windsor Report deals with these tensions and underlying questions of authority by giving clear priority to unity over diversity, to community over autonomy, and to centralization of authority at international level, as well as to various bishops and colleges of bishops. …

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