Since the Windsor Report was released last Monday 18 October 2004, the Anglican Communion has been analysing the report in detail. These are the full initial reactions to the report from a number of top Anglican leaders:


- Statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury on the Windsor Report

As you know Archbishop Robin Eames has presented to me the report of the Commission he has been chairing and which was published earlier today. Now that it is in the public domain, I wanted to say a few words as President of the Anglican Communion, on whose future working arrangements of course the report focuses.

The first thing I want to express is my immense gratitude to Archbishop Eames and the team he has led. Their task was never going to be a simple or straightforward one and he has led the work with typical energy and devotion. The Commission has not only produced a report but a unanimous one and that in itself counts as a considerable achievement and a sign of hope.

I hope too that everyone with the well being of our Communion at heart will now take time to study the report - and to pray and reflect upon its proposals which, as the Commission has made clear, offer neither easy nor simple solutions to real and demanding challenges. If we are serious about meeting those challenges, as I know we are, then we have to do all we can to continue to travel this road together.

Within the Church of England we too will want to consult and reflect and as Archbishop of Canterbury I shall need to play an appropriate role in that process.

So, there is plenty to digest and there should be no rush to judgement. We want voices round the Communion to be heard and we will be putting in place a careful and wide-ranging process for gathering responses.

I too will continue to pray study and reflect on the report and to seek God's guidance on the fundamental aim of strengthening our understanding and commitment to our common life. I share the Commission's longing for a renewed and re-energised Communion, better able to work in co operation. May God help us to move towards that goal in faithfulness and confidence.


- Statement from Revd Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, on the Windsor Report 2004:

A Word to the Church, some preliminary reflections regarding the Windsor Report

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

I write to you from London where I am attending a meeting of the Primates' Standing Committee. I have had a matter of hours to review the Report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, thus I will now offer only some preliminary observations. It will take considerable time to reflect upon the Report, which consists of some 100 pages. Over the next months it will be discussed in a number of venues, including the Executive Council meeting in November and the Winter Meeting of the House of Bishops in January. After an opportunity for further study and reflection, I will have more to say about the Commission's work.

The members of the Commission, chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames, clearly have worked with care and great diligence, and the fact that they have unanimously put forward the Report, which individually may give them pause, is no small accomplishment.

The Commission was obliged to consider a number of sometimes conflicting concerns, and therefore in these next days the Report will doubtless be read from many points of view and given any number of interpretations. It is extremely important that it be read carefully as a whole and viewed in its entirety rather than being read selectively to buttress any particular perspectives.

As Anglicans we interpret and live the gospel in multiple contexts, and the circumstances of our lives can lead us to widely divergent understandings and points of view. My first reading shows the Report as having in mind the containment of differences in the service of reconciliation. However, unless we go beyond containment and move to some deeper place of acknowledging and making room for the differences that will doubtless continue to be present in our Communion, we will do disservice to our mission. A life of communion is not for the benefit of the church but for the sake of the world. All of us, regardless of our several points of view, must accept the invitation to consider more deeply what it means to live a life of communion, grounded in the knowledge that "in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself."

Given the emphasis of the Report on difficulties presented by our differing understandings of homosexuality, as Presiding Bishop I am obliged to affirm the presence and positive contribution of gay and lesbian persons to every aspect of the life of our church and in all orders of ministry. Other Provinces are also blessed by the lives and ministry of homosexual persons. I regret that there are places within our Communion where it is unsafe for them to speak out of the truth of who they are.

The Report will be received and interpreted within the Provinces of the Communion in different ways, depending on our understanding of the nature and appropriate expression of sexuality. It is important to note here that in the Episcopal Church we are seeking to live the gospel in a society where homosexuality is openly discussed and increasingly acknowledged in all areas of our public life.

For at least the last 30 years our church has been listening to the experience and reflecting upon the witness of homosexual persons in our congregations. There are those among us who perceive the fruit of the Spirit deeply present in the lives of gay and lesbian Christians, both within the church and in their relationships. However, other equally faithful persons among us regard same gender relationships as contrary to scripture. Consequently, we continue to struggle with questions regarding sexuality.

Here I note the Report recommends that practical ways be found for the listening process commended by the Lambeth Conference in 1998 to be taken forward with a view to greater understanding about homosexuality and same gender relationships. It also requests the Episcopal Church to contribute to the ongoing discussion. I welcome this invitation and know that we stand ready to make a contribution to the continuing conversation and discernment of the place and ministry of homosexual persons in the life of the church.

The Report calls our Communion to reconciliation, which does not mean the reduction of differences to a single point of view. In fact, it is my experience that the fundamental reality of the Episcopal Church is the diverse centre, in which a common commitment to Jesus Christ and a sense of mission in his name to a broken and hurting world override varying opinions on any number of issues, including homosexuality. The diverse centre is characterised by a spirit of mutual respect and affection rather than hostility and suspicion. I would therefore hope that some of the ways in which we have learned to recognize Christ in one another, in spite of strongly held divergent opinions, can be of use in other parts of our Communion.

As Presiding Bishop I know I speak for members of our church in saying how highly we value our Communion and the bonds of affection we share. Therefore, we regret how difficult and painful actions of our church have been in many provinces of our Communion, and the negative repercussions that have been felt by brother and sister Anglicans.

In a "Word to the Church" following the meeting of our House of Bishops in September we wrote as follows. "We believe our relationships with others make real and apparent God's reconciling love for all of creation. Our mutual responsibility, interdependence and communion are gifts from God. Therefore, we deeply value and are much enriched by our membership in the Anglican Communion. We also value Anglican comprehensiveness and its capacity to make room for difference."

One section of the Report recommends the development of a covenant to be entered into by the provinces of the Communion. This notion will need to be studied with particular care. As we and other provinces explore the idea of a covenant we must do so knowing that over the centuries Anglican comprehensiveness has given us the ability to include those who wish to see boundaries clearly and closely drawn and those who value boundaries that are broad and permeable. Throughout our history we have managed to live with the tension between a need for clear boundaries and for room in order that the Spirit might express itself in fresh ways in a variety of contexts.

The Report makes demands on all of us, regardless of where we may stand, and is grounded in a theology of reconciliation and an understanding of communion as the gift of the triune God. It is therefore an invitation for all of us to take seriously the place in which we presently find ourselves but to do so with a view to a future yet to be revealed.

Here I am put in mind of the words of Archbishop Eames in the Foreword to the Report. "This Report is not a judgment. It is part of a process. It is part of a pilgrimage towards healing and reconciliation." It is my earnest prayer that we will undertake this pilgrimage in a spirit of generosity and patient faithfulness, not primarily for the sake of our church and the Anglican Communion but for the sake of the world our Lord came among us to save.

The Most Revd Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA.


- Statement by the Primates' Standing Committee on the Windsor Report 2004

We would like to begin by thanking Archbishop Robin Eames and his Commission, together with the staff who supported them, for the hard work and dedication which is represented by this document. The Commission members came from a wide range of geographical backgrounds,
and brought many different perspectives to their work. That they have been able to commend this report unanimously to the members of the Anglican Communion is a sign of hope to our Communion. If there is a real desire to walk together in our discipleship of Christ, then a
course can be plotted to maintain the highest degree of Communion possible, in spite of differences about the way in which Christ's Gospel is to be interpreted in a diverse and troubled world.

We welcome this report as a comprehensive presentation of the tradition and practice of the Anglican Communion. There is much in this report which is challenging, but it points us in a sound direction for the resolution of current tensions. It is an invitation to the entire Communion to reflect on our life together. We are conscious of the concerns of those groups whose expectations have not been met, but we are very encouraged by the broad welcome and support that the report has received from many throughout the Communion. As the Primates' Standing Committee it is now our task to put into place the best possible preparations for a considered discussion of the Windsor Report at the meeting of the Primates in Northern Ireland in February 2005.

To this end, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, we have established a Reception Reference Group, to be chaired by the Most Revd Peter Kwong, Primate of Hong Kong, which will be charged with receiving and co-ordinating initial responses to the Windsor Report in preparation for the Primates' Meeting. Further details of the membership and work of this Reference Group will be published in due course. We hope that all the Provinces of the Anglican Communion, together with other organisations and our ecumenical partners, will join in a conversation with this reception group. In particular, the Reception Reference Group will wish to engage as much as possible with the 78 million members of our forty-four churches, and will explore ways of doing this effectively.


- Statement on the Windsor Report 2004 from the Primate of All Nigeria

I welcome the sincerity and hard work of those who have prepared 'The Windsor Report 2004'. After an initial reading it is clear to me that the report falls far short of the prescription needed for this current crisis. It fails to confront the reality that a small, economically privileged group of people has sought to subvert the Christian faith and impose their new and false doctrine on the wider community of faithful believers. We have watched in sadness as sisters and brothers who have sought to maintain their allegiance to the "faith once delivered to the saints" have been marginalised and persecuted for their faith. We have been filled with grief as we have witnessed the decline of the North American Church that was once filled with missionary zeal and yet now seems determined to bury itself in a deadly embrace with the spirit of the age. Instead of a clear call for repentance we have been offered warm words of sentimentality for those who have shown no godly sorrow for their actions and harsh words of condemnation for those who have reached out a helping hand to friends in need of pastoral and spiritual care.

Why, throughout the document, is there such a marked contrast between the language used against those who are subverting the faith and that used against those of us, from the Global South, who are trying to bring the church back to the Bible? Where are the expressions of deep concern for the men and women whose witness is jeopardized and whose lives are at risk because of the actions of ECUSA [Episcopal Church of the United States of America]? Where are the words of "deep regret" for the impact of ECUSA's actions upon the Global South and our missionary efforts? Where is the language of rebuke for those who are promoting sexual sins as holy and acceptable behaviour? The imbalance is bewildering. It is wrong to use equal language for unequal actions.

The report correctly notes that the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of New Westminster have pushed the Anglican Communion to the breaking point. It rightly states that they did not listen to the clear voices of the Communion and rejected the counsel of all four Instruments of Unity. Therefore it is surprising that the primary recommendation of the report is "greater sensitivity" instead of heartfelt repentance. Already the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA has stated that he sees no need to halt welcoming practising homosexuals into all orders of ministry! In addition, the bishop of New Westminster has indicated that same sex blessing will continue. Thus they are hell bent on destroying the fabric of our common life and we are told to sit and wait.

We have been asked to express regret for our actions and "affirm our desire to remain in the Communion". How patronising! We will not be intimidated. In the absence of any signs of repentance and reform from those who have torn the fabric of our Communion, and while there is continuing oppression of those who uphold the Faith, we cannot forsake our duty to provide care and protection for those who cry out for our help.

The Bible says that two cannot walk together unless they are agreed. The report rightly observes that if the "call to halt" is ignored "then we shall have to begin to learn to walk apart". The Episcopal Church and Diocese of New Westminster are already walking alone on this and if they do not repent and return to the fold, they will find that they are all alone. They will have broken the Anglican Communion.

I am disappointed that an important report that was requested by the Primates who gathered at Lambeth Palace last October was not submitted to us for prayerful consideration. Instead it has been released to the entire world as if it were the final word on this troubling matter. However, before the next meeting of the Primates in February, I will now take it to the All Africa Bishops Conference that will gather in Lagos from October 26th-31st and we will have further opportunity to speak of the crisis created by the North American Church.

We commend the future of our Communion to the hands of almighty God and the prayers of all.

Peter Akinola
Primate of All Nigeria


- The Church of England Evangelical Council welcomes the Windsor Report for its:

1. clear affirmation of Scripture as “the Church’s supreme authority”, and the call for “hearing and obeying God as he speaks in Scripture”.
2. request that those in ECUSA and Canada who have caused such hurt and pain throughout the communion, be asked to express ‘regret’ for their actions.
3. recommendation that the communion work towards a “Common Anglican covenant”.
4. analysis of how some matters may be regarded as of ‘secondary’ or ‘primary importance’
We are, however, concerned that:
1. the Report leaves it to the consciences of those concerned to offer expressions of ‘regret’, and then fails to address any effective discipline should these ‘regrets’ not be forthcoming.
2. ‘regret’ neither accepts responsibility nor wrongdoing, both of which call for ‘repentance’.
3. the report implies a moral equivalence between the actions of those advocating matters concerning homosexual union and those who have intervened to defend orthodox conduct.
4. the report does not offer enough protection of the orthodox clergy who are currently under attack within ECUSA, the church in Canada, and the Anglican church in Brazil.
5. any “Common Anglican covenant” will take years to implement, and will not be in place quickly enough to help with the current problems.
6. The effectiveness of this report will depend upon how the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates and the Bishops treat and act upon it.
We shall continue to study the report and its implications and to pray that the truth of the Gospel of reconciliation will be worked out within our communion.


- Statement on the Windsor Report from the Primate of the Anglican Church
of Canada:

"This morning I received a copy of the report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion (Eames Commission). The Commission was created by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames of Armagh, the senior Metropolitan in the Anglican Communion. Its mandate was to maximise Communion within the worldwide Anglican family despite significant theological differences.

The Commission members cover a broad spectrum of geography, culture and theology. Their meetings have been totally in camera with no interim reporting to the Communion. It is significant that the Commission has submitted unanimous recommendations in spite of the cultural and theological differences of its members. This indicates that there is a positive will to maintain the unity of the diverse Anglican Communion. The fact that Commission members can speak with one voice holds open the door of hope that our Church can, with prayer and dialogue persevere in seeking unity.

It is now incumbent upon us, the Canadian Church, as it is for all provinces of the Anglican Communion to study the document and its recommendations. In keeping with the nature of the Anglican Communion, each province is entitled to respond with its own voice and from its own cultural and theological context. We look forward to hearing responses from all Anglican provinces.

The bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada will receive a copy of the report today and it will be discussed at our next House of Bishops meeting in Saskatoon from November 1-4. As well the commission report will be on the agenda of the Council of General Synod when it meets at the end of November. The report will also be distributed to Dioceses across Canada for study and comment. We have set up a mechanism to receive feedback and will look forward to receiving comments from Anglicans and our ecumenical partners. I will be able to share these thoughts when I meet with the other Primates of the Anglican Communion in Belfast, Northern Ireland in February."

The Most Revd Andrew Hutchison
Archbishop and Primate, Anglican Church of Canada


- Statement on the Windsor Report from the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa

I want to begin by congratulating Archbishop Robin Eames and the members of the Lambeth Commission for producing such a comprehensive Report in such a short time, and in such testing circumstances.

This is a substantive Report which requires careful consideration. It provides the Anglican Communion with space for reflection, dialogue and reconciliation. I call on all parties involved to take that process seriously, so we can restore a deeper unity to our Communion, and continue, with increased concord and purpose, the mission of Christ's Church.

The Report does not discuss the detailed issues of homosexuality – and neither shall I. As was its mandate, it invites us to engage with wider issues of shared fellowship and how we handle disagreements and divisions within the Anglican Communion. That is what is at stake here. Regarding homosexuality, the Church of the Province of Southern Africa is committed to the loving pastoral care of all its members, including those who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation. We continue to require all unmarried clergy of whatever sexual orientation to be celibate, and we do not bless same-sex relationships. We are meanwhile continuing with the process of listening, pastoral care, reflection and monitoring, which the Lambeth Conference initiated.

It would be premature to offer detailed comment without first digesting the Report thoroughly. I also want to underline the importance of considering it as a whole, and not just to concentrate on the recommendations. On first reading, it seems to me that we have been given the rich gift of a deep theological and spiritual reflection on the nature of the common life of God's people, as members of the body of Christ, of the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, and of the Anglican Communion. There is so much here which can build up and nurture our common life - we have the chance to make this a 'win-win' opportunity. We must grasp this chance with both hands.

I am particularly struck by the emphasis that has been given to the delicate relationship we must sustain between autonomy and interdependence. As the Report says, 'Communion is, in fact, all about mutual relationship.'

The question of relationships between Christians who are different has been a challenge to much of my ministry. I am convinced that our understanding of the God in whose image we are made can offer fertile resources for considering unity and diversity.

Bearing the divine image, we are created for common life by the God who is three Persons and yet One. God is Trinity, this mysterious concept which is hard to define and yet available to our experience: the nurturing Creator, the redemptive Saviour, the life-giving Spirit. An enigmatic community of persons, distinct individuals and yet inseparable, united in the love that is at the heart of their being, for 'God is love.'

So God creates us, to be in loving community with one another; a community that reflects the revealed life of the Trinity. These three mystical persons, distinct yet complementary, are one in purpose. None of the three is superior, nor inferior, to the others; none acts independently of the others, but always with mutual awareness and in relation; none takes over another's particular role or characteristics or responsibilities; none acts at the expense of another. They are always open to one another, but never consumed or indistinct. Indeed, they show us what it is to enjoy freedom within a relationship of interdependence, a living example of the autonomy-in-communion, which the Report explores.

This must be our model. Can we live and work and order our world like this? Granting everyone equal status, equal opportunity? With give and take? Prepared to share together, equitably, honestly and vulnerably? Living reciprocally rather than hierarchically? Conscious of being bound in a single shared humanity, in which, if one suffers, all suffer?

The recommendations of the Report are a challenge to us. They confront us with what it means to take seriously the bonds of affection that constitute our commitment to each other. They demand tangible acknowledgment of the common life to which we are called in the body of Christ, with both its freedoms and its interdependence. We must see them as the living expression of our vocation of Communion which the Report explores so thoroughly.

This is the dynamic that breathes authentic life into the structures and governance of our Communion and the Provinces, Dioceses and Parishes in which it subsists. Our present form of corporate life has two thousand-year-old roots. The Anglican Communion itself has evolved over the centuries and we look back with heartfelt gratitude to the grace of God that has brought us to this place.

Where we see the need to renew our structures, such changes must carry with them their own legitimacy. For this we must consider them through the due synodical processes. As Anglicans we stand firm on the principle that bishops, clergy and people together share in governance. Legitimate change will come from the full engagement of parishes, diocesan synods, and then of Provincial Synods, Governing Bodies, and Conventions, in considering the Windsor Report, and all that flows from it.

The structures that we have, though not perfect, have been effective vehicles for the expression of the mission and ministry of the Church throughout the world. We must not lose sight of our calling to be ambassadors of reconciliation, heralds of God's compassion, ministers of his mercy in the realities of this broken world. We face issues of war and peace; the scourge of poverty; the blight of HIV/AIDS, of TB and malaria - the Anglican voice must continue to be raised, and with increasing unity and purpose.

As we engage with the Windsor Report, let us together heed Paul's warning to the Corinthians, 'I urge you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to have factions among yourselves, but all to be in agreement in what you profess, so that you may be perfectly united in your beliefs and judgments.' (1 Cor 1:10). We must hold fast to that which binds us together, realising that this alone has eternal significance. Dissension and factions, like selfish ambition, jealousy and discord, are the products of the sinful nature within us (Gal 5:20), that will be destroyed on the Day of the Lord (1 Cor 5:5). Let us therefore not waste our energies on things that are perishable, but fix our hopes on what is lasting and imperishable.

Our God promises to work for good in all circumstances, for those whom he loves and calls. Let us respond to his loving call by working with him so that he may bring a greater good out of the pain of our current circumstances.

The Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane
Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Church of the Province
of Southern Africa




The opinions and comments made by the Church leaders above do not necessarily represent the editorial views of Christian Today.