PRIMATES CALL FOR CANADA’S EXPULSION IN GAY CRISIS

By Jonathan Petre and Jonathan Wynne-Jones

The Telegraph — June 7, 2004

Conservative archbishops representing more than half of the global Anglican Communion called for the expulsion of the Canadian Church after it described same-sex relationships as possessing “integrity and sanctity.”

The move dealt a significant blow to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, as traditionalist leaders sharply criticized the Canadian General Synod’s language affirming same-sex unions.

They argued that Canada should face the same consequences as the Episcopal Church in the United States, which had approved the consecration of the first openly gay Anglican bishop.

The intervention has complicated efforts to preserve unity within the Communion. Although the synod delayed a formal vote on blessings, a last-minute amendment referencing the “sanctity” of such relationships angered conservative leaders.

Global South primates said the term effectively placed same-sex unions on the same theological footing as marriage and pre-empted wider doctrinal debate.

In a joint statement, several primates warned that such language “rewrites the Christian faith” and could deepen divisions within the worldwide Church.

Church leaders acknowledged that the controversy may destabilize the Lambeth Commission’s work and could ultimately lead to a formal split within Anglicanism.

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