wfn.org | Presiding bishop's letter "for all bishops" regarding AMiA consecrations

[ENS@ecunet.org]

2001-154

June 19, 2001

For all bishops

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

As you have perhaps heard, the Archbishops of Rwanda and South East Asia propose 
to hold consecrations on Sunday, June 24 of four priests who would serve in the United 
States as part of a group called the Anglican Mission in America. The Archbishop of 
Canterbury has made public a letter he has written to Archbishops Emmanuel Kolini 
and Yong Ping Chung about this matter. I am sending to you a copy of his letter. In it 
he expresses his concerns for the strengthening of the Anglican Communion and takes 
a very clear and strong stand in opposition to the proposed ordinations. Such an action, 
as the Archbishop makes plain, involves far more than the Episcopal Church in the 
United States, and indeed, could have drastic implications for the life of the Anglican 
Communion. I am fully in agreement with the Archbishop's perspectives, and grateful for 
his leadership. 

I am also sending for your information a letter I have just sent to the primates.
Let me note here my sense of how important it is always to keep ourselves rooted 
and grounded in Christ in whom all things find their unity and coherence even when, 
at any given moment, that coherence may be difficult to discern. It is so easy for us 
in the midst of complex and difficult situations to allow a disproportionate amount of 
our energies to be caught up in the problem at hand when in fact there are other, larger 
and counter-balancing dimensions of reality that need to be kept in mind.

This comes with gratitude for the communion we share, and always with my 
prayers and affection. 

Yours ever in Christ,
[+Frank]
Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate