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ACNS3444 Archbishop of Canterbury arrives in Brazil; Anglican


From "Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>
Date Tue, 20 May 2003 17:03:28 +0100

ACNS 3444		THE PRIMATES MEETING		20 MAY2003	
Archbishop of Canterbury arrives in Brazil; Anglican leaders meet in Gramado
The chief archbishops of the Anglican Communion have arrived in Southern
Brazil for their regular 'Primates Meeting', hosted by the Anglican Episcopal
Church of Brasil. This is Archbishop Rowan Williams' first meeting as
Archbishop of Canterbury, but he is no stranger to the Primates. He has
attended the last three meetings as Archbishop of Wales.
Other Archbishops of Canterbury have paid pastoral visits to Brazil, the
first was the visit of Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1974, then Archbishop
Robert Runcie in 1990 and Archbishop Carey in 1999. This is, however, the
first time the Primates as a group will be in Brazil and they have come in
particular to honour the retiring Primate, the Most Revd Glauco Soares di
Lima.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the 70 million
Anglicans worldwide, as well as Primate of All England and Bishop of the
Diocese of Canterbury. He is president of the Anglican Consultative Council
and is seen as 'first among equals' in the college of Primates. He also hosts
the Lambeth Conference, the last of which was held in 1998.
The Primates Meetings are always private. They are centred in prayer, study
and Eucharist. Each primate brings to the table of discussion concerns in his
province or beyond. Items identified to the Secretary General of the Anglican
Communion in preparation for the time table include: AIDS initiatives in
Africa, a document commissioned by the Primate of the West Indies on same-sex
blessings, and theological education needs in various places.
The bishop of the Southern Diocese, the Rt Revd Orlando Santos de Oliveira,
was on hand to welcome Archbishop Williams and the other primates as they
arrived in Brazil. He said, "On behalf of the clergy and the people of our
diocese, I welcome warmly the participants for this first-ever Primates
Meeting in a Latin American country. It is very important for our Diocese,
the oldest one, to host such a gathering. It was a special honour to me to be
asked to assist with the chaplain for the coming week."
The Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil is one of the 38 Provinces of the
Anglican Communion, and its work began in 1890 as a result of the missionary
work of two north American missionaries in Porto Alegre: James Watson Morris
and Lucien Lee Kinsolving. Its autonomy was established, with the blessing of
the Episcopal Church of Unites States in 1965. With more than 100,000
baptised members and a team of more than two hundred clergy, among those 30
female priests, the Episcopal Church has today established communities and
educational and social institutions in the main urban areas of Brazil. Today
the Brazilian Province is composed by seven dioceses: Southern, Southwestern,
Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Recife, Brasmlia and Pelotas; and two missionary
districts: Amazon and West.
The meeting continues until the 25th.
A Communications Office is located on site:
Contact: James Rosenthal, Mobile +44 7803 894751 (UK based number)
Local Diocesan Communications Officer: Claudio Oliveira
Portuguese Version: 
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/34/25/acns3444po.html
Photo available:
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/images/acns/3400/3444primates.jpg

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