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ACNS 3450	     |		 THE PRIMATES MEETING	     |		 27
MAY 2003    

Pastoral Letter from the Primates of the Anglican Communion

The Primates of the Anglican Communion send this pastoral letter to all
bishops, clergy and people of our churches, with the desire that it be read
or distributed at public worship on the Feast of Pentecost, 2003. 

"I have called you friends." (John 15.15) 

United in Common Prayer and Witness 

To our sisters and brothers of the Anglican Communion: Greetings in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the joy of the Holy Spirit. 
We met as Primates of the Anglican Communion in Gramado, Southern Brazil from
19th to 26th May 2003, at the invitation of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do
Brasil, to bring before God our common life as the Anglican Communion and to
take counsel together on the life of our churches. Five Primates were unable
to be with us, and we prayed especially for the Archbishop and people of the
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, facing the difficulties of the SARS situation. 

We gathered first and foremost in a spirit of common prayer and worship,
listening for the voice of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures and
manifested in the lives of our communities. We give thanks to God for what
was shared among us - for the welcome of the Brazilian Church; for the music
and worship led by local Christians; for the Bible studies led by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams; for the theological reflections by
Dr Esther Mombo and Professor David Ford; and for the stories of witness and
Christian discipleship from across the Anglican Communion. 

In particular, we listened to stories of the growth of our churches in
mission, of the creation of new dioceses and provinces and of the fruits of
discipleship. They reflect the richness of our diversity across the globe,
and the abundant resources of the Gospel to address all people in all
situations. 

We heard accounts of how many people, including faithful Anglicans have faced
extreme situations of natural disaster, disease, the threat of terrorism,
social unrest, war and its aftermath. We were moved by stories of Christian
witness: 

- in Sudan, where the Episcopal Church faces the huge challenge of helping to
transform a culture of war to a culture of peace; 
- in other African nations, such as Burundi and the Congo, where despite war,
death and disease, the Anglican Church is courageously expanding its mission
in circumstances of deprivation and hardship; 
- in the Holy Land, where we are saddened by the unbroken chain of violence
but encouraged by some recent signs of progress towards a resolution of the
Israel-Palestine conflict; 
- in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the humanitarian crisis is in many ways
worse than before the recent conflicts, and where we see a need for greater
United Nations involvement in repairing the damage; 
- in some island states in the Pacific, where the Anglican Church is playing
a peacemaking role in conditions of great political instability and
corruption. 

We thank God for the courage and wisdom that he has given in these
situations, and affirm our solidarity with all who face alienation,
persecution or injustice. We are mindful of those who live out their
Christian faith as small minorities within their societies. 

We give thanks for our life together in the Anglican Communion, for the way
in which churches of the Communion support one another and, in particular,
for the contribution which the Episcopal Church (USA) continues to give to
many provinces across our Communion. We send our brotherly greetings to
George and Eileen Carey, with thanksgiving for all they achieved in their
ministry among us. 

We rejoice in the fellowship we share with other churches and denominations,
at the same time recognising that any true ecumenical endeavour has to be
built on the mutual recognition and respect which we must accord each other
as fellow members of the Body of Christ. 

Our Work Together 

We take to heart the words of Dr Esther Mombo, who urged us to "talk to each
other rather than about each other". We welcomed our brother in Christ, Rowan
Williams, to his first meeting with us as Archbishop of Canterbury. We
listened to him as he shared some of the priorities for his ministry. As
reflected in the agenda of our meeting, these are: 

- Theological education, which is facing different kinds of crisis in all
provinces; 
- The continuing engagement of our churches with HIV/AIDS; 
- The nature of communion itself and, in particular, how we might be drawn
together and renewed in an Anglican Gathering. 

Theological Education 

It is our conviction that all Anglican Christians should be theologically
alert and sensitive to the call of God. We should all be thoughtful and
prayerful in reading and hearing the Holy Scriptures, both in the light of
the past and with an awareness of present and future needs. 

We discussed what basic standards of theological education should be provided
for and expected from all members of the Church. All regions face major
challenges in this area, particularly in the provision of resources in
non-English speaking provinces, and we considered how these should be met. 

We recognise that there is a distinctive Anglican approach to theological
study. This is reflected not only in the way our worship and liturgical life
express our belief, and in our attention to Scripture read in the light of
tradition, but also in our respect for exploration and experiment. 

Theological education in the Anglican Communion honours each local context
and, at the same time, calls us together into communion and mutual
accountability. Therefore, though we wish to develop common standards of
theological education worldwide, we value the uniqueness of the work of the
Holy Spirit in each place. 

Supportive of the Archbishop of Canterbury and, with him, convinced of this
need, we affirm and encourage the work of the Anglican Communion Task Group
on Theological Education. 
HIV/AIDS 

We pondered the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on our lives and in our
communities and provinces as we shared our experiences and sorrows. HIV tears
at the very fabric of our nations and homes. We admitted that the "Body of
Christ has AIDS". 

Adhering to the teachings of the Church, we determined to engage more deeply
in challenging cultures and traditions which stifle the humanity of women and
deprive them of equal rights. We agreed that our greatest challenge is to
nurture and equip our children to protect themselves from HIV, so that we can
fulfill the vision of building a generation without AIDS. 

AIDS is not a punishment from God, for God does not visit disease and death
upon his people: it is rather an effect of fallen creation and our broken
humanity. We were reminded at our meeting that Christ calls us into community
as friends so that we might befriend others in his name. In that spirit, we
resolved to build on what has already been achieved and to re-commit our
efforts, prayers and support for all who are living with, and dying from, the
effects of HIV/AIDS.  

Our Shared Communion in Christ 

As Primates, we believe that the 38 provinces and united churches in the
Anglican Communion are irrevocably called into a special relationship of
fellowship with one another. We thank God for our common inheritance of
faith, worship and discipleship - an inheritance which has sustained our
journey as one Christian family, and in which we have been united in our
proclamation of the Gospel.  

We recognise that all churches, and not just Anglicans, face challenges in
applying the Gospel to their specific situations and societies. These
challenges raise questions for our traditional teaching and understanding -
questions which require of the Church a careful process of thought and
discussion in order to discover a way forward that is true to our inheritance
of faith in Christ and to our duty as Christians to care for all people. 

Recalling the Virginia Report's exhortation that we should strive for "the
highest degree of communion possible with tolerance for deeply held
differences of conviction and practice" (Report of the Inter-Anglican
Theological and Doctrinal Commission, 1997, chapter 1), we are committed as
Primates: 
- to the recognition that in each province there is a sincere desire to be
faithful disciples of Christ and of God's Word, in seeking to understand how
the Gospel is to be applied in our generation; 
- to respect the integrity of each other's provinces and dioceses,
acknowledging the responsibility of Christian leaders to attend to the
pastoral needs of minorities in their care; 
- to work and pray that the communion between our churches is sustained and
deepened; and to seek from God "a right judgement in all things" (Collect of
Pentecost). 

Human Sexuality 

We take seriously the duty laid upon us by the Lambeth Conference 1998 to
monitor ongoing discussion of this matter and encourage continued study and
reflection in the context of common prayer and worship. We are grateful to
the Archbishop of the West Indies, Drexel Gomez, for taking forward our
discussion on matters of sexuality by introducing the booklet "True Union in
the Body?", which fruitfully illuminated our study. We are also grateful to
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold for drawing our attention to the Report of
the Theology Committee of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church (USA)
on this issue. We commend the study of both documents. 

The question of public rites for the blessing of same sex unions is still a
cause of potentially divisive controversy. The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke
for us all when he said that it is through liturgy that we express what we
believe, and that there is no theological consensus about same sex unions.
Therefore, we as a body cannot support the authorisation of such rites. 

This is distinct from the duty of pastoral care that is laid upon all
Christians to respond with love and understanding to people of all sexual
orientations. As recognised in the booklet "True Union", it is necessary to
maintain a breadth of private response to situations of individual pastoral
care. 

Anglican Gathering 

We discussed the proposal for an Anglican Gathering of lay and ordained
people, drawn from all parts of our Communion, which could be held in
association with the next Lambeth Conference. 

There would be significant financial costs, but we firmly believe that such
an event would offer the Communion an important opportunity to renew its
life, witness and mission together. The Archbishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu
Ndungane, has offered to welcome a Gathering and the Lambeth Conference in
Cape Town , which has the facilities for such events. We encouraged the
Archbishop of Canterbury to move ahead with planning for the Gathering in
2008. This would be an occasion for celebration, learning and the deepening
of our communion.  

Invitation to Prayer 

Having been renewed in the fellowship of our meeting, we invite Anglicans
everywhere to pray with us. In his Bible studies, the Archbishop of
Canterbury spoke of the joy we have as friends of God in Christ. "Jesus' joy
is given to us", he said, "so that we might become nourishing to one another,
nurturing and feeding one another in the Body of Christ." It is this vision
of the rich blessings to be found in the fellowship of Christ's Body that
inspires us.  

Give thanks to God for the vibrant life of the Brazilian Church; for the
diversity of the Anglican Communion, with its 75 million Christians,
witnessing in 164 countries in a thousand languages; and for the faithful and
courageous witness of Anglicans as they seek to bring God's love into
situations of hardship, danger and despair. Pray that, by the power of the
Holy Spirit, the Anglican Communion may everywhere be a faithful witness to
what God has done in Christ, and to the abundant fullness of life to which he
calls us. 

The fire of love which binds together the Father and the Son be shed abroad
in our hearts by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and renew us in our lives
and in our discipleship; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.

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