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ACNS 1883 · 17 September 1999 · Dundee [ACC-11/17]
The Virginia Report
Unity in Diversity?
The calling of the Church is "to live the end time in the mean time, to be a
coming attraction." stated Bishop Mark Dyer is his theological introduction
to the far-reaching and influential report on Anglican identity and
authority known as" The Virginia Report." Bishop Dyer, from the Episcopal
Church, USA and a key player in the drafting of the report, led the 11th
meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Dundee Scotland through a
three session review and discussion of the report.
The first session on Wednesday afternoon 16 September, was dedicated to "The
Four Instruments of Unity" within Anglicanism. Tracing the history of the
office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Dyer said that the Archbishop
of Canterbury represented the Church's continuity with Christ over time. He
emphasised, however, that "the Archbishop's task is not to command but to
gather; to gather the Communion in service and caring and never coercive
power." Quoting from conference resolutions, Bishop Dyer stressed that the
second instrument of unity, the Lambeth Conference of Bishops is primarily
about common fellowship and was never "contemplated as a general synod of
all Churches in full communion with the Church of England . . . to enact
canons that should be binding upon those represented." The Anglican
Consultative Council was held up as the third instrument whose role "is to
establish a communion of mutual attentiveness, interdependence and
accountability to serve the . . . mission of the Anglican Communion." The
forth and final instrument is the Primates Meeting that gathers for "debate
and discussion of personal and Provincial matters in the context of
Eucharist, prayer, and study." Bishop Dyer concluded the first presentation
with a review of the Communion's wrestling with the ordination of women to
the episcopate as an example of how the four instruments served to bolster
unity in diversity."
The second two sessions were dedicated to an exposition by Bishop Dyer of
the theological underpinnings behind the Virginia Report, each session
ending with discussion by the ACC delegates . Bishop Dyer stressed that "our
unity with one another is grounded in the life of love, unity and community
of the Godhead. The eternal, mutual self-giving and receiving love of the
three persons of the Trinity is the source and ground of our communion, of
our fellowship with God and with one another. Through the power of the Holy
Spirit, we are drawn into a divine fellowship of love and unity." The Church
from its inception is called to be a sign of that unity that is at the heart
of a Trinitarian God; the unity of all things that will be revealed at the
end of time.
The three sessions, two more sessions than any other topic before the
Council, were designed to lead the members of ACC in helping their "primates
to initiate and explain" the report to their Provinces. Embodying his Irish
ancestry, Bishop Dyer's delivered his presentations with a rye sense of
humour and sprinkled liberally with heart-warming stories.
At the conclusion of the afternoon of 17 September, the Most Revd George
Carey presented Bishop Dyer with the distinguished Silver Cross of St.
Augustine "in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Anglican
Communion over many years, especially in the field of theological and
doctrinal reflection and in promoting ecumenical dialogue.
Communications Team
ACC-11
In Douglas, Margaret Rodgers, Jim Rosenthal, Manasseh Zindo