BBC says, " Conservative Anglican leaders have opened talks in Jerusalem on the future of the Church with criticism of its leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Archbishops of Nigeria and Uganda attacked his failure to discipline the US Episcopal Church for consecrating an openly gay bishop in 2003.
The 300 bishops are meeting to discuss the future of the worldwide Anglican Communion, amid fears of a split.
Many of them say liberals are rewriting the Bible to fit modern trends.
"The Communion is in a state of brokenness," said Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola at the opening of the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), which brings together conservative Anglican leaders, many from developing countries.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggot, who is at the conference, says the talks are in effect a rival to next month's Lambeth Conference - a 10-yearly gathering of Anglican bishops from all over the world.
Many attending the Jerusalem talks have threatened to boycott the July meeting.
Our correspondent says the Gafcon delegates are also drawing up what amounts to a blueprint for an alternative Anglican Communion.
The traditionalist meeting is a clear signal to other Anglicans of their willingness to give up their links with Canterbury if that is what it takes to return to what they consider to be the Biblical values of the first Christians, he adds.
"We want unity... but not at the cost of re-writing the Bible to accommodate the latest cultural trend," a booklet issued by the conference's organisers said.
However, Archbishop Akinola stopped short of saying a schism in the 77-million-strong Communion was imminent.
Our correspondent says the conservatives are angered not only by the US Episcopal Church's stance on homosexual priests, but also by the leadership of the Communion's failure to discipline the US faction.
Archbishop Henri Orombi of Uganda was among those who called on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to take a stronger stance.
"We have been on fire for quite a while, and he just cannot leave us burning and delay. At what time will you salvage us?" he asked.
"Supposing another part of the communion begins to do something which is contrary to the word of God, how is it going to stand up and say no to that? That's my challenge."
The traditionalist lobby at work in Jerusalem cannot be ignored.
The centre of gravity in the Communion has shifted steadily south as Anglican churches in developing countries have grown, and those in the developed world have shrunk.
Even if they retain a sentimental attachment to the Communion, African and Asian church leaders are not inclined to adopt what they see as changes in theology imposed by the former colonial churches that first brought them the Bible.""
Amen. I hear it rumoured that Cantuar may stand down. It is all to much for a liberal whose hear is with the homosexualists but whose head knows his task is maintaining the union of episcopal communion world wide. If Williams goes I think Sentanmu the likely candidate. After all, Downing Street may think who better to sort out the problem than an African?
Monday, June 23, 2008
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