THE ONCE AND FUTURE ANGLICAN COMMUNION COVENANT PROJECT

From The Living Church-

A significant, if not somewhat controversial, psychological tool was developed by the Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach in 1921. The Rorschach Test records and analyses a patient’s perceptions of a series of inkblots. Psychologists use this test to examine personality characteristics and emotional functioning.

Quite a lot of ink was used to prepare the Anglican Communion Covenant, which has also proved to be somewhat controversial. The more I travel and gather Anglican perceptions of the Covenant, the more I am convinced that, like the Rorschach test, it functions like a tool that reflects a variety of ecclesiological characteristics around the Anglican Communion. I come to wonder whether the various reactions to the Covenant perhaps are, perhaps, more instructive about the state of the Communion than the document itself!

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/06/07/the-once-and-future-anglican-communion-covenant-project/

Diagnosis of a Stalled Covenant

Book Review from The Living Church-

The Anglican Covenant already binds together one fifth of the Anglican churches, making explicit the basis of their unity and the nature of the common life to which they are committed. But sadly, it has been unable to escape from the context that gave rise to it — the crisis sparked in 2003 when a divorcé in an avowedly sexual same-sex relationship was consecrated to the episcopate despite the primates’ warning that this would put “the future of the Communion itself … in jeopardy.”

Several essays in this important volume point to the mismanagement of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, and subsequent failure to implement its resolutions, as significant contributory causes of the crisis. As Andrew Goddard shows, the Covenant reflects the growth of inter-Anglican structures and responds to needs recognized in the 1980s and ’90s: to identify the limits of acceptable teaching and practice, formulate an expression of shared faith, and balance what the 1908 Conference had called “the just freedom of [the Communion’s] several parts” and “the just claims of the whole Communion upon its every part.” Lambeth 1998 failed to give sufficient consideration and weight to the Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission’s Virginia Report, which addressed these deficits. It also failed to draw on Rowan Williams’s keynote address on “making moral decisions” (outlining themes later developed in his study of Dostoevsky — which, Nathan Humphrey suggests, illuminates Williams’s support for the Covenant). Its botched discussion of homosexuality might also have been mentioned.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/diagnosis-stalled-covenant

Scots reject Anglican Covenant by 112 to 6 votes

From The Church Times-

THE Scottish Episcopal Church has become the first member of the Anglican Communion to reject the Anglican Covenant at the level of a General Synod. Last Friday, the Synod voted against the adoption of the Covenant by 112 votes to 6, with 13 abstentions.

The Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway, Dr Gregor Duncan, referred to the indaba discussions that had taken place at diocesan synods since the General Synod last year, and suggested that the Church was “as well-informed and prepared to decide as we could possibly be”. Although it was “pointless to deny that since Synod last met the context had changed” — the Covenant had been rejected by more than half of the diocesan synods in the Church of England — it was important that the Scottish Episcopal Church “make our own decision for our own reasons”.

The Revd Professor David Atkinson (Aberdeen & Orkney) suggested that it was possible to reject the Covenant for “positive reasons”. “I will be voting against the motion, not for a negative reason, but because I believe, without being in it, that we will have far more freedom to develop our mission for Scotland.”

Jim Gibson (Glasgow & Galloway) spoke in favour of the Covenant, arguing that it was neces­sary to regard it “from a worldwide perspective”. He warned that “if we don’t adopt it, we run the risk of being seen to be selfish and unhelp­ful,” both to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who “has worked very hard at a lot of personal cost to try and find some way of working together and getting the Com­munion together”, and also to “our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who, in a time of political and economic uncertainty and difficulty and strife, are looking closely at the lead the Church in Britain is going to give”.


More here-


http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=129960

Scottish Episcopal Church says No to ‘gay marriage’ agreement

From Scotland- (The headline is a little misleading. They rejected the covenant)

THE Scottish Episcopal Church has rejected an agreement backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury that could have seen sanctions imposed on them if they diverged from the Anglican Communion’s rulings on issues such as the ordination of gay bishops and same-sex unions.

The church’s General Synod, currently meeting in Edinburgh, overwhelmingly rejected the covenant, stating that it threatened its independence and went against the spirit of the communion.

It had been asked to sign up to the Anglican Covenant, an agreement intended to bring unity to the worldwide communion by introducing a measure of discipline and accountability into relationships between its 38 independent churches.

It would set up a Standing Committee of the Communion, which would consider whether controversial issues were compatible with Anglican teaching. Those signed up to it would be expected to abide by the Standing Committee’s decisions or face disciplinary sanctions.

The concept grew out of fears that disagreements over the gay issue between different provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion would lead to irreconcilable divisions within it. The issues centred on the appointment of bhttp://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/scottish-episcopal-church-says-no-to-gay-marriage-agreement-1-2346663ishops in non-celibate gay relationships, and the blessing of same-sex unions, in Anglican churches in the US and Canada. Members of the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Synod yesterday criticised the covenant as unnecessary and unwanted.

More here-

http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/scottish-episcopal-church-says-no-to-gay-marriage-agreement-1-2346663 

Also here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/6/8/ACNS5117

No deadline for adoption of Covenant

From The Church Times-

NO TIMESCALE is to be put on the adoption of the Anglican Covenant, the Standing Committee of the An­gli­can Communion (SCAC) agreed last week.

The Covenant was discussed on the first of the three days of the committee’s talks — attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury and elected members of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ standing committee.

A statement released afterwards said: “The Standing Committee re­ceived an update on the progress of the Anglican Communion Covenant. It was noted that eight provinces had endorsed the covenant to date, in some cases with a degree of qualifica­tion. They were the only responses received so far by the secretary general.”

The Church of England, which rejected the Covenant when a majori­ty of dioceses voted against it in March, was not included in the responses received, suggesting that no formal response has yet been submit­ted to the Anglican Communion office.

The statement continued: “There was general agreement that no time­frame should yet be introduced for the process of adoption of the covenant by provinces. The Standing Committee will return to this question following Anglican Consultative Council-15 (ACC-15).”

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=129648

Canada: What would happen if we say ‘no’ to the Anglican Covenant?

From ENS-

The Anglican Church of Canada needs more clarity around what the “relational consequences” would be for not adopting the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant.

This is one of the key messages that Council of General Synod (CoGS) members said the church must convey when the 15th Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meets in New Zealand Oct. 27-Nov. 7.
All member provinces of the Anglican Communion have been asked to report on progress made in response to the covenant, which has been recommended as a way of healing divisions triggered by debates over the issue of sexuality.

At their spring meeting May 24-27, CoGS members were asked to weigh in on what the report should contain. Bishops were asked for input at their spring meeting, noted Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/05/30/what-would-happen-if-we-say-no-to-the-anglican-covenant/

Relationships not punitive measures are the way forward for Anglicans

From Ekklesia-

Better relationships rather than punitive legislation are the way forward for churches, a leading opponent of the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant says.

The comments from No Anglican Covenant Coalition Moderator, the Rev Dr Lesley Crawley, were issued after the defeat of the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant in the Church of England.

“With [last week's] results from the dioceses of Oxford and Lincoln, the proposed Anglican Covenant is now dead in the water in the Church of England. This also poses serious problems for the Covenant in other Provinces as it seems nonsensical to have the Archbishop of Canterbury in the second tier of the Anglican Communion and excluded from the central committees," she declared

Ms Crawley continued: “When we launched the No Anglican Covenant Coalition 18 months ago, we were assured that the Anglican Covenant was an unstoppable juggernaut. We started as simply a band of bloggers, but we would like to thank the hundreds of supporters and our patrons for their dedication to promoting debate. The Covenant needed the approval of 23 diocesan synods, as of today, that result is no longer possible.

“Especially we would like to congratulate people in Diocesan Synods across the Church of England who, despite attempts in many dioceses to silence or marginalise dissenting voices, endeavoured to promote debate, ensuring that the Anglican Covenant was subjected to significant and meaningful scrutiny. We found, as the debate went on, that the more people read and studied the Covenant, the less they liked it.

More here-

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16489

Church of England rejects 'covenant' to unite Anglicans

From Christian Post-

First proposed in 2004 amid the controversy surrounding some member churches' acceptance of homosexuality and female clergy, the covenant laid a process to deal with any church seen as possibly disrupting the unity of the 77 million member Anglican Communion.

Championed by outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, the covenant was declared defeated after the 23 nay votes had been cast out of the 44 Dioceses of the Church of England.

Howard Dobson, media officer for the Church of England Council of the Archbishop, told The Christian Post that the vote has a wide-reaching effect on the attempted "unity covenant."

"The Covenant is clearly now not going to receive the support of the majority of synods and as a result the General Synod will not be able to give it final approval once the diocesan reference process is complete," said Dobson.

"The Synod will need to debate the diocesan results either in July or February and that will provide an opportunity for reflection on the implications, not least in the context of the progress of consideration of the Covenant elsewhere in the Communion."

Dobson believes that "it is too early at the moment to offer views on what the diocesan decision means. This is something for further discussion both within the [Church of England] and within the Communion itself."

More here-

http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/church-of-england-rejects-covenant-to-unite-anglicans/7187.htm

Challenges remain, Primate warns, after dioceses block Anglican Covenant

From The Church Times-

THE Archbishop of Canterbury warned this week that challenges in the Anglican Communion “will not go away”. Dr Williams was speaking after a majority of diocesan synods rejected the Anglican Covenant.

Last weekend, three more diocesan synods — Lincoln, Oxford, and Guildford — voted against the Covenant. Three others — Black­burn, Exeter, and Peterborough — endorsed it. This brought the total number of diocesan synods in favour of the Covenant to 15, and the total number against to 23.

Since a majority of dioceses have voted against, it will not return to the General Synod during this quin­quennium (2011-15).

Speaking on Monday, Dr Williams said: “This is, of course, a disap­pointing outcome for many of us in the Church of England and many more in the Communion. Unfor­tunately, the challenges the Covenant was meant to address will not go away just because people vote against it.

"We shall still have to work at vehicles for consultation and manag­ing disagreement. And nothing should lessen the priority of sus­taining relationships, especially with some of those smaller and vulner­able Churches for whom strong international links are so crucial.”

The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, a patron of the Yes to the Covenant Coalition, said on Tuesday that he was “disappointed”; but “we have to trust the mind of the Church. I simply hope that the Anglican Communion can flourish a different way, without what I thought was its best hope.”

The Bishop of Buckingham, Dr Alan Wilson, who voted against the Covenant in Oxford diocesan synod, said that its defeat in the C of E was an “opportunity to grow up, to take stock, and to get real. It’s very sad that a large number of bishops were out of touch on this one.”

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=126322

'Covenant' to bind Anglicans appears dead

From Christian Century-

With the Anglican Covenant aimed at ensuring its unity now apparently in ashes and the archbishop of Canterbury who backed it on his way out, the 77 million-strong Anglican Communion faces an uncertain future and the danger of fragmentation.

The covenant, born of an idea in 2004 to try to retain the Christian alliance's union, now appears buried in the decision of its mother church, the Church of England, by a majority "no" vote in its 44 dioceses to ditch it.

With results still being counted, Covenant supporters effectively lost their battle when the Diocese of Lincoln cast the 23rd vote against it last week.

The Lincoln vote meant that more than half of the Churcn of England dioceses had turned thumbs down on the Anglican Covenant, which apparently also means it will not go back to the General Synod for reconsideration, diocese officials said.

Reaction was swift. "The covenant is either buried or disabled," said Simon Barrow, co-director of the religious think tank Ekklesia, in the aftermath of the decision.

Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the history of the Church at Oxford University, said: "It seems to me the scheme is dead in the water throughout the Anglican Communion. "There really would be no point in other provinces signing up to it, since already some are most reluctant to do so."

The Anglican Covenant had been billed widely as a way to heal the growing splits in the Anglican Church over a range of issues that center on same-sex unions and homosexual bishops.

One of its firmest supporters was Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who backed the covenant's call to members of the Anglican Communion to guard against acting in a fashion that could antagonize Anglicans in other countries.

More here-

http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-03/covenant-unite-anglicans-appears-dead

Church of England rejects covenant aimed at preventing global Anglican schism

From Canada-

Something very significant in the history of the Church of England happened on Saturday. An absolute majority of dioceses in the Church of England, debating diocese by diocese, voted down a pernicious scheme called the Anglican Covenant. This was an effort to increase the power of centralising bureaucracy throughout the worldwide Anglican communion. However much the promoters denied it, the principal aim was to discipline Anglican churches in the United States and Canada, which had the gall to think for themselves and, after much prayer and discussion, to treat gay people just like anybody else.

Diocesan synods voted against the covenant, often in the face of great pressure from the vast majority of English bishops, who frequently made sure that the case for the covenant dominated proceedings. The bishops also exerted a certain amount of emotional blackmail, suggesting that if the scheme didn’t pass, it would be very upsetting for the archbishop of Canterbury (cue for synod members to watch a podcast from said archbishop, looking sad even while commending the covenant).

Well, it didn’t work, and now those particular bishops need to consider their position, as the saying goes. Principally, they need to consider a killer statistic: as the voting has taken place in the dioceses (and there are still a few to go), the pattern has been consistent. Around 80% of the bishops have voted in favour of the covenant, but the clergy and laity votes have split around 50-50 for and against, with votes against nudging ahead among the clergy. That suggests an episcopate that is seriously out of touch, not just with the nation as a whole (we knew that already), but even with faithful Anglican churchgoers and clergy in England.

More here-

http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/03/27/church-of-england-rejects-covenant-aimed-at-preventing-global-anglican-schism/

‘Covenant’ to bind Anglican Communion appears dead

From The Washington Post-

A proposed “Covenant” aimed at ensuring unity across the worldwide Anglican Communion appears to have failed, leaving the world’s third-largest Christian body facing an uncertain and likely fragmented future.

The covenant, born of an idea in 2004 to try to set boundaries in belief and practice for the Communion’s 40 members churches, appears dead after a majority of dioceses within the Church of England voted to reject it.

With results still being counted, supporters of the Covenant effectively lost their battle within the Church of England when the Diocese of Lincoln cast the 23rd vote against it last week.

“The covenant is either buried or disabled,” said Simon Barrow, co-director of the independent British think tank Ekklesia, in the aftermath of the decision.

Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of church history at Oxford University, chimed in: “It seems to me the scheme is dead in the water throughout the Anglican Communion. There really would be no point in other provinces signing up to it, since already some are most reluctant to do so.”

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/covenant-to-bind-anglican-communion-appears-dead/2012/03/27/gIQAekGoeS_story.html

ENGLAND: Anglican Covenant defeated in majority of dioceses

From ENS-

A majority of dioceses in the Church of England have voted down the proposed Anglican Covenant, a set of principles intended to bind the Anglican Communion provinces despite theological differences and cultural disputes.

The six diocesan synods meeting and voting on the covenant this past weekend brought the current figures to 23 against and 15 in favor, out of a total of 44 dioceses throughout the Church of England. The church’s General Synod, in November 2010, voted in favor of continuing the process towards adopting the Anglican Covenant and asked the church’s dioceses for their input.
Following the recent news, the Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, issued a statement “to clarify the current situation across the Anglican Communion,” he said, noting that seven out of 38 provinces have “approved, or subscribed” to the covenant, with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa having adopted the document pending ratification at its next synod meeting later this year.

The seven provinces, Kearon said, are the Anglican churches of Ireland, Mexico, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, South East Asia, Southern Cone of America, and the West Indies.
Meanwhile, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines bishops have formally rejected the covenant and Maori action in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia last November means that it will be voted down when it comes before the province’s General Synod in July 2012.

In the U.S.-based Episcopal Church, the Executive Council agreed at its October 2011 meeting to submit a resolution to General Convention that would have it state that the church is “unable to adopt the Anglican Covenant in its present form.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/03/26/england-anglican-covenant-defeated-in-majority-of-dioceses/

Scotland and the Anglican Communion Covenant

From Scotland-

The immediate future of the Anglican Communion Covenant is now uncertain. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, hoped that by setting down some simple rules for the worldwide Anglican Communion he might prevent it breaking up.

Each of the forty-four Provinces, spread across one hundred and sixty five countries and more than eighty million people, were requested in December 2009 ‘to consider it for adoption according to their own internal procedures’.

Although the Scottish Episcopal Church has roots that are different, nearly all the Communion owes its origins to the Church of England and so the outcome of its internal procedures, as the Mother Church, carries great significance.

The Church of England’s General Synod accepted the Covenant and sent it to each of its forty-four dioceses for a decision - an unusual procedure in England more familiar to the Church of Scotland and its presbyteries. Only if a majority of the dioceses agreed to the Covent would it come back to the General Synod.

One by one Diocesan Synods have been meeting across England and now about three quarters have made their decision. By this past week some twenty-three have turned it down. And that’s more than half. General Synod rules say that without a majority the matter cannot return to the Synod during its lifetime. Synods last five years and this one expires in 2015.

The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Province of the Anglican Communion. So what is the Scottish Episcopal General Synod to do when it meets in June?

More here-

http://www.edinburghguide.com/news/spirituality/10172-scotlandandtheanglicancommunioncovenant

Archbishop Fights for Covenant

Video from the Living Church-

Quoting from a transcript available on the Archbishop of Canterbury's website:

[O]ne of the greatest misunderstandings around concerning the Covenant is that it’s some sort of centralising proposal creating an absolute authority which has the right to punish people for stepping out of line. I have to say I think this is completely misleading and false.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/archbishop-fights-for-covenant

Covenant tastes defeat in diocesan voting

From England-

ALMOST a quarter of C of E dioceses have now voted against the Anglican Covenant.

It was debated last weekend by the diocesan synods of Leicester, Portsmouth, Salisbury, and Rochester, and rejected by all of them — in some cases, despite impassioned pleas from bishops.

Just five of 15 English dioceses have so far approved the Covenant, which must be debated by diocesan synods by the end of March.

Approval by 23 diocesan synods is required for the Covenant to return to the General Synod.

Rejection by 22 dioceses would effectively derail approval of the Covenant by the Church of England.

In Salisbury, the Bishop of Sher­borne, Dr Graham Kings, had urged the diocesan-synod members to back the Covenant. “I believe that, like the Declaration of Assent, the Anglican Communion Covenant is a text of breadth and concord. Our vote today concerns unity. A vote against the Covenant is a vote to do nothing. I do not believe it is helpful or Anglican to imply: ‘Let’s leave things as they are — we are divided; so let’s stay divided’,” Dr Kings said.

His pleas were unsuccessful, how­ever, and the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Nick Holtam, joined mem­bers voting against it.

http://churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=124842

Covenant Videos on YouTube

From The Living Church-

Members of the Anglican Communion with Internet access can now watch three videos produced by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order (IASCUFO) in which its members speak about the Covenant.

In one, members from Provinces including England, the West Indies, Central Africa and Southern Africa explain why they consider the Covenant important for the Communion.

In another the Rt. Rev. Kumara Ilangasinghe, recently retired Bishop of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, shares his thoughts on the value of accountability.

In the third, members share their thoughts about the sections of the Covenant.

They were filmed by Simon Oliver, a member of IASCUFO who teaches at the University of Nottingham. A subgroup of the commission, which is overseeing the reception process for the Anglican Communion Covenant, decided to make them when the commission was meeting in Seoul, Korea, in December. They wanted to present the Covenant using the members of the commission as they come from such a diverse range of people from around the Communion.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/covenant-videos-youtube

No alternative to the Covenant: Dr Williams’s Advent message

From The Church Times-

THE Archbishop of Canterbury, in his Advent letter to Anglican Primates, published on Wednesday, has commended the Anglican Covenant — “as strongly as I can”.

Dr Williams acknowledges that the Anglican Communion “still lives with numerous tensions”. He says that, despite some Primates’ feeling “unable in conscience to attend the Primates’ Meeting in Dublin earlier this year” (News, 28 January), it produced “a number of strong statements” and “a carefully considered statement on what those present believed was the proper role of a Primates’ gathering”. It was clear from the discussions, he writes, “that the position and powers of the Primate were very different in different Provinces.

“These differences affect opinions over the sort of powers a Primates’ Meeting could and should have. They still need more careful and dispassionate discussion, and a sustained willingness on the part of all Provinces to understand the different ways in which each local part of the Anglican family organises its life.”

Dr Williams said that how and when decisions were made about the Covenant “vary a lot from province to province. We hope to see a full report of progress at next year’s Anglican Consultative Council meeting.”

Dr Williams then launched a strongly-worded defence of the Covenant: “In spite of many assurances, some Anglicans evidently still think that the Covenant changes the structure of our Communion or that it gives some sort of absolute power of ‘excommunication’ to some undemocratic or unrepresentative body.

“With all respect to those who have raised these concerns, I must repeat that I do not see the Covenant in this light at all.

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=121527

Maori reject Anglican covenant

From New Zealand-

A proposed Anglican Communion covenant that might have been used to discipline churches which ordain gay bishops and priests has been rejected by the Maori Anglican church.

Members of Te Runanganui o te Pihopatanga of Aotearoa (the Maori Anglican Church) gathered at Te Papa-i-o-uru Marae, Ohinemutu, in Rotorua at the end of last week for a biennial meeting at which the covenant was discussed.

The covenant idea surfaced following the 1994 ordination of an openly gay bishop by the American Episcopal church.

That sparked the biggest convulsions the Anglican Communion has seen in recent years.

In the face of that uproar, The Archbishop of Canterbury set up a commission to look at ways that the Anglican Communion could stay together in the face of conflicts.

The New Zealand church's media officer Lloyd Ashton said one of the ideas that commission came up with was an Anglican Covenant. He said the covenant was proposed as something that Anglicans the world over could agree on, that would bind them together, that prescribed a way of resolving conflicts - and which spelt out disciplinary procedures if a province was found to be "acting up".

more here-

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10764379

Rebooting Anglican Communication

From The Living Church-

In whatever ways we justify and reinterpret the Communion instruments of the Anglican Communion, it is clear the instruments no longer unite Anglican churches worldwide. Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meetings have become obstacles rather than means of healing the Communion ills.

The reasons are clear. The Anglican Communion itself, understood as a Christian World Communion alongside the Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, and other families of churches, is a novel idea in the post-Western missionary era. The instruments emerged in haphazard ways amid the devolution of metropolitan authorities from Canterbury and New York to churches in the southern continents. To be sure, they were useful to connect churches with one another in years surrounding the independence of the southern churches.

They have now become part of the problem, and have lost their legitimacy in the new conditions of the new century. For one, international conferences are expensive exercises, which are hardly sustainable in present-day economic conditions. More important, there is a worrying disconnect between what happens at Communion levels and what occurs at local levels. The faithful in their parishes are expected to remain loyal Anglicans week in and week out. To them, the Anglican disputes are irrelevant. Many of them perhaps have not heard about the Anglican Communion Covenant. Churches of weaker numerical strength and in more fragile conditions are sidelined as well in a high-stakes and wasting religious war.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2011/10/26/rebooting-anglican-communication