Anglicans: New Style at Lambeth

Since 1867, the bishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion have gathered at London's Lambeth Palace approximately every ten years to consider the state of their church. This year, some delegates doubted whether the Tenth Lambeth Conference, which convened last month, was worth holding at all. By last week, though, several notes of relevance had been introduced into the discussion, and there was hope that the conference might produce some lasting results for Anglicanism.

Faith and Ministry. The overall theme of the month-long meeting is "The Renewal of the Church," with particular reference to faith, ministry and church union. Subordinate topics for consideration range widely, from the proper relationship between Christianity and secularism to such purely ecclesiastical issues as Prayer Book reform. There is ample opportunity for bishops to raise new issues. Last week, for example, Archbishop Donald Coggan of York formally proposed that women be admitted to the priesthood—an idea that was shouted down by his peers.

This year's conference has streamlined some of the more somnolent procedures of the past. Instead of doing all their business in plenary sessions, the bishops have been assigned to 33 subcommittees, which are responsible for drafting resolutions prior to debate. They have also adopted an innovation of the Second Vatican Council: 25 theological experts are available for consultation by the bishops.

Resolutions of the Lambeth Conference are not binding on the 19 member churches, but they are intended to express the consensus of the Communion. Last week the bishops approved a formal statement reaffirming their belief in the morality of birth control. (The 1930 Lambeth Conference was the first major Christian assembly to approve contraception in principle.) Rejecting the conclusions of Pope Paul's encyclical Humanae Vitae, the bishops declared that the responsibility for deciding the number and spacing of children "has been laid by God upon the consciences of parents."

A number of bishops, particularly from Africa, Asia and the U.S., are pressing for reforms within the conference itself. Some believe it should be an elective body that would include priests and laymen as well as bishops. Transformed into a more responsive, democratic institution, the Lambeth Conference might then be able to assert a greater degree of authority on the faithful.