Committing to the Anglican Covenant: An analysis by the Anglican Communion Institute

Posted by Kendall Harmon

...there apparently is a new ACC constitution (now referred to as Articles of Association) that changes the membership procedures for the ACC. This new constitution (which has not been made public) also applies in some way to the adoption of the Covenant by other churches.
11. On the second question, “who can invite,” the Covenant is explicit in saying that this may be done by the “Instruments.” On its face, this means that any of the Instruments, e.g., the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Primates’ Meeting, could issue such an invitation, which would then invoke the procedures indicated: approval by the Standing Committee and consents from the Primates.

12. None of this is meant to suggest that such an invitation is necessarily imminent, but the procedures are far more flexible and responsive to developing circumstances than many have been led to believe.

13. With these principles in mind, we urge all churches and dioceses interested in committing to the life of mutual accountability and interdependence required by the Covenant to adopt and affirm the Covenant as soon as practicable and communicate their decisions to the Communion and its churches. We note that paragraph 4.1.6 provides that “This Covenant becomes active for a Church when that Church adopts the Covenant through the procedures of its own Constitution and Canons.” Thus, the Covenant will become active as soon as member churches begin to adopt it, and the Global South churches have indicated their intention to begin doing so as early as April 2010. By committing to the Covenant, a church or diocese will immediately begin to share in the Communion life represented by the Covenant even as the formalities of the Communion Instruments necessarily will take longer to implement.

Read it carefully and read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Analysis • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Anglican Covenant • Anglican Identity • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Diocesan Conventions • Instruments of Unity • Windsor Report / Process • * Theology • Ecclesiology

5 Comments
Posted December 22, 2009 at 11:02 pm [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. Ed McNeill wrote:

It appears that the Articles of Incorporation have been around for a few years at least, at least if they are the same articles mentioned in a comment in this 1997 thread on Stand Firm http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/sf/print_w_comments/1959/

December 23, 2:12 am | [comment link]
2. robroy wrote:

Again, the essay is lacking an analysis of the portion of the Covenant that deals with those provinces that sign on to the Covenant and then do whatever they darn well please (section 4.2).

The newly created “Standing Committee of the AC” heavily weights the bureaucrats of the ACC over the primates. The “SCAC” has already put forth the notion of equivalency of SSUB’s and homosexual bishops with “border crossing” despite this going against Windsor and Dar. Bp David Anderson has pointed out that with the inception of the ACNA, there is no foreign episcopal oversight, but there is still some “dual citizenship” clergy of Global South/ACNA. Will Nigeria or Southern Cone face the same disciplinary consequence as the TEClub or ACoC? Uganda has released all their clergy to the ACNA. Supposedly, this should clear them of the “crime” of border crossing but will it?

December 23, 6:35 am | [comment link]
3. Septuagenarian wrote:

How can a “constitution” be amended secretly?

Some of us have been highly suspicious of the ACC as an “instrument of unity”, dominated as it is by the dying “First World” provinces. This seems to justify that suspicion. How about amending the ACC’s “Articles of Association” so as to implement the notion of “one man, one vote”—where the weight of each of its constituent members reflects the actual membership of that province?

But I guess if Schori can rewrite the Constitution and Canons of TEC she to suit her programme, or others unknown, can rewrite the constitution of ACC so as to wreast power from the primates and the people of God.

December 23, 6:36 am | [comment link]
4. Fr. Dale wrote:

These are questions that come to mind.
1. “This Covenant becomes active for a Church when that Church adopts the Covenant through the procedures of its own Constitution and Canons.” What does it mean for the Covenant to become “active”?
2. “..we urge all churches and dioceses interested in committing to the life of mutual accountability and interdependence required by the Covenant to adopt and affirm the Covenant as soon as practicable and communicate their decisions to the Communion and its churches.”
Why? What is the rush?
3. All of this is beginning to look more like an M.O.U. drafted by attorneys than a Covenant.
4. Is the analysis by ACI a hard look at the covenant? They have a preexisting advocacy for and a vested interest in the Covenant.

December 23, 5:51 pm | [comment link]
5. Br_er Rabbit wrote:

I am glad that the spotlight has lit upon the Constitution of the Anglican Communion, such as it is. We do well to know what we are joining before signing on the dotted line.

December 23, 10:52 pm | [comment link]
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