Anglican Communion
Update on Issues in The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion UPDATED 9/22/25
Much of the secular news coverage of the election of Chicago-born Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV has focused on whether he might make any changes regarding the role of the laity, women, and gays and lesbians in the life of the Roman Catholic Church. But in at his inaugural mass, he said something that could have far broader implications for the Church universal, and us as Anglicans.
Roman Catholic doctrine has long held that St. Peter is the “rock” on which Jesus built the Church. The Pope, as successor to Peter, is seen as the head of all Christian churches, and any discussions about reconciliation must acknowledge that.
But Pope Leo appears to have dropped that requirement. He said Christ, rather than Peter, is the foundational rock of Christianity, and used the term “sister Christian churches” to refer to other Christian denominations.
“Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus,” he told the 150,000, including both Catholics and representatives from Protestant and Orthodox churches, who gathered at St. Peter’s Square for his inaugural Mass.
“The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone,” thus expressly designating Jesus rather than himself as the founding rock of the Church.
“Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him,” the pontiff emphasized.
Leo described the papal office as a calling to “serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them.” This terminology underscored the role of all baptized believers as “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5), who are called “to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity.”
The Vatican’s official text of the sermon italicized the words “I come to you as a brother,” indicating the significance of that statement. This has been interpreted as indicating his intention to remodel the papacy into the office of a primus inter pares (first among equals), something many Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches have been demanding in recent ecumenical dialogues with the Vatican. It is the same term the Anglican Communion uses to refer to the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In an audience a few days later with five Primates from the Anglican Communion, including Abp. Stephen Cottrell, currently the senior-most bishop in the Church of England, he again stressed his commitment to Christian unity.
He noted that his election took place during the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, which agreed on the Nicaean Creed used still by all Christian Churches.
“While we are on the journey to re-establishing full communion among all Christians, we recognize that this unity can only be unity in faith. As Bishop of Rome, I consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the re-establishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”.
Ask yourself: Would you accept the Pope as having complete jurisdiction over all matters in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion? Would you accept him as first among equals within the Anglican, Lutheran, Orthodox and other Christian communities, with each setting its own policies and practices within a broad framework?
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Regardless of your theological view on that question, the Roman Catholic Church clearly is ancient institution with centuries-old traditions. Nonetheless, it was able to elect a new pope in twelve days. The Anglican Communion, a much newer institution, may not be able to select a new Archbishop of Canterbury in twelve months.
While the timing of Abp. Justin’s resignation was unexpected, he in fact stepped down only one year earlier than required. His resignation was effective in January of this year; in January of next year he would have reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops in the Church of England, and would have had to step down.
But has taken the Church of England most of the winter and spring to name the representatives to the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) that will recommend Abp. Justin’s successor. Members from the Diocese of Canterbury were only picked in May.
The CNC undertook an online public consultation this spring, inviting people to share their opinions about the qualities it should look for in the next Archbishop of Canterbury. The group will then develop a “Role Profile” and “Person Specification, develop a list of candidates and conduct interviews. The CNC’s chair describes the process as one of “discernment” rather than selection. There is no application process.
The CNC agreed on the short list of candidates in August. It has another meeting scheduled for the end of September. If two-thirds of the members can agree on a candidate, the name will be forwarded to Prime Minister Kier Starmer. He in turn will forward a candidate –but not necessarily the one recommended by the CNC – to King Charles III, who will make the appointment.
Membership of the Canterbury CNC was revised several years ago to reduce the number from the Diocese of Canterbury, and increase the number from the broader Anglican Communion.
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In his first interview since abruptly resigning his office, former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby told the BBC he failed to follow up on allegations of abuse by within the Church of England because the problem was “absolutely overwhelming.” He said the scale of the problem was “a reason – not an excuse.”
He told the BBC, “Every day more cases were coming across the desk that had been in the past, hadn't been dealt with adequately, and this was just, it was another case - and yes I knew Smyth but it was an absolutely overwhelming few weeks.”
“It was overwhelming, one was trying to prioritise - but I think it's easy to sound defensive over this.”
“The reality is I got it wrong. As Archbishop, there are no excuses.”
“I know I let God down. I let people down.”
Looking back at other aspects of his arch-episcopacy, he expressed frustration at being unable to get the church’s General Synod to approve fully-independent safeguarding, or obtain equality for gay couples and female clergy.
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Three of the Anglican Communion’s provinces elected new primates this summer, and one is inflaming tensions within the Communion.
In June the Anglican Church of Canada elected the Rt. Rev. Shane Parker, bishop of Ottawa, as its 15th primate. His biography says he has close connections with Coventry Cathedral in England and its ministry of reconciliation known as the Community of the Cross of Nails, an international peace and reconciliation network. He also has ties with Saint George’s Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem, which likewise has ministries focused on interfaith dialogue, peace, and reconciliation.
He was not on the original slate of candidates, but was added when lay delegates asked that additional names be added.
In early July, the Anglican Church of Australia chose the Rt. Rev. Dr. Mark Short, bishop of Canberra and Golburn, to be its 19th primate. He will continue to serve as diocesan bishop while serving as the church’s primate.
But it is the election late in July of the Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, bishop of Monmouth, as the 15th Archbishop of Wales that is causing controversy within the Communion.
Abp.-elect Vann is in a civil partnership with another woman. She has said she always believes she was gay and “never heard God say to me, who you are is wrong, who you love is wrong, you are living in sin.”
"Christians hold different views on all manner of subjects: divorce, remarriage, abortion, assisted dying, to name but a few," she said. "I mean, we are not all of one mind on most things. And you know, the Church changes its position. It learns a broader understanding of God's love. There is not one view on this matter, even [among] theologians and Christians.”
But theologically-conservative Anglicans called her election “another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy.”
“By celebrating this election and her immoral same-sex relationship, the Canterbury Communion has again bowed to worldly pressure that subverts God’s good word, wrote The Most Reverend Dr. Laurent Mbanda, archbishop of Nigeria and chairman of the Gafcon primates’ council.
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As noted above, this is the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. In addition to giving us the Nicaean Creed, that council set the formula for determining when to observe Easter. But the date observed by Eastern and Western churches has drifted apart over time, due to differences between the Julian calendar in use at that time, and the Gregorian calendars introduced in 1582. This year both calendars coincidentally aligned, and all Christians observed Easter on April 20th.
Pope Francis and Abp. Welby had opened discussions with Orthodox churches about agreeing on a common date again, possibly the second Sunday of April. But the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople said this summer there can be no change without another Ecumenical Council.
“… there are differing sensitivities among the Churches,” said the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. “It is also our duty to avoid new divisions. For the Orthodox Church, what was established by an Ecumenical Council can only be modified by another Ecumenical Council. Still, we are all open to listening to the Spirit, who, we believe, has clearly shown us this year how essential it is to unify the date of Easter.”
As we continue our transition to our new priest-in-charge, it is worthwhile to note what Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said to the General Convention this summer: “I’m not worried about the future of The Episcopal Church…because I know him in whom we have believed. I’m not worried about the future. It’s not going to be easy. It never has been easy. I’m a descendant of slaves. I’m here to tell you, Langston Hughes said in one of his poems, life for us ain’t no crystal stairway. And if you don’t believe Langston, ask Jesus. Trust me, the crucifixion was no piece of cake. The truth of the matter is, life for us has never and will never be a crystal staircase. But I’m here to tell you this, this Episcopal Church is stronger, more durable and has a future that God has decreed and that God has figured out. And I’m here to tell you, don’t you worry about this church. Don’t you weep and don’t you moan. Just roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work. That’s our future. Roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Don Brownlee