Where Does The Archbishop Stand?

“The Velvet Reformation” is a profile of Rowan Williams, written by Paul Elie. Elie argues that the Anglican Communion, “alone among the churches”, is trying to adapt “traditional Christian notions of marriage and family” to “the experiences of gay believers”. He examines the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in that effort.

Elie tells us that Rowan Williams “was elected archbishop of Canterbury in 2002 by the other bishops on a wave of enthusiasm like the one that would later carry Barack Obama into the White House”. I can’t say whether or not the bishops of the Church of England were enthusiastic about Williams’ selection as Archbishop, but they certainly didn’t elect him. In the Church of England, Archbishops of Canterbury aren’t elected.

Like many on the “right” and “left”, Elie believes that, in his heart of hearts, Rowan Williams supports the gradual opening of his church to gay people. Why won’t he come out and say so? Elie suggests that, just as St. Augustine prayed for chastity and continence, but “not yet”, Williams isn’t ready to support inclusion “yet”. It's not clear whether Elie really appreciates the implications of analogyzing the Archbishop's position on inclusion to the promiscuity of Augustine's early life.

Elie regards the 2008 Lambeth Conference as a success because “there was no schism, no walkout, no uproar to serve as fodder for the conflict-hungry press.” The bishops, he says, came to “some rough-and-ready agreements,” including extending the “moratoria against the ordination of openly gay and partnered people as bishops and against the public church blessing of same-sex unions.”

Yet Elie is disappointed that even after the success of Lambeth 2008, Williams still fails to speak his own mind (or what Elie believes to be Williams’ own mind) about “the place of gay people in the church”. It’s all well and good, Elie says, for the Archbishop to “try to moderate the discussion”, but that’s not enough. Williams is “a leader, not a stage manager.” He needs to “declare himself for the course of action he favors – which seems obvious – if only to say he doesn’t favor it yet.”

This is an interesting article, and I commend it to your attention.

By Eric Von Salzen