When he was appointed Anglican executive officer for the Anglican Communion, succeeding Bishop Stephen Bayne in 1964, I joined him in London and remained as administrative secretary through two Lambeth Conferences and the first three meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council.

Bayne’s work had made it clear that something nimbler and more representative of Anglicans than the cumbersome Lambeth Conferences of bishops was needed to advise, support and extend his work. As part of the preparations for the 1968 Lambeth Conference, Dean and his aide drew up the Terms of Reference for an Anglican council that would include clergy and laity, as well as bishops, but which, for reasons of finance and ease of more frequent meetings, would be limited in number.

Larger provinces would have three members and, depending on size, others would send two or one.
As a result of the preparations, the 1968 Lambeth Conference (Resolution 69) proposed the establishment of the Anglican Consultative Council. By 1969, 17 of the 20 member churches had informed the secretary of their approval and Resolution 69, therefore, came into effect.

The task of implementing the resolution fell upon Bishop John Howe, the communion’s third executive officer. Howe became secretary general at the council’s first meeting in 1971 in Limuru, Kenya. It has met every two or three years since that time.

The council cannot, any more than Lambeth Conferences or Primates’ Meetings, legislate for the Anglican Communion. But because it consists of bishops, clergy and laity (duly appointed by their national synods or councils), it carries the weight of the whole body of Anglicanism. It cannot impinge on the autonomy of individual provinces, but it can make strong recommendations for them to consider.

This preliminary history makes clear that the Anglican Consultative Council is not a “club” from which members may be expelled. It is meant more as a forum in which such issues as sexual orientation may be discussed and a way forward may be discovered and developed.

There have been other issues in the past where solutions have been sought in love and understanding. The ordination of women was one, as was a major debate over the economic boycott against pro-apartheid South Africa urged by the World Council of Churches and supported by some Anglican/Episcopal churches. The communion didn’t fall apart then, nor was there even a suggestion that some of its members withdraw from the meeting.

The 1978 Lambeth Conference -- 10 years later -- was more cautious and backpedaled furiously. What had been spawned? Bishops seemingly were afraid for their “authority” and were precipitate in suggesting that the primates should meet as often, though not necessarily at the same time, as the council. This was solely an episcopal decision; it did not come from the General Synods or national governing bodies of the provinces, though presumably they were expected to finance the meetings.

Bishops attend Lambeth Conferences only at the invitation of the archbishop of Canterbury. Primates call themselves together every two years. But only the Anglican Consultative Council has a constitution and exists by the will of the whole of Anglicanism. It must not be conned into thinking other gatherings can ask some of its members to withdraw.

Having been so deeply involved in the formation and early history of the Anglican Consultative Council, and being both English and Canadian, I have serious concern for the continuance of the Anglican Communion. It is unique in its philosophy of unity in diversity, and through that it has been able to reconcile many thorny questions.

But if some African primates persist in their current paths of thinking, I greatly fear a breakup is probable. In any case, it should be a matter for the council, including Canada and the Episcopal Church, to ponder until reconciliation is reached.