Anglican Communion

Archbishop with Bishops on Shores of Lake Tanganyika, Burundi Overview

The Anglican Communion is the third largest international denomination, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. It has over 80 million members, spread across 38 Provinces in 164 countries. Each of these Provinces is autonomous, with its own system of governance and senior archbishop or bishop ("Primate"). The Communion is not held together by a formal constitution or international church law, but rather by a shared heritage and what are termed "bonds of affection", by formal "Instruments of Communion" and through the Archbishop of Canterbury acting as a unique focus of unity. This sense of common identity has been nourished over many years by direct encounter and companion relationships at many levels. The Archbishop of Canterbury plays a leading role in nurturing the interdependent life of the Communion by visiting Provinces, convening meetings, facilitating initiatives, contributing to theological reflection and exercising a pivotal role within the Instruments of Communion.

Instruments of Communion

The three formal Instruments of Communion are the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates Meeting. The Lambeth Conference is a gathering of the bishops of the Anglican Communion, at the personal invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, that usually takes place every ten years. The first was held in 1867 at Lambeth Palace, but as numbers grew the Conference moved to Canterbury. Preparations for the next Conference, due to take place in Canterbury in 2008, are well underway. The Anglican Consultative Council was formed following a resolution of the 1968 Lambeth Conference. It brings together bishops, clergy and laity from around the Provinces and churches of the Communion every three years. The Archbishop of Canterbury is its President. The Primates Meeting, which the Archbishop of Canterbury convenes, brings together the senior archbishop or bishop (sometimes called "moderator") of each Province for prayer and reflection on matters of shared concern.

A Focus of Unity

Alongside his formal roles within the Instruments of Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury is presented with countless opportunities for strengthening the life of the Communion. These include the encouragement of timely initiatives, such the Primates theological education working group, TEAC. They also involve harnessing support for Provinces in particular need, such as through his Anglican Communion Fund and his international development initiative (more on Anglicans in Development). This dimension of the Archbishop's role also lies behind the emphasis on equipping bishops for leadership in mission at the next Lambeth Conference.

A demanding aspect of the Archbishop's role as focus of unity is his capacity to encourage conversation and resolution where there is disagreement between different parts of the Communion. A central feature of this is currently the deep-rooted dispute over human sexuality and the appropriate limits of diversity within the Anglican Communion. This controversial area and its outworking through the 2004 Windsor Report were very much to the fore as the Archbishop of Canterbury chaired the most recent Primates Meeting in Tanzania in February 2007. It was also the basis for his meeting with the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church (USA) in New Orleans in September 2007.

Visits of the Archbishop of Canterbury within the Communion symbolise its interdependent life. Since 2005, visits to Anglican churches and meetings with their leaders have taken place in Burundi, Pakistan, Brazil, Sudan, Canada, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Angola, Egypt, the USA and Malaysia. In his ministry across the Anglican Communion the Archbishop is supported by a dedicated staff at Lambeth Palace alongside the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion and his staff at the Anglican Communion Office in London.