Looking back at the Windsor Report

Robin Eames, the retired primate of the Church of Ireland, or Rt Revd the Lord Eames of Armagh, as he is called when he is at home, was chair of the panel that produced the Windsor Report. In this lecture, he looks back at his committee's handiwork.

Hat tip: Mark Harris.

Posted by Jim Naughton on June 19, 2009 3:05 PM | |
Comments (3)

I struggled to find the core point in his talk. Perhaps it is this: "So what was the nature of the reconciliation that could be offered? Indeed was reconciliation possible? What in fact emerged was a Report which contained sign-posts, laying out the possible routes to greater understanding of each others arguments. Anglicanism has moved on since Windsor. Now the talk is about a Covenant, about parallel jurisdictions. Inclusiveness is compared to diversity with sections of that world family finding strength in alliances of fellow-travellers who maintain their differences of approach to Tradition and interpretation of Scripture through new ideas of authority or 'bonds of affection' - but with little evidence of the cohesiveness of those early years of the Communion."

He compares his work on the Windsor report with his work bringing about reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland there was something to be gained by both sides from reconciliation. Is that true of the Anglican Communion? I'm doubtful.

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | June 19, 2009 3:50 PM

I had a similar reaction, John, and a somewhat similar question. Is reconciliation within the Anglican Communion hard to achieve because so little is at stake?

Posted by Jim Naughton [TypeKey Profile Page] | June 19, 2009 3:56 PM

Robin Eames says little about the Windsor Report and lots about so-called principles of reconciliation, thereby failing to establish a link between the two. He says each situation has to be dealt with differently and yet he says it is important to look at general principles, as in the following passage:

"I am reminded of the words of the late Lord Hailsham during his lecture on Morality and the Law here in 1984: ‘One of the great evils of the present day is the tendency to sound off about specifics without an examination of first principles.’"

I could have done without the many clichés about reconciliation. As far as I am concerned, specifics are very important and "first principles" tend to be first only for those who wish to construct a house of cards, ready to fall at any moment.

There should have been a lot more specificity about the Windsor Report and the Anglican Communion and why it matters whether Anglicanism goes on in its current forms. The Troubles in Northern Ireland are very different from the fight over who gets to call themselves Anglican in church politics.

Gary Paul Gilbert

Posted by garydasein [TypeKey Profile Page] | June 21, 2009 8:03 PM

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