The Church of England Newspaper, which you can buy online for a pound, has an intriguing column by Stephen Bates of the Guardian, which he was kind enough to send along. You can read it by clicking the “continue reading” tag.
In this piece, Bates suggests that George Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has been sounded out about becoming the “primatial vicar” that the Primates want to impose upon the Episcopal Church.
Actually, he does more than suggest it. Judge for yourself: “The former Archbishop of Canterbury’s name is certainly being raised in some quarters in the ex-colonies as a possible conciliation candidate and one whose nationality should prove no bar among the various American factions.”
So there you go–a good deal on a used Archbishop of Canterbury. Take it for a spin. See how it handles.
So there we were, sitting round the hotel swimming pool in Tanzania, doorstepping the primates’ meeting, as one does, and waiting for the regular appearance of Archbishop Akinola, inconspicuously dressed in full Nigerian costume on one of his discreet forays to consult with Bishop Martyn Minns in an upper chamber, when the conversation turned to the question of primatial vicars.
Actually, to be strictly accurate, we had not heard of the term at that stage, but a couple of us were chewing over the possibility of alternative primatial oversight for the Americans emerging as one of the conclusions of the meeting.
It’s amazing what you get to talk about on these occasions. And, because we journalists like nothing better than speculating on likely candidates for top jobs, whether it be Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dean of Westminster, or Rural Dean of Little Wallop, we wondered who might be prepared to take on the onerous responsibility of supervising the conservative dioceses that object to the current liberal leadership of the US Episcopal Church.
Clearly, whoever it is will have an enormous task on his hands (I presume it will be a he, since some of the dioceses wouldn’t accept him if he wasn’t). It is a job that will call for enormous energy and charm, deep reservoirs of tact and discernment, astute diplomacy, collegiality, a powerful intellect and the ability to reach out to those who disagree with him.
There seemed only one candidate who could amply fulfil all these requirements – and, remember, there were Americans present. Step forward, we decided, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable George Leonard Carey, late of this parish.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury’s name is certainly being raised in some quarters in the ex-colonies as a possible conciliation candidate and one whose nationality should prove no bar among the various American factions.
Bishop Bob Duncan, whose worldly ambitions are surely at an end, would certainly stand aside for the good of the Church that he has served so loyally and selflessly for so long. Why, he could even take more time off playing golf, in Northern Ireland, in mid-winter.
Bishop Martyn Minns, we know, scorns such fripperies as primatial authority – and I had his own word for it when we bumped into each other in the lobby of the White Sands Hotel in Tanzania. No, he said to me in avuncular fashion, he did not go in for all that costume nonsense, mitres and so forth, Wippell’s and such like – you wouldn’t catch him in there. And I truly believed him, even though he was wearing his purple shirt at the time.
No, George would have the authority to rise above petty American disputes and provide sound consensual leadership. He could quell factionalism and disagreement with a twitch of his eyebrows and a quizzical expression, just as he used to do at Lambeth Palace. And his status – not that he ever relied on that – as the former primate of All England and head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, would guarantee him a respectful hearing, and possibly his own way. Modesty, as ever, would be his watchword.
He would be among friends too, eager to listen to his prophetic voice and anxious to hasten to do his bidding. After all, he has been there and done that, as with the masterly solution of using flying bishops so successfully to defuse the row over women’s ordination in the Church of England and reassert episcopal authority. We certainly don’t hear too much about that problem these days!
There need be no nonsense over gays either. George, after all, wants people to listen to their experiences in the church and to absorb their pain. Did not Lambeth 1:10 say as much? He would surely minister to them as carefully and considerately as he always did in England. And he would be sure to contrive ingenious and permanent solutions – as at the Lambeth Conference – to pour oil on troubled waters.
Above all, George Carey does not stand on ceremony. He knows America intimately, having spent so many happy weeks and months there at others’ expense, preaching on their shortcomings, in the years since leaving office here. He’s practically an honorary American. We could soon have Lord Carey’s name to add to that list of other illustrious US aristocrats, such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Earl Hines.
I am sure George would welcome this final opportunity to serve the Church he loves and push it in the right direction. One final, historic chance: calling in the Old World to redress the balance of the New. What could possibly be holding the Americans back?
Stephen Bates is religious affairs correspondent of the Guardian.