There is rather more fallout from the revelation that the Archbishop of Canterbury holds a position on gay relationships that we already knew he held but had never seen him state so clearly than seems entirely necessary.
Williams says that he concluded that an active sexual relationship between two people of the same sex might therefore reflect the love of God in a way comparable to marriage, if and only if it had about it the same character of absolute covenanted faithfulness.
But, most worryingly, the Archbishop’s position gives ammunition to those regimes where institutionalised homophobia and misogyny have truly tragic consequences. Two of the bishops who’ve been vocal in their lambasting of the liberals hail from Uganda and Nigeria, states where punitive laws against homosexuals are still on the statute book…
Dr. Williams acknowledges that Christian belief in the Trinity is “difficult, sometimes offensive, to Muslims” but has said “I believe that for the sake of open and careful dialogue it is important to try and clarify what we do and what we do not mean by it”. – Press release
The bees are back at Lambeth Palace. Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, sought out experts to set up hives in its grounds shortly after his appointment, and now there are 10.
The Church Times reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury preached in York Minster yesterday. Some say the sermon was both moving and a defining moment.
We have seen instances of intervention in dioceses whose leadership is unquestionably orthodox simply because of local difficulties of a personal and administrative nature. We have also seen instances of clergy disciplined for scandalous behaviour in one jurisdiction accepted in another, apparently without due process.
Conservative Christians say opening marriage to gay couples would undermine an immutable institution founded on divine revelation. But, theologically, support for same-sex marriage is not a dramatic break with tradition, but a recognition that the church’s understanding of marriage has changed dramatically over 2,000 years.
Earlier this week, Archbishop Rowan Williams addressed the Diocese of Hereford and got a standing ovation when he said the issues presently facing the church were serious ones, but would not split the Church of England.
The Church Times on the wedding: Anglicans overseas who do not know the legal force of the clergy freehold might be convinced that the Archbishops are about to crack the whip in some way. But the simple truth is that a cleric who holds the freehold … is at liberty to make up his or her mind about the relative merits of various pronouncements on theology or ethics.