Lambeth Conference Research Articles

Theological Intersections: Newman’s ‘Primacy of God’ in Modern Church Discourse

This article critically examines the Catholic–Anglican theological dialogue, centering on John Henry Newman’s ‘Primacy of God’, Catholic synodality, and Anglican comprehensiveness. It illuminates the interconnectedness of these elements, revealing their potential to enhance ecumenical conversations. Newman’s concept of communal faith and divine primacy resonates across both traditions, advocating a transformative, experiential spiritual journey. This study juxtaposes Newman’s stance on ecclesiastical authority and doctrinal development with contemporary synodal movements in the Catholic Church, paralleled by Anglican practices like the Lambeth Conferences. This comparison underscores a mutual commitment to participatory governance and theological inclusivity. Ultimately, the study envisions a unified Christian theology, fostering dialogue enriched by diverse traditions and promoting a harmonious convergence within the Christian theological spectrum.

Enjoying what comes naturally: The Church of England and Sexuality in the 1930s

This article begins by outlining the changing approach in Anglican attitudes to contraception at the Lambeth Conference of 1930, where birth control was permitted for married couples and sex separated from the possibility of procreation. The logical extension of this teaching, as was noted by Bishop Charles Gore, was that other forms of sexual pleasure, including homosexuality, which was increasingly seen as a ‘natural’ condition, might eventually be sanctioned by the church. Later in the 1930s, a series of letters by Robert Reid to Cosmo Gordon Lang, archbishop of Canterbury, shows the beginnings of a campaign for a change of policy. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Anglican writer Kenneth Ingram published Sex-Morality Tomorrow, which pressed for full homosexual equality and provoked calls to William Temple to suppress the book. 1940 proved an inopportune moment for reform of church teaching on homosexuality, which continues to elicit widespread controversy.

Interfaith Collaborations and Development in Botswana: Focus on Pentecostals and Other Christian Denominations

The article seeks to address how religion under the auspices of interfaith networks and collaborations continues to be pivotal in the development of countries across the globe. These networks and collaborations come in different forms such as interfaith education, dialogue, and cooperation. Inter- and intra-faith umbrella bodies/organizations continue to provide forums for religious committees to gather, dialogue, and cooperate on issues of mutual and national interests, thus contributing to the development of the country. These umbrella bodies and organizations are charged with fostering unity among different churches. In this article, Pentecostalism, under the umbrella body of Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana (EFB), is used as an example of interfaith collaboration with other churches to foster development in Botswana. These networks are being done in the spirit of the Lambeth Conference of 1998 that pointed out that: “Dialogue with people of other faith begins when people meet each other . . . in mutual understanding, respect, and trust . . . to share in service to the community . . . as an authentic witness.” These liaisons herein referred to as interfaith networks have immensely contributed to development in Botswana.

Stephen Spencer (ed.), God’s Church for God’s World: Reports, Addresses and Calls from the Lambeth Conference 2022

Stephen Spencer (ed.), <i>God’s Church for God’s World: Reports, Addresses and Calls from the Lambeth Conference 2022</i>

Eugenics and the Approval of Birth Control at the 1930 Lambeth Conference

Following the vote in favour of birth control at the 1930 Lambeth Conference, the Church of England became the first major Christian denomination explicitly to condone the use of birth control. This paper argues that the bishop of Winchester, Theodore Woods, was the previously unheralded principal actor responsible for reversing the position of the Church. Woods was convinced that the Church needed to ‘modernise’ its position in order to secure a receptive audience for its higher-ordered teachings on marriage, sex and especially procreation. In turn, he hoped to bring about an increased birthrate amongst the eugenically ‘desirable’ English middle and upper classes.

Against the Anglican ‘Conscience’: The Analytical Tool from Churches and Moral Discernment Applied to the Discussions About Homosexuality at the Lambeth Conferences 1978–2022

Abstract In the recently published document Churches and Moral Discernment the Faith and Order Commission of the wcc offers an analytical tool for moral discernment processes and introduces the concept of the ‘conscience’ of the Church. Applying this tool to the moral discernment processes in the Anglican Communion leading up to the 1998 Lambeth Conference and its Resolution I.10 ‘Human Sexuality’ indicates that the moral discernment processes did not reflect the Anglican ‘conscience’, i.e. the inherited understanding of moral norms and authority. This led to the Resolution being divisive rather than uniting. The success of the 2022 Lambeth Conference in mending these division needs to be followed up by the commencement of a renewed discernment process. But it is also possible that the Anglican ‘conscience’ has changed in parts of the Communion, which would pose new challenges for the instruments of communion.

Interreligious Dialogue in Anglican Churches

Abstract In this contribution, the author outlines the Reformed-Catholic temper of Anglican theology, pointing to Generous Love: the truth of the gospel and the call to dialogue, received by the Lambeth Conference in 2008, as a key resource for understanding Anglican interreligious relations. This theology embraces the complexity of relations with other religions, encompassing witness, dialogue and work for the common good, and is illustrated by examples of presence and engagement at local and national levels.

Споры относительно допуска женщин к диаконскому служению в Церкви Англии

In the history of the Anglican Church the top-ranked issue of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century was disputes on women’s priesthood. As a result of these debates, the Anglican Church began to ordain women as deacons, then as priests, and finally as bishops. In Orthodox view, it was the radical change of the doctrine and the deviation from the apostolic tradition, though at the beginning of the 20th century the Anglican Church was considered as one of the closest churches to Orthodoxy. The first critical step in the direction of women’s priesthood was the opening the diaconate to women. Both in Russian and Western theological science little attention has been devoted to the analysis of this first step, since historically the hottest theological discussion was on the issue of women’s priesthood and women’s episcopate. However, the decision on women’s diaconate was very important since it actually opened the way for all subsequent decisions on women’s priesthood in the Anglican Church. This article offers an analysis of the historical processes and theological discussions that brought the Church of England to the appearance of deaconesses and then women deacons. The article considers the revival of sisterhoods and monastic communities in the Church of England in the middle of the 19th century, the initiative to revive the rank of deaconesses in 1862 and subsequent official decision of the 1920 Lambeth Conference, as well as the relevant reports of the Commissions of 1897, 1908, 1919 and 1935. Then we analyze the discussions about the functions of the deaconess, as well as additional factors that influenced the decision to allow women to be ordained as deacons. One of these factors was the general crisis of the diaconal ministry and the desire to strengthen the role of the laity in the life of the Anglican Church. As a result, the 1968 Lambeth Conference opened diaconate to all laymen remaining in secular occupations (both men and women). The Church of England turned out to be one of the most conservative churches in the Anglican Communion – it introduced women's diaconate almost 20 years later, in 1987. Conservative groups were concerned that this decision would put the Church of England on a "slippery slope" towards women's priesthood and women's episcopate. Subsequent history proved that these fears were completely justified.

Reflections on the Lambeth Conference

ABSTRACT This article is an observer’s reflection on the Lambeth Conference of bishops of the Anglican Communion held in summer 2022. It describes the physical conditions under which the conference met, the role played by the Archbishop of Canterbury in convening and overseeing the Conference, and the evolution of the Conference’s processes. It concludes with a series of short reflections on the implications of the Conference, and particularly its handling of differences over same-sex relationships, for the polity and future of the Anglican Communion.

‘The Whole Nature of the Child’: Children and Youth at the Lambeth Conferences

AbstractThis article examines the ways the Lambeth Conference resolutions discuss children and youth. It is a contribution to the work of identifying historical Anglican theological perspectives on children. Opening with a brief definition and review of theologies of childhood, it then presents chronologically (1857–1998) and briefly analyzes the resolutions which name ‘children’ or ‘youth’; it closes with an analysis of how the Lambeth resolutions map onto three basic claims shared by the reviewed theologies of childhood.

The 2022 Revision of The Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion

At the 2008 Lambeth Conference, The Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion were launched. For the first time, detailed principles of Anglican canon law were made manifest, the fruit of earlier research by the legal academic Norman Doe. As early as 2002, the Primates of the Communion had recognised that ‘the unwritten law common to the Churches of the Communion and expressed as shared principles of canon law may be understood to constitute a fifth “instrument of unity”’. The Principles project proved to be a wellspring of legal scholarship and ecumenical activity both before and after the 2008 publication.

European Approaches of the Bulgarian Church: the Case of the Lambeth Conference in London, 1930

This article examines the role of the networks and protagonists involved in securing the Bulgarian Church's participation in the seventh Lambeth Conference in London (1930) in their attempt to end the schism between the Bulgarian Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople dating from 1872, and to secure a new place for the Bulgarians in the wider ecclesial and political landscape. New evidence, contained in unpublished documents in the Lambeth Palace Archives in London, enables a better understanding of the various connections at work behind the scene, including how the Church of England perceived and responded to complex issues within their own ecumenical strategy and the wider context of British foreign policy.

Defending the Faith in a Global Communion: A Tale of Tragedy and Hope

The struggle to defend the faith in the global Anglican Communion is not merely a recent phenomenon. There has never been a “golden age” when the Reformed faith of the Elizabethan Settlement was unchallenged. The emergence of a global fellowship of national churches has highlighted the difficulties of discipline across national borders. Tragically, there has been repeated failure on the part of the Communion’s leadership to guard the faith once for all delivered to the saints, but there is hope in the courage and biblical faithfulness of a new generation of leaders from the Global South. KEYWORDS: Anglicanism, Lambeth Conference, discipline, jurisdiction, bishops, Global South, GAFCON, John Colenso, Canterbury

The People of God, Discipleship and Ministry in the Anglican Church Today and Tomorrow

AbstractPeople of God is a well-known biblical term used to describe and understand the inclusive, holistic and serving nature of the Christian Church. Currently, members of the worldwide Anglican Communion are discussing discipleship and ministry. This paper explores the deep connection between describing the church as the People of God and the practice of discipleship and ministry. That exploration occurs through an examination of the considerable literature on the topic, and by discussing discipleship and ministry in light of understanding the church as the People of God. Discoveries made from the journey may surprise. Suggestions for church practice emerged with implications for: ecclesial language; parish ministry and mission; the processes of Anglican Diocesan Synods; and potential outcomes for the 2022 Lambeth Conference.

Enhancing the Safety of All Persons within the Anglican Communion: Initiatives of the Instruments of Communion

AbstractThis article tells the story of initiatives of the Instruments of Communion to enhance the safety of all persons within the Anglican Communion over the past three decades. These Initiatives have taken place against the backdrop of the significant evidence that has come to light in recent years of abuse being perpetrated by clergy and lay leaders against children, young people and vulnerable adults in the provinces. It describes the actions of the Lambeth Conference, the Primates’ Meeting, the Anglican Consultative Council, and the work of the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission.

Paul Avis and Benjamin M. Guyer (eds), The Lambeth Conference: Theology, History, Polity and Purpose

Paul Avis and Benjamin M. Guyer (eds), <i>The Lambeth Conference: Theology, History, Polity and Purpose</i>

Contraception: The Tragic Deception

Contraception:The Tragic Deception Paul M. Conner O.P. Yes, contraception is a tragic deception. Contraception is so subtle. It is tragic for unmarried, and even married, women. It is tragic for men or women who seek the true fulfillment and beauty of married and family life, or for those who seek a "safe" way to enjoy non-marital sexual relationships. It is tragic for families and for a culture made up principally of contracepting couples. It is tragic especially for Christians convinced that using contraception does not damage their marriage or their growth in Christian life. That contraception is an insidious tragedy is the focus of this commentary. But a vast majority of child-bearing couples in the United States reportedly use contraception! Even some Western government leaders are sure that this overwhelming majority proves that contraception is an unqualified good for those who need it.1 Moreover, many women, if not most, believe that it is needed for health reasons. How, therefore, could contraception be tragic? After all, contraception seems a godsend for the poor of the world, those struggling to support their families. It seems to help society struggling to pay health costs, energy costs, and welfare costs. Contraception seems like [End Page 321] a wonderful technological advance that has solved so many problems. Debate must be obsolete. Many people seem to think that the Catholic Church is retrograde on this issue, and that the Church will eventually change the condemnation of contraception of Pope Paul VI in his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. The Anglican Church led the way for this change among Christian bodies in its Lambeth Conference of 1930, and the Catholic Church, some think, will just have to catch up. Yet, strangely, nearly all Western countries are on a path that can be called social suicide, since none are replacing their populations with children.2 A main factor for this trend of more than fifty years in these countries is the widespread use of contraception. Another factor, of course, is abortion. Even though some Western governments are offering financial incentives for additional children, there are few signs that people in these cultures are willing to forego contraception and abortion, have more children, and save their societies from eventual extinction. Conversely, other religions and cultures, notably Muslims, retain their traditional opposition to unrestricted contraception.3 Such steadfastness, cultural and religious, runs counter to the prevailing secular mindset in Western countries today, making many in those countries assume that contraception is only a religious issue, and therefore on this basis is easily discounted. This commentary intends to investigate the morality of contraception principally from objective standpoints other than those of religion. It will show that sound science and philosophy (applicable to all cultures) alone yield compelling conclusions that the popular view of contraception is in fact a tragic deception. What Is Contraception Morally? Contraception is a choice of action, after sexual intercourse, to keep sperm from fertilizing an egg.4 In a moral sense, it is what a person or [End Page 322] couple chooses to do with some degree of moral awareness and responsibility. This is the "moral object," the main determinant of the morality of our actions. It is a means-step toward some goal. The goal may be made up of one or several reasons why they choose to act this way. These reasons are their moral motive, the second moral determinant to any of our actions. It may be true that the couple is in tough circumstances of poverty, health issues, family size, and so on. Their situation of trying circumstances, a third moral determinant, often generates part or all of the motive. Then, one's motive generates a further choice, to discover a means-step (the moral object) to fulfill it—in this case, either contraception or another anti-reproductive alternative. Finally, the fourth moral determinant completes the moral evaluation of contraception (and of any other action). It is comprised of the results stemming from this action. Technically called "consequences," they may affect several aspects of a couple's marriage and their individual persons. Here lies tragedy often in disguise. If foreknown, each of these four elements—what is chosen...

The Lambeth Appeal and the Appeal of Britain

AbstractIn 1920, the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops issued the “Appeal to All Christian People.” While much has been written on its genesis in 1920 and its impact on the later ecumenical movement and on Anglicanism, much less has been written about the relationship of the sort of ecumenism espoused by the Lambeth Appeal to the international political developments of the time. This article assesses the impact of the First World War and the Versailles Settlement on some of the assumptions underlying the Lambeth Appeal, examining how the appeal was in many ways a by‐product of a new form of internationalism, which itself was closely related to the reinterpretation of the British Empire that emerged during the war.

1920 Problems of marriage and sexual morality: the Lambeth Conference

This article by Dame Mary Scharlieb (1845–1930) addresses issues on marriage and sexuality raised at the 1920 Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops. It is likely that she had a strong influence on the Bishop of London on medical issues, and, through him, on the resolutions on marriage and sexuality at this Conference. Her article, published in Theology in November 1920, is clearly a piece of its time and reflects a fascinating mixture of pro-women and conservative ethical views, tempered by her understanding of medical science as it was then: for example, she and the bishops at the Conference strongly opposed the use of contraception even within marriage (ten years later the Lambeth Conference dropped this opposition). Mary Scharlieb was a pioneer female gynaecologist. Raised as an Evangelical, she became an Anglo-Catholic after her marriage to a British lawyer who was employed in Madras. Her medical training, prompted by the lack of medical help for Indian women, began at the Madras Christian College but was completed at Mrs Garrett Anderson’s London School of Medicine for Women, leading to her appointment at the Royal Free Hospital in 1902. Her husband stayed working in India until his death, while she worked as a gynaecologist in London. She was created a Dame two years before her death. Editor.

The Lambeth Conference, gender and sexuality

On the basis of the Lambeth Conference resolutions, this article traces discussions of marriage and divorce, polygamy, contraception and sexual relationships, the role of women and homosexuality and same-sex relationships at the Lambeth Conferences from 1888 to 1998. It demonstrates a growing awareness among the Anglican bishops of the role of culture in defining approaches to human sexuality and marriage, and of the complex reality of human relationships. As the bishops’ understanding changed and developed, they sometimes confirmed, but often amended, the responses of Lambeth Conferences.