Anglican Communion News Service

Member for the Americas of the Primates' Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion

I write as a member of the Primates' Standing Committee which, together with the Archbishop of Canterbury, has spent time over the past months planning the March meeting of Primates.

Because of the recent action in Singapore, there will be greater need at that meeting to deepen the understanding of Primates about episcopal ministry.

In the Anglican tradition, bishops are chosen by the local church according to its standards and practices; The persons chosen are affirmed by the wider church, that is, the province, and then ordained by bishops acting in, with, and for the church of the diocese and province.

Bishops are not intercontinental ballistic missiles, manufactured on one continent and fired into another as an act of aggression.

The recent irregular ordination in Singapore is, in my opinion, an open and premeditated assault on Anglican tradition, catholic order and Christian charity.

I ask for the prayers of the whole church for the Primates' Meeting that it may contribute to deeper comprehension, mutual trust, and godly quietness among its members and throughout the Communion.