ACC-10 Resolutions

RESOLUTIONS

The Anglican Consultative Council met for the tenth time in 1996 in Panama City, Panama.

The resolutions agreed at ACC-10 address ecumenical dialogue, mission and evangelism, the governance and pastoral life of the Member Churches, and the Communion's response to the concerns of the time. Each resolution is listed below. Open the accordion to read any entry in full.

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Resolved that the Primates having assented, this ACC-10 meeting in Panama welcomes to membership the Province of Mexico.

Asia Resolved that the Primates having assented, this ACC-10 meeting in Panama welcomes to membership the Province of South-East Asia.

Resolved that in consequence of the Province of South-East Asia having been admitted to membership of the ACC, at this, the 10th meeting of this Council, membership of the Council of Churches of East Asia shall, with effect from the date of this meeting, lapse.

Bethlehem Resolved that this Anglican Consultative Council requests the Secretary General to respond positively to the request to the Anglican Communion from the people of the municipality of Bethlehem, to assist in a millennium project to establish a town planning design for the city. This project will first provide a feasibility study, for consideration by the Standing Committees of ACC and the Primates and the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem and the Middle East, concerning the renovation of Manger Square. Such a study would secure information regarding personnel and finance, as well as possible ecumenical involvement, to complete such a programme to celebrate the dawn of the new millennium for world Christianity. A support group, made up of members from around the Communion, should be established to assist in this development task. To ensure ownership of the project by the wider Church, the Secretary General is asked to keep the Provinces informed and to invite responses and indications of commitment.

Resolved that this Council expresses its concern for the Churches and people of North and South Korea in their efforts to achieve the re-unification of their motherland on the basis of mutual acceptance and respect.

Committee Resolved that in view of:

a. The increasing size of the ACC;

b. The recent practice of joint meetings of the ACC Standing Committee and the Primates’ Standing Committee; and

c. The suggestion contained in paragraph 6.26 of the (draft) Virginia Report this Council requests the ACC Standing Committee to consider proposing an increase in the size of the Standing Committee to allow an appropriate balance of bishops, clergy and laity, with consideration to age and gender, on the Standing Committee.

The Anglican Consultative Council may recognise Networks addressing particular themes and concerns throughout the Anglican Communion on application, in accordance with the following guidelines. The Networks shall be identified in the published edition of the minutes of the meeting of the Council.

1.

a. The subject matter of the Network shall be consistent with and supportive of the initiatives of the Provinces and member Churches of the Communion.

b. The Network shall identify an acceptable process of accountability to the Anglican Consultative Council.

c. Through the Secretary General the Network may propose subjects for consideration by the Anglican Consultative Council and shall be available whenever possible to consult on subjects on which its members hold expertise.

d. The Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council shall call meetings of representatives of the Networks for mutual consultation from time to time and may on occasion invite representatives of the Networks to meet with the Joint Standing Committees.

2.

a. Networks are encouraged to seek funding for their budgets from any appropriate source, in consultation with the Secretary General.

b. Networks receiving funds from the budget of the Anglican Consultative Council shall account for their use, as required by the Standing Committee of the Council.

c. Networks seeking all or part of their budget by general appeals to the Provinces and member Churches of the Anglican Communion should obtain permission of the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council.

(Handbook) Resolved that the provisions of the Constitution as contained in a handbook entitled “The Anglican Communion,” shall be referred for detailed analysis and consideration, with a view to such amendment and revision as may be deemed necessary for the removal of doubt, to a Committee on the Constitution (appointed by the Secretary General) which shall, as soon as practicable, report with recommendations to the Standing Committee.

Resolved that this Council requests the Standing Committee

a. to review the principle and purpose of having any co-opted members and to report to ACC-11;

b. on the basis that some members be co-opted, to prepare for ACC-11 a constitutional change to permit cooptions of up to 10% of the elected membership and in making appointments the Standing Committee take into account factors such as age, gender, geography and special skills and experience.

Resolved that at its tenth meeting, held in Panama in October 1996, the ACC expresses its support for the International Petition initiated by the WCC earlier in 1996 and which will be submitted to governments of industrialised countries concerning climate changes and encourages member Churches in the industrialised world to circulate the petition through their networks.

sentence Resolved

1. That, subject to the necessary approvals, in Article 3(a) of the Constitution for the final sentence there shall be substituted “Primates for the purposes of this Article shall mean the principal Archbishop, Bishop or Primate of each of the bodies listed under paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of the Schedule of Membership;” and

2. Requests the Secretary General to refer this amendment to the Provinces appearing on the schedule for ratification under Article 10.

Resolved that this Council

1. affirms its commitment to assisting in the creation of new Provinces, where conditions indicate that such a development is appropriate in the Anglican Communion;

2. urges those involved in promoting the creation of new Provinces to consult the Council through its Secretary General and other officers from the earliest stages in their discussions;

3. affirms the guidelines set out in previous Council resolutions;

4. adopts the additional guidelines as set out in the appended Schedule;

5. requests the Secretary General to publish as a separate document a summary of the Council’s views for circulation to Primates, Provincial Secretaries and all others concerned with promoting the creation of a new Province; and

6. requests the Secretary General to keep these matters under review and to report to the next meeting. Schedule (Additional Guidelines)

1. For the Primate, or any other Council or body having metropolitical authority for the relevant dioceses, to make contact with the ACC as soon as a proposal for formation of a new Province is under serious consideration.

2. This referral might (and ideally would normally) be accompanied by an invitation to the ACC for a visit by the Secretary General, or by someone nominated by the Secretary General, to the dioceses or region, if possible to coincide with some other activity of the Anglican Communion requiring the Secretary General’s presence in the area. The purpose of the visit would be to discuss the application of the ACC’s guidelines to the specific situation in the local area.

3. Once initial consultation had taken place, and it was agreed in principle that it would be expedient to form a new Province in the region, the promoters would appoint a drafting committee, to consider the outline draft constitution set out by the ACC. They would address any issues arising from it that had not yet been considered by the promoters, and set up clear lines of communication and a timetable for consultation with the dioceses concerned, with their metropolitical authority, and with the ACC.

4. The drafting process in itself is likely to take some considerable time, but the ACC can provide significant assistance in advising both on the content of constitutions (by comparison with those used elsewhere in the Communion), and on the arrangements that may need to be made for that stage of the discussion.

5. On receipt of the first (and any subsequent) draft constitution by the ACC, the Secretary General may, in consultation with the Standing Committee as appropriate, appoint a committee, or call upon individual consultants, to make observations on its behalf for further consideration by the promoters and their advisors.

6. Having agreed on the form of the new constitution, the proposers are asked to submit their application for revision of the scheduled list to the ACC not less than 15 months ahead of the next meeting of the full Council.

7. The Secretary General in accordance with Article 3(a) will then consult with the Primates, either at their next scheduled meeting or individually, to seek the two-thirds majority approval required by its constitution.

8. The proposal of revision of the schedule (to add the new Province to the scheduled list) will be put on the agenda for approval at the next full meeting, subject to any outstanding consents of Primates.

9. The Secretary General will be charged with informing the Archbishop of Canterbury at every stage as to the ACC’s view on the eligibility of the applicant body for recognition as an autonomous Province of the Anglican Communion.

Resolved that this Council supports the action of the Secretary General in calling together representatives of women’s organisations throughout the Communion to

i. discover ways in which stronger links among women may grow; and

ii. develop responses to the challenges coming from the Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing and requests that a report of the Beijing event be sent to the Joint Standing Committees of the Primates and the ACC for their 1997 Meeting.

second sentence Defeated

Resolved that trusting in God’s reconciling power and giving thanks for repentance and spiritual renewal within the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, this Council:

1. urges the Anglican Communion to continue its prayer for the people, Government and Church in Rwanda;

2. in the quest for peace, we urge the Episcopal Church of Rwanda never to abandon its call to be God’s instrument of justice and reconciliation, without which no peace in Rwanda can be lasting;

3. in the light of steps taken both by the Provincial Synod of EER, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, to persuade the bishops in exile to return to their dioceses, or to resign, and given that these bishops have not responded to these calls, we recognise that those sees are now vacant, and request the authorities in those dioceses to communicate this to their respective bishops, and to record this action in their records [In this respect, we refer to the Dioceses of Cyangugu, Kibungo, Shyira and Shyogwe.];

4. we urge the Church leadership, in consequence, in consultation as necessary with the secular authorities, to set in motion legal procedures to elect bishops to those four vacant sees; and as soon as possible after these elections and consecrations, to call a Provincial Synod meeting in order to finalise a Provincial Constitution;

5. not only do we applaud and support the initiatives which have been taken by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Secretary General, and the Archbishop’s special envoy to Rwanda, the Right Reverend David Birney, but we offer our continued support and encouragement to them to take such future initiatives as they think necessary, consulting where possible the Primates of the Communion, the ACC Standing Committee, and other representatives of the Communion whose specialist knowledge of the situation may aid the process.

Advisory Group by an Inter-Anglican Standing Commission Resolved that this ACC endorses the proposal contained in the Agros Report that the Ecumenical Advisory Group be replaced by an Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations following the Lambeth Conference, whose tasks would be:

a. to monitor and enable Anglican participation in multilateral and bilateral dialogues;

b. to monitor and encourage the process of reception, response and decision;

c. to ensure theological consistency in dialogues and conversations by reviewing local, regional and provincial proposals with ecumenical partners and when an agreement affects the life of the Communion as a whole, to propose, after consultation with the ACC and the Primates’ Meeting, that the matter be brought to the Lambeth Conference before the Province votes to enter the new relationship;

d. to address issues of terminology; and

e. to facilitate the circulation of documents and ecumenical resources throughout the Communion.

Resolved that this Council:

a. expresses its thanks to the Ecumenical Advisory Group who drafted the Agros Report and looks forward to its completion at the St Augustine’s Seminar in April 1997, in preparation for the Lambeth Conference 1998; and

b. requests that the Report be published in study form as a companion booklet to the Report of ACC-10.

Withdrawn.

Resolved that whereas it is the duty of the Christian Church to proclaim the liberating Good News as enunciated in Holy Scripture, and that whereas the suffering and deprivation of human beings anywhere in the world demeans those who are created in the image of God:

1. this 10th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council, convened in Panama City, Panama, hereby calls upon the Government of the United States to lift its embargo against Cuba; and

2. calls upon its observer at the United Nations to convey our concern to that gathered body of nations; and

3. recommends that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the President of the United States, both Houses of Congress, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the President of the House of Deputies of the General Convention, and the Bishop, clergy and people of the Episcopal Church in Cuba.

Solomon Islands Withdrawn.

Resolved that this ACC

1. encourages all Anglicans to work for strict controls and safeguards on personal firearms and to set an example by their own renunciation of firearms except when needed for a legitimate livelihood;

2. encourages all Anglicans to engage in the “Turning Swords into Ploughshares” programme;

3. challenges all Governments not to engage in the manufacture, import, export, storage, sale or purchase of landmines; and

4. encourages all people of goodwill to engage in supporting financially programmes to rid countries of landmines.

2000 Resolved that the ACC endorses the request of MISSIO that the Anglican Communion and its member Churches promote the spirit of the jubilee for the year 2000 by:

a. co-operating with other churches, agencies and governments in support of international movements for the cancellation of international debt of developing countries by the year 2000; and

b. seeking, under the leadership of their bishops, concrete actions in the local church and in their local context which reflect the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation implicit in the Biblical jubilee motif. Further, this meeting of the ACC appeals to the IMF, and the World Bank, and other such institutions, to take steps to cancel the debts of the third world countries by the year 2000.

Resolved that the ACC endorses the challenge of MISSIO that the Churches of the Communion move beyond maintenance thinking by giving mission the top priority it deserves in their budgets.

Decade of Evangelism (G-CODE 2000) Resolved that this ACC

a. welcomes the MISSIO Report on the Mid-Point Review of the Decade of Evangelism (G-CODE 2000), held in Kanuga in September 1995;

b. recommends the circulation of that decade report throughout the Communion, in translation where necessary; and

c. urges Provinces to take forward the 10 ‘Emerging Issues and Future Directions’ which were identified as priorities for the Communion as a result of the Decade Review.

Statement Resolved that this meeting of ACC, ACC-10, having received, through the President Bishop of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Statement of all the Heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem dated November 14,1994, on the significance of Jerusalem for Christians, endorses this statement and commends it to the Provinces of the Anglican Communion and to the Lambeth Conference.

Withdrawn and tabled to Standing Committee

Resolved that this ACC applauds the many Provinces which continue to contribute, fully and sacrificially, to the core activities and budget of the Anglican Communion Office; and calls upon all Provinces to make their full contribution to the Anglican Communion rather than by their actions restrict the constructive, Communion-wide contribution of the Anglican Communion Office in relation to priorities determined by its worldwide membership.

1998 Resolved that this ACC asks the Standing Committees of ACC and the Primates to set up a feasibility study to look at the questions which have been raised in connection with the Lambeth Conferences beyond 1998, so that the Lambeth bishops may have a working paper on which to base their considerations in Lambeth 1998 regarding future meetings.

Resolved that this meeting of ACC, recognising that 1997 is to be observed as ‘The Year of Uprooted Peoples’:

1. affirms the importance of the work of the Anglican Refugee network; and

2. asks the ACC Standing Committee to take steps to ensure the continuance of this work, whether as a distinct Network, or in association with another Network, or through our UN Observer, or by other means.

Resolved that this Anglican Consultative Council

1. receives the Principles and Recommendations on the renewal of the Eucharist of the Fifth International Anglican Liturgical Consultation, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, 1995, and commends them to the Provinces for study, together with the statements of the working groups of the Consultation;

2. urges the Primates to commend these documents for study to appropriate committees, colleges, and networks which will guarantee their wide dissemination among all who are concerned with the renewal of liturgical practice and the revision of the liturgical texts; and

3. asks the Provincial offices to report on the reception of these documents to the Coordinator for Liturgy by the end of 1997.

Resolved that this ACC desires to have an International Anglican gathering after the 1998 Lambeth Conference (perhaps in 2001) and asks the Standing Committees of ACC and the Primates:

a. to set up a group to conduct a feasibility study;

b. gives authority to the Standing Committees to decide to proceed with such a gathering if the feasibility study suggests this is wise;

c. to write to ACC members to inform them of progress in this matter.

Resolved that at the Meeting of ACC-11 and at all meetings of ACC thereafter full written minutes of all proceedings be taken.

Resolved that this Council, gratefully acknowledging the enormous amount of time and effort which has been given to the proposal to form an Anglican Investment Agency, by a small group of lay people led by Mrs Marion Dawson Carr:

1. supports this initiative to raise money for the special initiatives of the international ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion, as set out in the introductory document;

2. accepts the invitation to nominate three of its members to the Disbursement Trust and asks the Standing Committee to implement this; and

3. requests a regular report of the activities of the Agency to be made available to its full Council meeting, and to meetings of the Joint Standing Committees of the ACC and the Primates.

Resolved that the 10th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council gives thanks to God for the ministry of so many whose commitment and service have enabled the Council to do the work of the Church and the will of God: for our President, Archbishop George Carey, whose personal commitment, clear proclamation and pastoral compassion inspire us; for our Chairman, Canon Colin Craston, whose wisdom and experience have been a grace and a strength to us; for our Vice-Chairman, Bishop Simon Chiwanga, with assurance of our prayers and support as he moves to further service in our midst; for our Secretary General, Canon John Peterson, whose enthusiasm excites us, whose initiative strengthens us and whose energy empowers us; for the Design Group, led by Dr Diane Maybee, who enabled us to work with diligence and responsibility for all that we faced; for the Nominations Committee, led by Bishop Mark Dyer, who steered us through complex procedures and helped us discern our future leaders; for the Resolutions Committee, led by Lady Brenda Shiel, who helped us express our mind and will clearly; for the Bible studies, prepared by Bishop Dinis Sengulane, which drew us closer to our Lord and to each other; for the worship team, led by the Chaplain, Bishop Roger Herft, who gathered our hearts and spirits in common prayer and fellowship; for the Communications team, led by Canon Jim Rosenthal, who have enabled us to speak to the world those words we share with each other; for our partners, Roger Nostbakken from the Lutheran World Federation and Fr George Tavard from the Roman Catholic Church, whose presence and encouragement have raised our eyes to the ecumenical horizon; for the translators, led by the Revd Diana Luz Parada, who opened the meeting to Spanish and French speakers; for the members of the office staff, Mrs Christine Codner, Miss Clare Dell, Miss Fiona Millican and Mrs Rosemary Palmer, whose work behind the scenes have given us the tools to do our work; for Senor Miguel Franco and the staff of the Hotel Riande Continental Ciudad, who have laboured mightily to cope with our diverse needs and wants; for the local committees on arrangements and the countless volunteers, whose availability and service have supported us at every step; for the Bishop of Panama and Mrs Connie Hayes, the Dean and people of St Luke’s Cathedral and Senor Biron Daniels and the staff of the diocesan office, who have opened their hearts and their arms to offer us unforgettable hospitality and witness; for all who have participated in our common search to know the will of God and to do it.

Resolved that this 10th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council sends its greetings and assurances of prayer to the following: the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, the Most Revd Edmond Lee Browning; and the President of Province IX, the Right Reverend Neptali Larrea, in whose Province we have met; the Eglise Episcopale du Burundi, and their member of this Council, the Reverend Bernard Ntahoturi, with regret that present troubles make it impossible for them to be represented here and with assurance of our continuing prayers and support; the Bishop of Rome, His Holiness Pope John Paul II, with prayers for his continued restoration to health and in anticipation of his meeting with our President and Secretary General; the Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomeos I, with prayers for the patriarchate in Istanbul; the Moderator of the World Council of Churches, His Holiness Aram I, and the Secretary General, Dr Konrad Raiser, with thanks for their work on behalf of all of us who pray for growth among Christians in faith and order, in life and work; the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and its President, Cardinal Cassidy; and the Lutheran World Federation and its President, Dr Ishmael Noko, for enabling ecumenical partners to be with us; other church leaders closely associated with the Anglican Communion and its work: The Most Reverend Antoniusjan Glazemaker, Archbishop of Utrecht, and the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of the Armenian Orthodox Church The Reverend Dr Milan Opocensky, General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches Dr Joe Hale, General Secretary of the World Methodist Council His Holiness Moran Basileos Mar Thoma Mathew II His Holiness Ignatius Zakka I Ivas, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syrian Orthodox Church The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Panama, Monsenor Dimas Cedeno, and other ecumenical Church leaders in Panama The President of Panama, SE Ernesto Perez Balladares The Mayor of Panama City, Senora Mayin Correa The Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Panama and Mrs Sinton.

Click the links below to read all the resolutions from each ACC in full: