1 thought on “Perspectives on the Primates’ Meeting – Covenant”
“I rejoice that the primates chose to walk together, because what keeps us together is not agreement or uniformity, but the presence of the Risen Christ among us. He makes us a communion, and so we are stuck with each other. When Christians are unable to agree with one another, yet choose communion, refusing to say “I have no need of you,” we bear evangelical witness to the One through whom God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross. Unity is about evangelical witness.
And so the last thing the primates did in Canterbury was to reflect on the Church’s mission in evangelism. Every single one of the primates committed themselves and their churches “to proclaim the person and work of Jesus Christ, unceasingly and authentically, inviting all to embrace the beauty and joy of the Gospel.” So from my perspective as Secretary General, and as a charismatic and evangelical Anglican, that final thing that I would like to say about the primates’ gathering is “Praise the Lord!””
What is meant by ‘…to proclaim…’? In the New Testament Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. And he also taught and warned and rebuked. Paul disputed about the meaning of the Old Testament prophecies and preached about the person and work of Christ. So presumably ‘…to proclaim…’ does include teaching and warning and rebuking. And it is not possible to teach, warn and rebuke without doctrine. As I keep pointing out, therein lies the problem. Members of the Anglican Communion fundamentally disagree about the truth of the person and work of Christ, the truth about the human condition before God and how the work of Christ delivers us from that condition.
Phil Almond
“I rejoice that the primates chose to walk together, because what keeps us together is not agreement or uniformity, but the presence of the Risen Christ among us. He makes us a communion, and so we are stuck with each other. When Christians are unable to agree with one another, yet choose communion, refusing to say “I have no need of you,” we bear evangelical witness to the One through whom God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross. Unity is about evangelical witness.
And so the last thing the primates did in Canterbury was to reflect on the Church’s mission in evangelism. Every single one of the primates committed themselves and their churches “to proclaim the person and work of Jesus Christ, unceasingly and authentically, inviting all to embrace the beauty and joy of the Gospel.” So from my perspective as Secretary General, and as a charismatic and evangelical Anglican, that final thing that I would like to say about the primates’ gathering is “Praise the Lord!””
What is meant by ‘…to proclaim…’? In the New Testament Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. And he also taught and warned and rebuked. Paul disputed about the meaning of the Old Testament prophecies and preached about the person and work of Christ. So presumably ‘…to proclaim…’ does include teaching and warning and rebuking. And it is not possible to teach, warn and rebuke without doctrine. As I keep pointing out, therein lies the problem. Members of the Anglican Communion fundamentally disagree about the truth of the person and work of Christ, the truth about the human condition before God and how the work of Christ delivers us from that condition.
Phil Almond