BY ROBERT H. LUNDY, EDITOR

The Fourth Anglican Global South to South Encounter took place April 19-23 in Singapore with representatives of the vast majority of the world's Anglicans on hand. Twenty provinces represented by 130 delegates in the Global South met at St. Andrew's Cathedral. Representatives included archbishops, bishops, priests and laity along with some Western observers, including Anglican Church in North America (AC-NA) Archbishop Bob Duncan and the AAC's Phil Ashey, meeting for Bible study, plenary sessions, and small group discussions. The previous South to South Encounter took place in 2005 in Egypt.

Conference organizers set the theme as "The Gospel of Jesus Christ-Covenant for the People; Light for the Nations" and sought to strengthen participants' relational ties and affirm the "Anglican Covenant as the basis in intensifying the ecclesial life between churches in the Communion," according to a pre-conference publication. While the meeting's impact on the rest of the Communion remains to be seen, its importance was clearly visible. As planned, the group elected a new slate of leaders with the most notable change being the replacement of retired Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola as chair with the Archbishop of Singapore, John Chew.

Above: Bishops gather for prayer before Eucharist at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Singapore. Below: Bishops outside cathedral. (Photos courtesy Global South Anglican website)

While he could not attend the meeting due to a full schedule, the Archbishop of Canterbury addressed the conference via video. His 11 minute video address urged participants to submit to one another in mutual obedience and to be patient, in reference to the election of a partnered lesbian bishop in Los Angeles, saying that there are "no quick solutions for the wounds of the Body of Christ." Before the conference ended, reports emerged that participants did not applaud for or show noticeable appreciation for the Archbishop's message.

The meeting ended with the release of a communiqué calling for the next decade to be "a Decade of Mission and Networking" within the Global South. The communiqué also chastised The Episcopal Church (TEC) and the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) who have "rejected the Way of the Lord as expressed in Holy Scripture" and encouraged all Global South provinces to "reconsider their communion relationship" with TEC and the ACoC. Many provinces have already declared themselves to be out of communion or in a state of broken communion with the two provinces.

While it mourned the actions of some, the conference expressed welcome to two North American groups. The Global South welcomed the Communion Partners, a group of priests and bishops who uphold Anglican orthodoxy but choose to remain within TEC, along with the AC-NA as partners in the Gospel and expressed the hope that "all provinces will be in full communion with the clergy and people of the AC-NA and the Communion Partners."

Regarding the proposed Anglican Covenant, the meeting did not affirm the document as it originally set out to do but instead said "we are currently reviewing the proposed Covenant to find ways to strengthen it in order for it to fulfill its purpose." The communiqué specifically suggested that all who adopt the Covenant should be in compliance with Lambeth 1.10, the Communion's official teaching on human sexuality, and that the primates, rather than the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion, should oversee the implementation of the Covenant.

The communiqué also addressed the perceived colonialism and domination of Western voices within communion structures and called for a "review [of] the entire Anglican Communion structure; especially the Instruments of Communion and the Anglican Communion Office; in order to achieve an authentic expression of the current reality of our Anglican Communion."

As of press time, the Anglican Communion Office and Archbishop of Canterbury had not responded to the communiqué. †