Lambeth Conference

The Lambeth Conference
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The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place in 1867.

As the Anglican Communion is an international association of autonomous national and regional churches a Lambeth Conference “is not a canonical tribunal, but neither is it merely a general consultation. It is a meeting of the chief pastors and teachers of the Communion, seeking an authoritative common voice.” Decisions of the conference "have no binding power over the 38 national Anglican churches, which must adopt them by synodical or other constitutional means to give them legal force."

The Lambeth Conference forms one of the communion's four "Instruments of Communion".

Origins

The idea of a Lambeth Conference was first suggested in a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Longley by Bishop John Henry Hopkins of Vermont in 1851. The possibility of such an international gathering of bishops had first emerged during the jubilee of the Church Missionary Society in 1851 when a number of United States bishops were present in London. However, the initial impetus came from episcopal churches in Canada. In 1865 the synod of that province, in an urgent letter to Archbishop of Canterbury Longley, represented the unsettlement of members of the Canadian church caused by recent legal decisions of the Privy Council and their alarm lest the revived action of convocation "should leave us governed by canons different from those in force in England and Ireland, and thus cause us to drift into the status of an independent branch of the Catholic Church". They, therefore, requested him to call a "national synod of the bishops of the Anglican Church at home and abroad", to meet under his leadership. Archbishop Longley made it clear that he would not be "summoning any kind of synod" as that would have been illegal under English law. Rather, he was "inviting some personal guests of his own for consultation". After consulting both houses of the Convocation of Canterbury, Archbishop Longley assented and convened all the bishops of the Anglican Communion (then 144 in number) to meet at Lambeth in 1867.

Many Anglican bishops (amongst them the Archbishop of York and most of his suffragans) felt so doubtful as to the wisdom of such an assembly that they refused to attend it, and Dean Stanley declined to allow Westminster Abbey to be used for the closing service, giving as his reasons the partial character of the assembly, uncertainty as to the effect of its measures and "the presence of prelates not belonging to our Church".

Archbishop Longley said in his opening address, however, that they had no desire to assume "the functions of a general synod of all the churches in full communion with the Church of England", but merely to "discuss matters of practical interest, and pronounce what we deem expedient in resolutions which may serve as safe guides to future action". Thus, from their beginning, Lambeth Conferences have been neither councils nor synods, but conferences. They have no "legislative authority", so they cannot impose doctrine or discipline. They are forums by which "the mind of the Communion can be expressed".

Accounts of all the Lambeth Conferences follow Section 3, Conferences.

Authority and importance

A Lambeth Conference is not a “Council or Synod but a Conference”. Rather in the words of Archbishop Longley, a Lambeth Conference is a meeting of bishops "for brotherly counsel and encouragement". Therefore, a Lambeth Conference cannot impose doctrine or discipline. It can only express its mind on the matters it addresses.

During a Lambeth Conference, the bishops consult on “Anglican matters, relations with other churches and religions, and theological, social, and international questions.” At the end, the conference expresses its mind in “an encyclical letter, a series of resolutions, and the reports prepared by committees”. The mind of a conference has “no binding power” over the thirty-eight national churches that compose the Anglican Communion. Therefore, the Lambeth Conferences can only “lay down principles of guidance”.

Although a Lambeth Conference has no binding power, its “statements carry a great deal of weight. Its statements on social issues have influenced church policy in the churches.” So, although the resolutions of conferences carry no legislative authority, they “do carry great moral and spiritual authority.” For example, the endorsement of contraception by the 1930 conference “provided the foundation for the Episcopal Church to change its formal view of the morality of birth control in 1948.” Over the first thirteen Conferences, the bishops issue resolutions “on more than 750 issues, ranging from international politics, social policy and other matters of secular concern to Church order, doctrine, ethics and Christian unity”.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams gave his opinion of what a Lambeth Conference is not and what it is. He said that “it is not a canonical tribunal, but neither is it merely a general consultation. It is a meeting of the chief pastors and teachers of the Communion, seeking an authoritative common voice. It is also a meeting designed to strengthen and deepen the sense of what the episcopal vocation is.”

In their deliberations, the bishops are not “always divided”. They have been unified “on many issues such as human rights, peace and ecumenical relations”.

Over the past century, the Lambeth Conferences have produced important statements on the following subjects:

• drug abuse (1908).
• moral principles in economic life (1908).
• moral responsibility in politics (1908).
• war and peace (1897 – when war was decried as “a horrible evil” – 1920, 1930, 1968 – when the use of nuclear and *bacteriological weapons were condemned “emphatically” and the right of conscientious objectors upheld – and 1978).
• human rights (1948, 1978).
• contraception (1908, 1920, 1930, 1958, 1968).
• social responsibility (1958, 1978).
• the family (1958).
• the ministry of the laity (1968).
• ecology (1968).
• sexuality and homosexuality (1988, 1998).

Conferences

First: 1867

Punch cartoon on the subject of the first Lambeth Conference

• Presided over by: Charles Thomas Longley
• 76 bishops present.

The Archbishop of York and several other English bishops refused to attend because they thought such a conference would cause “increased confusion” about controversial issues.

The conference began on Tuesday, September 24, with a celebration of the Holy Communion at which the Right Reverend Henry John Whitehouse (1803-1874), Second Bishop of Illinois, preached. Bishop Samuel Wilberforce of Oxford later described the sermon as "wordy but not devoid of a certain impressiveness." No one was permitted to be present except the bishops and there was no music.

The meetings were held in the upstairs Dining Room (known as the Guard Room).

The first session was spent discussing a “preamble to the subsequent resolutions” that would be issued after the conference.

The second day, Wednesday, September 25, Archbishop Longley consented to “a complete change of programme. The rest of the day was spent on a discussion of how to best maintain the faith and unity of the Anglican Communion. This discussion resulted in Resolution 5 below.

The third day, Thursday, September 26, was given over to “the controversy over Bishop Colenso who had been deposed and excommunicated for heresy because of his unorthodox views of the Old Testament.” Several resolutions was offered including a substitute proposed by the Bishop of Vermont which regarded “the said Doctor John William Colenso as a heretic, cut off from the communion of the Church.” All the English bishops except one opposed the motion. The American and Colonial bishops supported it.

During the discussion the Bishop of St. David's called upon Archbishop Longley four times to close the debate, as its continuance would be a breach of a solemn engagement. The Archbishop ruled that neither the Bishop of Vermont's substitute nor the Bishop of S. Andrew's amendment could be submitted to the Conference: but that it was no breach of the previous understanding to discuss, amend or adopt the Bishop of New Zealand's motion. The Bishop of New Zealand’s motion was adopted as Resolution 6 below.

The third day, Friday, September 27, “a short ‘Encyclical’ Letter or Address” that had been previously agreed upon was formally signed. After singing the Gloria in excelsis Deo, Archbishop Longley dismissed the Conference with the Benediction. It was agreed that the reports of the committees would be received at a final meeting on 10 December by those bishops still in England. The final day, Saturday, September 28, thirty-four bishops attended Holy Communion at Lambeth Parish Church at which Archbishop Longley presided and Bishop Francis Fulford of Montreal, one of the instigators of the original request for a conference, preached.

No one session of the conference had all the bishops attending although all signed the Address and Archbishop Longley was authorised to add the names of absent bishops who later subscribed to it. Attending bishops included 18 English, 5 Irish, 6 Scots, 19 American and 24 Colonial.

Adopted nine resolutions
The following resolutions are taken from “Lambeth Conference Resolutions”.

• Resolution 1

“That it appears to us expedient, for the purpose of maintaining brotherly intercommunion, that all cases of establishment of new sees, and appointment of new bishops, be notified to all archbishops and metropolitans, and all presiding bishops of the Anglican Communion.”

• Resolution 2

“That, having regard to the conditions under which intercommunion between members of the Church passing from one distant diocese to another may be duly maintained, we hereby declare it desirable:

That forms of letters commendatory on behalf of clergymen visiting other dioceses be drawn up and agreed upon.

That a forms of letters commendatory for lay members of the Church be in like manner prepared.

That His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury be pleased to undertake the preparation of such forms.”

• Resolution 3

“That a committee be appointed to draw up a pastoral address to all members of the Church of Christ in communion with the Anglican branch of the Church Catholic, to be agreed upon by the assembled bishops, and to be published as soon as possible after the last sitting of the Conference.”

• Resolution 4

“That, in the opinion of this Conference, unity in faith and discipline will be best maintained among the several branches of the Anglican Communion by due and canonical subordination of the synods of the several branches to the higher authority of a synod or synods above them.”

• Resolution 5

“That a committee of seven members (with power to add to their number, and to obtain the assistance of men learned in ecclesiastical and canon law) be appointed to inquire into and report upon the subject of the relations and functions of such synods, and that such report be forwarded to His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, with a request that, if possible, it may be communicated to any adjourned meeting of the Conference.”

• Resolution 6

“That, in the judgement of the bishops now assembled, the whole Anglican Communion is deeply injured by the present condition of the Church in Natal; and that a committee be now appointed at this general meeting to report on the best mode by which the Church may be delivered from the continuance of this scandal, and the true faith maintained. That such report be forwarded to His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, with the request that he will be pleased to transmit the same to all the bishops of the Anglican Communion, and to ask for their judgement thereupon.”

• Resolution 7

“That we who are here present do acquiesce in the Resolution of the Convocation of Canterbury, passed on 29 June 1866, relating to the Diocese of Natal, to wit:

If it be decided that a new bishop should be consecrated: As to the proper steps to be taken by the members of the Church in the Province of Natal for obtaining a new bishop, it is the opinion of this House:

first, that a formal instrument, declaratory of the doctrine and discipline of the Church of South Africa should be prepared, which every bishop, priest and deacon to be appointed to office should be required to subscribe;

secondly, that a godly and well-learned man should be chosen by the clergy, with the assent of the lay communicants of the Church;

and thirdly, that he should be presented for consecration, either to the Archbishop of Canterbury - if the aforesaid instrument should declare the doctrine and discipline of Christ as received by the United Church of England and Ireland - or to the bishops of the Church of South Africa, according as hereafter may be judged to be most advisable and convenient.”

• Resolution 8

“That, in order to the binding of the Churches of our colonial empire and the missionary Churches beyond them in the closest union with the Mother-Church, it is necessary that they receive and maintain without alteration the standards of faith and doctrine as now in use in that Church. That, nevertheless, each province should have the right to make such adaptations and additions to the services of the Church as its peculiar circumstances may require. Provided, that no change or addition be made inconsistent with the spirit and principles of the Book of Common Prayer, and that all such changes be liable to revision by any synod of the Anglican Communion in which the said province shall be represented.”

• Resolution 9

“That the committee appointed by Resolution 5, with the addition of the names of the Bishops of London, St. David's, and Oxford, and all the colonial bishops, be instructed to consider the constitution of a voluntary spiritual tribunal, to which questions of doctrine may be carried by appeal from the tribunals for the exercise of discipline in each province of the colonial Church, and that their report be forwarded to His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, who is requested to communicate it to an adjourned meeting of this Conference.”

The “Official Reports and Resolutions” were published in 1889 as The Lambeth Conferences of 1867, 1878, and 1888: with the Official Reports and Resolutions, Together with the Sermons Preached at the Conferences, edited by Randall Thomas Davidson. (London: SPCK, 1889)..

Second: 1878

• Presided over by: Archibald Campbell Tait
• 100 bishops present. 108 bishops accepted the Archbishop's invitation, but 8 were prevented from attending.

The first conference was too short to deal with “wider questions of policy and practice” although that had been in Archbishop Longley's programme. Furthermore, the Reports of the Eight Committees been reported to less than a score of Bishops at one session, thus adequate discussion of them was impossible. Bishop Selwyn, a promoter of the 1867 conference suggested a future Conference for extended discussions of the wider questions.

Archbishop Tait, who succeeded Archbishop Longley, was a supporter of Colenso, and he held the Erastian view that a conference should not be called without some royal authority. Erastianism is the doctrine that “the state is superior to the church in ecclesiastical matters.”

By 1872, many bishops were asking, “will there be a second Conference, and if so, when?” Again, the Canadian Church made the first official request in December 1872, to the Convocation of Canterbury which also request Archbishop Tait, who had succeeded to the Primacy, that he summon a second Conference as soon as possible. The American bishops joined in requesting another conference. In 1874, Bishop Kerfoot of Pittsburgh delivered the request in person. Importantly, the Convocation of the Province of York had changed its position and now supported the conference idea.

Buttressed by such requests, Tait wrote a letter on March 28, 1876, to “all the Bishops of the Anglican Communion, intimating his readiness to hold a Conference in 1878" on the condition that "it shall seem expedient” after he had received their opinions.

Tait, having received the opinions and suggestions of the bishops who responded to his letter of March 28, 1876, on July 10, 1877, wrote a letter to the bishops of the Anglican Communion (delivered via the various prelates) proposing holding “a Conference of Bishops of the Anglican Communion, at this place [Lambeth Palace], beginning on Tuesday, the second day of July, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight. The Conference, it is proposed, shall extend over four weeks; the first week, of Four Sessions, to be devoted to discussions, in Conference, of the subjects submitted for deliberation; the second and third weeks to the consideration of these subjects in Committees; and the fourth week to final discussions in Conference, and to the close of the meeting.”

Tait’s letter listed the subjects he had selected for discussion:

1. The best mode of maintaining Union among the various churches of the Anglican Communion.

2. Voluntary Boards of Arbitration for Churches to which such an arrangement may be applicable.

3. The relations to each other of Missionary Bishops and of Missionaries, in various branches of the Anglican Communion acting in the same country.

4. The position of Anglican Chaplains and Chaplaincies on the Continent of Europe and elsewhere.

5. Modern forms of infidelity, and the best means of dealing with them.

6. The condition, progress, and needs of the various Churches of the Anglican Communion.

1878 conference opening

Archbishop Tait’s only son had recently died, so there was fear that the Archbishop would not attend the opening at Canterbury Cathedral. However, he went to Canterbury and was met by “an immense gathering of clergy.”

On Saturday, June 29, St. Peter's Day, a service was held in the morning in St. Augustine's Missionary College, with a sermon by Bishop Arthur Cleveland Coxe, of Western New York.

On the same day, at a Special Evensong in the Cathedral at three o'clock, the Archbishop gave an official welcome to the assembled Bishops sitting in the Chair of St Augustine placed in the centre of the altar steps with the Bishops grouped on either side of it.

1878 conference sessions

The bishops then moved to Lambeth for the First Session at eleven o'clock, on Tuesday, July 2, 1787. They were marshalled in the Guard-room, processed to the Chapel. The Holy Communion was celebrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York preached.

The first week’s sessions of the Conference were held in the Great Library, not, as in 1867, in the Guard-room, according to this schedule, beginning Tuesday, July 2, 1878. The arrangement of hours and subjects was as follows:
July 2: 11 a.m. Holy Communion and sermon in Lambeth Palace Chapel.

1.30 p.m. Archbishop's opening address.

2 p.m.-4.45 p.m. Subject I: The best mode of maintaining union among the various Churches of the Anglican Communion.

July 3: 10.30 a.m. Litany in Chapel.

11 a.m. Subject II: Voluntary Boards of Arbitration for Churches to which such an arrangement may be applicable.  :1.30 p.m. Subject III: The relation to each other of Missionary Bishops and of Missionaries in various Branches of the Anglican Communion, acting in the same country.

July 4: 10.30 a.m. Litany in Chapel.

11 a.m. Subject IV: The position of Anglican Chaplains and Chaplaincies on the Continent of Europe and elsewhere.

1.30 p.m. Subject V: Modern forms of Infidelity, and the best means of dealing with them.

July 5: 10.30 a.m. Litany in Chapel.

l1 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. Subject VI: The condition, progress, and needs of the various Churches of the Anglican Communion.

In the opening debates during the first week, “the formal motion was in each case for the appointment of a Committee to consider the particular subject under discussion and to report to the Conference during the closing week of session.” These Committees met at various places for two weeks. They submitted their Reports when the Conference re-assembled in the Lambeth Library on Monday, July 22.

The Conference did not adopt formal Resolutions. Rather, the mind of the Conference was expressed by the Reports of its five Committees (accepted by the plenary Conference with virtual unanimity) into an Encyclical Letter which was later published.

After the “Letter” had been signed, the Gloria in Excelsis was sung by the conferees, the Benediction was pronounced by Tait, and the deliberations of the Second Lambeth Conference ended on Friday July 27, 1878.

On Saturday, July 27, a closing service was held in St. Paul's Cathedral. Some eighty-five bishops were present. The Holy Communion was celebrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury; the sermon was preached by Bishop William Bacon Stevens of Pennsylvania. After the service, the Bishops assembled in the apse of the Cathedral for a farewell by Archbishop Tait.

I feel confident that the effect of our gathering will be that the Church at home and abroad will be strengthened by the mutual counsel
which we have taken together. May the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost attend each one of us in our
several spheres when we depart from this place. On behalf of the Bishops of England I offer to those of our brethren who have come
hither from foreign lands our heartfelt thanks, and bid them, in the name of God, Farewell!

The Official List of bishops present is given in The Lambeth Conferences of 1867, 1878, and 1888, 204-206.

The expenses of the Conference were borne by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the English Diocesan Bishops. A committee arranged hospitality to the American and Colonial Bishops.

The “Official Reports and Resolutions” were published in 1889 as The Lambeth Conferences of 1867, 1878, and 1888: with the Official Reports and Resolutions, Together with the Sermons Preached at the Conferences (London: SPCK, 1889).

Third: 1888

Lambeth Palace, photographed looking east across the River Thames.

• Presided over by: Edward White Benson
• 145 Bishops Present:”This was proportionally a much larger attendance than at cither of the previous Conferences.”

“It was virtually settled at the Conference of 1878 that a third Conference should be held at Lambeth, ten years later, and the death of Archbishop Tait, on December 3, 1882, made no difference in these arrangements.”

As had been done before the first two conferences, in July 1886, Archbishop Benson wrote a “circular letter” to the Anglican bishops who were "exercising superintendence over Dioceses, or lawfully commissioned to exercise Episcopal functions therein." The letter was, again, delivered through the various Metropolitans and Presiding Bishops. The letter to the bishops announced Tait’s plan for a Lambeth Conference in the summer of 1888, it asked if they thought it “probable” that they would attend, and it requested “any subjects of general importance” for discussion.

On November 9, 1887, Benson sent another circular letter to the bishops with “definite information” about a Conference to assemble on Tuesday, July 3, 1888. The programme was to be similar to the 1878 Conference: four days of plenary sessions for assigning discussion topics to appointed Committees and adjournment to give the Committees time for deliberation. The Conference would re-assemble on Monday, July 23 or Tuesday, July 24, and would conclude its session on Friday, July 27. The discussion topics would include topics suggested by the bishops:

I. The Church's practical work in relation to (a) Intemperance, (b) Purity, (c) Care of Emigrants, (d) Socialism.

II. Definite Teaching of the Faith to various classes, and the means thereto.

III. The Anglican Communion in relation to the Eastern Churches, to the Scandinavian and other Reformed Churches, to the Old Catholics, and others.

IV. Polygamy of heathen converts. Divorce.

V. Authoritative standards of Doctrine and Worship.

VI. Mutual relations of Dioceses and Branches of the Anglican Communion.

1888 conference opening

The official proceedings began, as in 1878 in Canterbury on Saturday, June 30. After hospitable entertainment in St. Augustine's Missionary College, 0.2 miles (335 metres) ESE from Canterbury Cathedral, the Bishops assembled in the Cathedral’s Chapter house and processed through the cloisters to the Cathedral, where Archbishop Benson received them. After a processional through the nave to the chancel from which Benson, seated in St. Augustine's Chair, welcomed the assembly. Evensong followed with the Archbishop pronouncing the Benediction over the Bishops and a second time “over the multitude assembled in the nave”.

After the Bishops removed to London, “nearly all” of them attended a service in Westminster Abbey on Monday evening, July 2, with Benson preaching. The next morning, Tuesday, July 3, the Conference opened with a Celebration of Holy Communion in Lambeth Palace Chapel.

1888 conference sessions

The first week followed the plan laid down by Archbishop Tait in 1878. Selected speakers opened the discussions, “the motion being in each case for the appointment of a Committee to consider the particular subject, and to report to the Conference in its closing week.” Twelve committees were appointed. The Committees met during the next two weeks of full session. “When the Conference re-assembled on Monday, July 23, the Reports were all in print, and were circulated in time for the respective discussions.” The Reports were adopted as motions, sometimes not unanimously.

At the Conference’s request, Archbishop Benson drafted an Encyclical Letter. On the last day, Friday, July 27, draft was considered and with “certain alterations” adopted with only one dissenting vote. After an Address to the Queen was read by the Archbishop, the Conference closed with the Doxology and Benediction.

On the next day, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, a service of Holy Communion was held. The celebrant was the Archbishop of Canterbury; the preacher was the Archbishop of York, There was “an enormous congregation”. This ended the third Lambeth Conference.

Of the 145 Bishops who took part in it, 46 belonged to England and Wales, 11 to Ireland, 6 to Scotland, 29 to the United States, and 53 to Colonial and Missionary Dioceses throughout the world. The bishops from England and Wales included 32 Diocesan Bishops, 8 Bishops Suffragan, and 6 ex-Colonial Bishops holding Commissions in England.

“The keen interest aroused on every side by the Conference of 1888" gave evidence these decennial gatherings produced a “solid gain” not only to the Anglican Communion, but also to the Church of Christ throughout the world. For example, the Lambeth Quadrilateral, approved at the 1888 conference, remains the Anglican statement of the fourfold essential basis for a reunited Church: (i) the Bible as the ultimate rule of faith, (ii) the Apostles' and Nicene creeds, (iii) the sacraments of Baptism and Lord's Supper, and (iv) the ‘historic episcopate’.

The “Encyclical Letter and Reports” and were published in 1889 as The Lambeth Conferences of 1867, 1878, and 1888: with the Official Reports and Resolutions, Together with the Sermons Preached at the Conferences (London: SPCK, 1889).

Fourth: 1897

• Presided over by: Frederick Temple (having been convened by Archbishop Benson)
• 194 bishops present out of 240 who received invitations

In the invitation issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury Edward Benson in August 1895, he stated that because 1897 was the thirteenth centenary year since the landing of St. Augustine of Canterbury in England in 597, he was summoning the Conference for 1897 (a year early) to mark the occasion. Because Benson died in October 1896, the Conference was presided over by his successor, Archbishop Frederick Temple.

The Conference began with a Devotional Day at Lambeth Palace on Wednesday, June 30, when addresses were given by Dr. Edward King (bishop of Lincoln). On July 1 the Bishops attended evensong in Westminster Abbey, when a sermon was preached by Dr. William Maclagan, the Archbishop of York.

On Friday, July 2, many of the Bishops visited Ebbsfleet, Thanet and Richborough Castle, where Augustine and his missionaries landed and held their first interview with King Ethelbert of Kent.

For the visits a special train was run by the South Eastern Railway that stopped at Canterbury to collect the cathedral clergy and choir. A temporary platform was built at Ebbsfleet for first class passengers; second class passengers had to alight at Minster-in-Thanet and walk the remaining 2.3 miles. After an act of worship the party retrained and proceeded to Richborough to visit the Roman remains and take tea. There is no station at Richborough, perhaps a second temporary one was created. The bishops then travelled back to Canterbury to be ready for the opening service of the conference on the following day. The arrangements did not go well and the Dean of Canterbury complained of 'the appalling mismanagement by the railway authorities'.

From Richborough the Bishops went to Canterbury, where the next day (Saturday, July 3) a Service of Welcome was held, as on previous conferences, in Canterbury Cathedral and an address was given by Archbishop Temple. There was also a special service in St. Martin's Church, Canterbury "the oldest church in England," and the Bishops were subsequently received at a luncheon in St. Augustine's Missionary College.

1897 conference sessions

The Bishops, having returned to London, after a celebration of the Holy Communion in Westminster Abbey began the Conference’s deliberation on Monday, July 5 in Lambeth Palace’s Guard-Room. The sessions continued until July 10, when twelve Committees were appointed to report upon the subjects upon which preliminary discussion had been held.

These subjects were as follows:

I. The Organisation of the Anglican Communion.

II. Religious Communities.

III. The Critical Study of Holy Scripture.

IV. Foreign Missions.

V. Reformation Movements on the Continent of Europe and elsewhere.

VI. Church Unity in its relation:

(a) To the Churches of the East.

(b) To the Latin Communion.

(c) To other Christian bodies.

VII. International Arbitration.

III. Industrial Problems.

X. The Book of Common Prayer.

(a) Additional Services.

(b) Local Adaptation.

X. The Duties of the Church to the Colonies.

XI. Degrees in Divinity.

XII. To consider questions of difficulty which may be submitted to it by Bishops attending the Conference.

On Tuesday, July 13, the Bishops, after attending service in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, were received by Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

From Thursday, July 22 until Saturday, July 31, the Conference as a whole met again to consider reports from the Committees. Within a few days the Encyclical Letter with the Reports and Resolutions of the Conference were published. Davidson had chafed under the arrangements for the conference in which he had played no part and determined to write the final Encyclical himself. There were a number of unfortunate phrases in his draft to which many bishops objected but he refused to accept amendments on the day of its presentation. However, he reconsidered overnight and announced the following morning that he had changed the draft as requested. A bishop who rose to thank to express gratitude for his change of mind was rebuked with the words, “Sir you may thank me all you wish, but you must thank me in silence”.

By the end of the 1897 Conference, the Bishops had adopted sixty-two resolutions on subjects as diverse as world peace, relations with the Eastern Orthodox, Communion for the sick, and care for church members emigrating to new countries. They said that, although church members were diverse “in language and ethnicity,” they were “members of one church”. They also resolved that it would be wrong “for two bishops of the church to attempt to carry on a ministry in the same area”.

All sixty-two Resolutions adopted by the Conference can be read in “1897 Lambeth Conference Resolutions”.

On Sunday, August 1, the Bishops attended a service in connection with the Boards of Missions of Canterbury and York in St. Paul's Cathedral. On Monday, a Service of Thanksgiving was held in the Cathedral, when the farewell sermon was preached by Archbishop Temple. On Tuesday, August 3, the Bishops visited Glastonbury Abbey for a worship service on this site of early British Christianity. This brought the fourth Lambeth Conference to a close.

Of the 194 Bishops who took part in the 1897 Conference, 58 belonged to England and Wales, 10 to Ireland, 7 to Scotland, 49 to the United States of America, and 70 to Colonial and Missionary Dioceses throughout the world. These included 32 Diocesan Bishops, 19 Bishops Suffragan, and 7 ex-Colonial Bishops holding Commissions in England.

Fifth: 1908

• Presided over by: Randall Davidson.
• 242 bishops present out of the “more than 250 Bishops” who accepted the invitation.

In July, 1907, Archbishop of Canterbury Randall Davidson issued (through the Metropolitans) an invitation to Bishops holding Diocesan Sees or permanent commissions as Suffragans or Assistant Bishops to a Conference in 1908.

The “formal proceedings” of the Conference began on Saturday, July 4, 1908. Services of the Holy Communion were held at 8 a.m., both in Canterbury Cathedral and in St. Martin's Church, Canterbury. Later that day, the Bishops were invited to St. Augustine's Missionary College for a luncheon before the Service of Reception in the Cathedral that afternoon at 3 p.m. At the service, the Archbishop addressed the bishops from Chair of St Augustine. He spoke about the association of Canterbury Cathedral with English church history: the Magna Carta, the Becket Shrine, and the Black Prince. After this service, Bishops returned to London for the Thanksgiving Service in Westminster Abbey, at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 5.

On Monday, July 6, the Conference opened at Lambeth Palace The conferees sat daily until Saturday, July 11. During the week eleven Committees were appointed to deal with the subjects which were on the Agenda.

The subjects were as follows:
I. The Faith and Modern Thought.
II. Supply and Training of Clergy.
III. Religious Education.
IV. Foreign Missions.
V. The Book of Common Prayer.
VI. Administration of Holy Communion.
VII. Ministries of Healing.
VIII. Marriage Problems.
IX. Moral Witness of the Church.
X. Organisation in the Anglican Communion.
XI. Reunion and Intercommunion.

From July 13–25, the Committees held their sessions. The Conference reassembled on Monday, July 27, and met until Wednesday, August 5. The Encyclical Letter which had been drafted and circulated beforehand was discussed and adopted, together with the Resolutions of the Conference, based upon the Reports of the different Committees. The Conference closed on Thursday, August 6, with Holy Communion in St Paul's Cathedral, at 10 a.m. The sermon was preached by Dr. Daniel S. Tuttle, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

Discussions

During the discussions of the subjects agreed upon as listed above, the Bishops “examined the relationship between faith and modern thought, encouragement of vocations and the training of clergy, education, the ministry of healing and the structure of the Anglican Communion.”

Resolutions

The first three conferences began a tradition of adopting resolutions covering “a wide variety” of issues. The first (1867) conference adopted thirteen resolutions, the second (1878) adopted twelve, the third (1888) adopted twenty, the fourth (1897) adopted sixty-two. This 1908 conference adopted seventy-eight.

• The resolutions manifested an interest "in ecumenical relationships, especially with the Orthodox, the Old Catholic Churches and the Presbyterians”.
• “The conference condemned the opium trade.”
• Sixteen resolutions were on “education and training both for ministry and lay people”.
• The conference deplored the growing "disregard of the sanctity of marriage." Thus, the conference resolved that divorced persons “even if ‘innocent’” cannot remarry in church. However, an “innocent party” who remarries in a civil ceremony “might be re-admitted to communion.”
• Condemned birth control and “tampering with nascent life.”
• Discouraged separate or independent churches on the basis of race or colour.
• Stated that public worship must be made “more intelligible to uneducated congregations and better suited to the widely diverse needs of various races” within the Communion.

On August 6, the Anglican newspaper the Church Times in its story about the conference expressed disappointment in its resolutions saying that “we should have expected that the 243 prelates would offer the clergy and the laity advice less timid and indecisive to guide them in dealing with some burning questions of the day. The obvious explanation of the halting opinions they have delivered is that they are seriously divided among themselves.

All seventy-eight Resolutions adopted by the Conference can be read in “1908 Lambeth Conference Resolutions”.

Of the 242 Bishops present at the Conference of 1908, 79 belonged to England and Wales, 12 to Ireland, 7 to Scotland, 55 to the United States of America, and 89 to Colonial and Missionary Dioceses throughout the world. They included 37 Diocesan Bishops, 28 Bishops Suffragan, and 14 ex-Colonial Bishops holding Commissions in England.

Sixth: 1920

• Presided over by: Randall Davidson
• 252 bishops present

It was the “largest gathering of bishops” that had ever met “on English soil”.

“The First World War made it necessary to postpone the next Lambeth Conference until 1920, and the war had begun to change settled views on a number of issues.” It was in this situation that the 1920 Lambeth Conference convened. As the bishops described it their Encyclical Letter, it was “a world full of trouble and perplexity, of fear and despair, of disconnected effort and aimless exertion.” Having been through a war that pitted Christian nations against each other, the bishops said that “we find that one idea runs through all our work in this Conference, binding it together into a true unity. It is an idea prevalent and potent throughout the world to-day. It is the idea of Fellowship.”

The Conference followed the tradition of worship in both Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury and Westminster Abbey in London before beginning its deliberations on the subjects that had been selected in advance. At the opening service in Canterbury Cathedral on July 3, 1920, Archbishop Davidson told the bishops that they were gathering "at an hour which must for ever stand by itself in human history, an hour of storm and unrest, an hour of proud bereavement and of deliberate hope," The “same note” was struck the next morning by the Dean in the worship service at Westminster Abbey in London.

The deliberations of the Conference began on July 5, 1920 in the Great Library of Lambeth Palace.

The subjects proposed for consideration were first brought before the whole Conference for six days, from Monday. July to Saturday, July. In each case the subject was referred to a Committee for discussion and writing appropriate Resolutions and reporting back to the Conference. From Monday, July 26, to Saturday, August 7, the Reports of these Committees, with the Resolutions which they had prepared, were laid before the Conference, for consideration in full session. These considerations were informed by “essays. Reports and papers” prepared for the Conference.

The eight subjects were as follows:

(1) Christianity and International Relations
(2) The Church and Industrial Problems
(3) The Development of Provinces
(4) Missionary Problems
(5 Position of Women in the Councils and Administration of the Church
(6) Problems of Marriage
(7) Spiritualism. Christian Science, and Theosophy
(8) Reunion

Resolutions adopted

The Conference adopted eighty resolutions about the subjects the Conference addressed, sometimes with a change in the wording of the subject and the addition of the subject “Consultative Body”.

(1) Christianity and International Relations
Eight resolutions were adopted in this subject. In them, the Conference

• Commended the League of Nations to the people of the world. “Americans rejected that advice.”
• Protested against “colour prejudice” among races.

(2) Reunion of Christendom
“The subject of Reunion was entrusted to the largest Committee ever appointed in a Lambeth Conference.” Twenty-three resolutions were adopted on this subject including the adoption of an “Appeal to All Christian People”. The Appeal contained thirty-one sections including requests, suggestions, and beliefs. The Appeal was transmitted to the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople, to the representative of the Pope in England, the Armenian Catholicos, to representatives of non-episcopal communions in England, and to communions throughout the world by local authorities of the Anglican Communion

Formulation of the “non-episcopal” part of the Appeal was the most difficult. At times it seemed that the Committee might “break up,” but “gradually the minds of the members were attracted to the new ideal”. On Friday, July 30, the Appeal was presented to the whole Conference in the “great Library” where, after extensive debate, it was accepted by an “overwhelming” majority.

The "Appeal to all Christian People" set out the basis on which Anglican churches would move towards visible union with churches of other traditions. The document repeated a slightly modified version of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral and then called on other Christians to accept it as a basis on which to discuss how they may move toward reunion. Interestingly, this proposal did not arise from the formal debates of the conference but amongst a group of bishops chatting over tea on the lawn of Lambeth Palace.

(3) Missionary Problems
Eleven resolutions were adopted on this subject.

• In Resolution 36, the Conference maintained the authority of the Book of Common Prayer as the Anglican standard of doctrine and practice, but states, “liturgical uniformity should not be regarded as a necessity” throughout the communion.

(4) Development of Provinces
The one Resolution on this subject presented the Conference’s recommended guidelines, for instance, a new Province should have at least four dioceses.

(5) Consultative Body
The two Resolutions on this subject were adopted “in order to prevent misapprehension.” In them, the Conference declared “that the Consultative Body, created by the Lambeth Conference of 1897 and consolidated by the Conference of 1908, is a purely advisory Body.” The resolutions also set forth rules for its operation.

(6) Position of Women in the Councils and Administration of the Church
The Conference adopted nine Resolutions on this topic.

• Resolution 36 recommended the admission of women "to all councils in the church in which lay men serve". It was left up to diocesan, provincial and national synods “when or how” to implement the recommendation. It took the Episcopal Church in the United States another fifty years to get itself in line with Lambeth and admit women as deputies to its General Convention.
• Resolution 37 asked that the diaconate of women be recognised in the communion and further stated that "the order of deaconesses is for women the one and only order of ministry which has the stamp of apostolic approval, and is for women the only order of ministry which we can recommend."

(7) Spiritualism. Christian Science, and Theosophy
The Conference adopted eleven Resolutions on this subject.

• Regarding Spiritualism, in Resolution 58, the Conference saw “grave dangers in the tendency to make a religion of spiritualism.”
• Regarding Christian Science, in Resolution 59, the Conference said that its teachings “cannot be reconciled with the fundamental truths of the Christian Faith.”
• Regarding Theosophy, in Resolution 64, the Conference said that there are “cardinal elements” in its teaching “which are irreconcilable with the Christian faith.”

(8) “Problems of Marriage and Sexual Morality”
The Conference adopted seven Resolutions on this subject.

• Resolution 67 affirmed that marriage is “a life-long and indissoluble union … of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side,” but admits “the right of a national or regional church within our communion to deal with cases which fall within the exception mentioned in the record of our Lord’s words in Saint Matthew’s Gospel.”
• Resolution 68 declined to set rules on birth control but issued “an emphatic warning against the use of unnatural means for the avoidance of conception.”
• Resolution 69, asked clergy and members of the church to join physicians and public authorities in meeting the “scourge” of venereal diseases and in helping victims.
• Resolution 70 urged that pressure be brought “upon, authorities both national and local, for removing such incentives to vice as indecent literature, suggestive plays and films, the open or secret sale of contraceptives, and the continued existence of brothels.”

(9) Social and Industrial Questions
The Conference adopted eight Resolutions on this subject.

• Resolution 73 emphasised the bishop’s “conviction that the pursuit of mere self-interest, whether individual or corporate, will never bring healing to the wounds of Society.”
• Resolution 76 called “upon all members of His Church to be foremost both by personal action and sacrifice in maintaining the superiority of the claims of human life to those of property.”
• Resolution 78 said that “the Church is bound to use its influence to remove inhuman or oppressive conditions of labour in all parts of the world”
• Resolution 79 urged members of the Church “to support such legislation as will lead to a speedy reduction in the use of intoxicants.”

All the Resolutions are in The Lambeth Conference Resolutions Archive from 1920.

All the documents relating to this Conference are in Conference of Bishops of the Anglican Communion, Holden at Lambeth Palace, July 5 to August 7, 1920. Encyclical Letter.

Seventh: 1930

• Presided over by: Cosmo Gordon Lang
• 308 bishops attend.

Lang had been ill prior to the Conference and had to rest the month of June to be in shape to preside over the Conference. Lang said that he weathered the five weeks without “illness” or “undue fatigue”

The Conference opened with a “day of devotion” at Fulham Palace, the residence of the Bishop of London. Holy Communion was celebrated at 8:30 am with an address by 86 years old Edward Talbot (bishop) Bishop Talbot, retired Bishop of Winchester.

The Conference’s “manner of deliberations” followed the pattern used in earlier Conferences. The six subjects (see the list of subjects in the Resolutions section below) proposed for consideration were brought before sessions of the whole Conference for six days, from July 7 to July 12. The subjects were all referred to Committees. The work of the Committees was aided by the essays and papers that had been prepared for them in advance. After their two-weeks of deliberations, the Committees presented their Reports and Resolutions to the whole Conference from July 28 to August 9.

Seventy-five resolutions passed
The subjects on which resolutions were passed at the Conference are the following:
I. the Christian Doctrine of God
II. the Life and Witness of the Christian Community
III. the Unity of the Church
IV. the Anglican Communion
V. the Ministry of the Church
VI. Youth and Its Vocation

Sampling of Resolutions by subject
The Conference adopted seventy-five Resolutions. They can all be seen at Anglican Communion Document Library: 1930 Conference.

I. Christian Doctrine of God: Resolutions 1-8

• Resolution 2 expressed an “urgent need in the face of many erroneous conceptions for a fresh presentation of the Christian doctrine of God”.
• Resolution 3 admonished “Christian people” to banish “from their minds the ideas concerning the character of God which are inconsistent with the character of Jesus Christ.”

II. Life and Witness of the Christian Community

(1) Marriage and Sex: Resolutions 9-20

• Resolution 11 recommended that “the marriage of one, whose former partner is still living, should not be celebrated according to the rites of the Church,” and when “an innocent person has remarried under civil sanction and desires to receive the Holy Communion,” the case should be referred to the bishop.
• Resolution 15 allowed “in those cases where there is such a clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, and where there is a morally sound reason for avoiding complete abstinence, the Conference agrees that other methods may be used, provided that this is done in the light of the same Christian principles.” The vote for this Resolution was 193 for it, 67 against it, and 47 not voting. This was the only Resolution for which a record of the numbers voting was required.

The London Times of June 30, 1930, predicted that the Lambeth Conference would change the “social and moral life” of humanity. This was done by the Conference’s Resolution 15 in which in contradiction to earlier Resolutions (1908 Resolution 41 and 1920 Resolution 66) allowed the use of contraception in marriage.

William Carey, Bishop of Bloemfontein, withdrew from the Conference in protest and even sent a petition to the King on the subject.

• Resolution 16 expressed “abhorrence of the sinful practice of abortion.”
• Resolution 18 reckoned “sexual intercourse between persons who are not legally married” to be “a grievous sin.”

(2) Race: Resolutions 21-24

• Resolution 22 affirmed the Conference’s “conviction that all communicants without distinction of race or colour should have access in any church to the Holy Table of the Lord, and that no one should be excluded from worship in any church on account of colour or race.”

(3) Peace and War: Resolutions 25-30

• Resolution 25 affirmed that “war as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible with the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Resolution 26 noted with approval the work of the League of Nations.

III. Unity of the Church: Resolutions 31-47
“The Conference encouraged the Unity of the Church in all parts of the world.” It was primarily concerned (1) with the relations of the Churches of the Anglican Communion to the Orthodox Churches of the East, and (2) with the Proposed Scheme of Union in South India, and (3) with the problems arising in Special Areas. Various Churches sent delegations to consult with the Conference, notably the Old Catholics.

• Resolution 31 recorded, “with deep thanks to Almighty God, the signs of a growing movement towards Christian unity in all parts of the world since the issue of the "Appeal to All Christian People" by the Lambeth Conference in 1920 and reaffirmed “the principles contained in it and in the Resolutions dealing with reunion adopted by that Conference.”
• Resolution 47 applied the call for Unity of the Church to the Anglican Communion by calling on its members “to promote the cause of union by fostering and deepening in all possible ways the fellowship of the Anglican Communion itself.”

IV. Anglican Communion: Resolutions 48-60

• Resolution 49 approved a statement of the “nature and status of the Anglican Communion,” namely that “the Anglican Communion is a fellowship, within the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted dioceses, provinces or regional Churches in communion with the See of Canterbury,” which have three things in common:

(a) “they uphold and propagate the Catholic and Apostolic faith and order as they are generally set forth in the Book of Common Prayer as authorised in their several Churches”

(b) “they are particular or national Churches, and, as such, promote within each of their territories a national expression of Christian faith, life and worship”

(c) they are bound together “by mutual loyalty sustained through the common counsel of the bishops in conference.”

This Resolution was a Lambeth Conference’s first attempts at defining the Anglican Communion.

• Resolution 50 reaffirmed Resolution 44 of the Lambeth Conference of 1920, "that the Consultative Body is of the nature of a continuation committee of the Lambeth Conference, and neither possesses nor claims any executive or administrative power" and added further directions for its operation.

V. Ministry of the Church: Resolutions 61-74

(1) The Ministry of Women: Resolutions 61-72

• Resolution 66 stressed the “great importance of offering to women of ability and education” a role in directing “the work of the Church.”
• Resolution 67 reaffirmed the 1920 Conference that “the order of deaconess is for women the one and only order of the ministry which we can recommend our branch of the Catholic Church to recognise and use.”

The 1920 Lambeth Conference had acknowledged that the Church had “undervalued and neglected the gifts of women.” Nevertheless, it still held to the “differences between women and men” and said that deaconess was the “only Order of the Ministry” with Apostolic approval. The 1930 Lambeth Conference again rejected any parity of deaconesses with deacons because a deaconess was “outside the historic Orders of the ministry.”

• Resolution 70 allowed bishops, “on the request of the parish priest” to entrust specific functions to deaconesses, namely, “a. to assist the minister in the preparation of candidates for baptism and for confirmation; b. to assist at the administration of Holy Baptism by virtue of her office; c. to baptize in church, and to officiate at the Churching of Women; d. in church to read Morning and Evening Prayer and the Litany, except such portions as are reserved to the priest, and to lead in prayer; with the license of the bishop, to instruct and preach, except in the service of Holy Communion.”

(2) Religious Communities: Resolution 74

• Resolution 74 recognised “the growth of religious communities both of men and women in the Anglican Communion and the contribution which they have made.”

Cost of the Conference
Traditionally the Archbishop of Canterbury bore the cost of a Lambeth Conference. For the 1930 Conference, the British Church Assembly provided £2,000. toward the cost. However, this was only a fraction of the total cost. One item, providing lunch and afternoon tea everyday for five weeks, cost £1,400.

Eighth: 1948

• Presided over by: Geoffrey Fisher
• 329 bishops attended

The attending bishops were “drawn from a total episcopate of 430.”

The bishops included “over a hundred United States bishops” and “half a dozen Japanese bishops” who were meeting just three years after World War II, so there were “emotional currents” in the conference. However, “the spirit of fellowship present in the conference channeled these currents in a positive direction.” This positive tenor “was established by its presiding officer.”

The Conference followed the tradition of worship in Canterbury Cathedral before beginning its deliberations.

Subjects discussed
The eight subjects discussed and on which Resolutions were adopted were as follows:
I. The Christian Doctrine of Man
II. The Church and the Modern World
III. The Unity of the Church
IV. The Anglican Communion
V. The Church's Discipline in Marriage
VI. Baptism and Confirmation
VII. Proposed Chinese Canon
VIII. Administration of Holy Communion

Sampling of Resolutions by subject
The Conference adopted Resolutions as follows:

I. The Christian Doctrine of Man: Resolutions 1-5

• Resolution 1 expressed belief “that man's disorders and conflicts are primarily due to ignorance or rejection of the true understanding of his nature and destiny as revealed by God in Jesus Christ.”
• Resolution 4 shared “man's aspiration for fellowship in an ordered society and for freedom of individual achievement, but we assert that no view of man can be satisfactory which confines his interests and hopes to this world and this life alone; such views belittle man and blind him to the greatness of his destiny.”

II. The Church and the Modern World: Resolutions 6-49

(1) Human Rights: Resolutions 6-8

• Resolution 6 declared “that all men, irrespective of race or colour, are equally the objects of God's love and are called to love and serve him.”
• Resolution 7 listed human rights that “belong to all men irrespective of race or colour”. The rights “security of life and person”, “freedom of speech”, and the “full freedom of religious life and practice”,

(2) War: Resolutions 9-15

• Resolution 9 reaffirmed Resolution 25 of 1930, “that war as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible with the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Resolution 10 recognised that there are “occasions when both nations and individuals are obliged to resort to war as the lesser of two evils.”
• Resolution 11 urged “that the use of atomic energy be brought under such effective international inspection and control as to prevent its use as a weapon of war”.
• Resolution 14 urged “the statesmen of the world together with their people to do their utmost to frame a world policy for the fuller development and juster distribution of the world's economic resources, to meet the needs of men and women in all nations”.

(3) Palestine: Resolution 16

• Resolution 16 expressed “deep concern for the future of Palestine” and prays for peace between Muslims and Jews.

(4) The Church and the Modern State: Resolutions 17-24

• Resolution 19 stated the Conference’s belief “that the state is under the moral law of God, and is intended by him to be an instrument for human welfare.”

(5) Communism: Resolutions 25-26

• Resolution 25 declared “that Marxian Communism is contrary to the Christian faith and practice, for it denies the existence of God.”

(6) Education: Resolutions 27-35

• Resolution 27 held “that the Church should press for the best educational opportunity everywhere for all, without racial distinction and without privilege for wealth.”

(7) The Church Militant: Resolutions 36-38

• Resolution 36 urged “upon the clergy the importance of pastoral visitation, of making contacts in factory, field, and office, and of fuller participation in the everyday life of the people.”

(8) The Christian Way of Life: Resolutions 39-49

• Resolution 43 said that the Conference was “convinced that discrimination between men on the grounds of race alone is inconsistent with the principles of Christ's religion.”
• Resolution 45 stressed “the urgency of providing that every family should have a home of its own which provides for fellowship and privacy.”

III. The Unity of the Church: Resolutions 50-77

• Resolutions on the Unity of the Church “welcomed full communion between the Anglican and Old Catholic Churches following the Bonn Agreement of 1931 and expressed its gratitude for the inauguration of the Church of South India.
• Resolution 76 said that “the Conference cordially welcomes the formation of the World Council of Churches.”

IV. The Anglican Communion: Resolutions 78-91
Resolution 86 stated the opinion of the Conference that “the establishment of a central college for the Anglican Communion is highly desirable and steps should immediately be taken to establish this college, if possible at St Augustine's College, Canterbury.

St Augustine's College, Canterbury had been closed as a Missionary College because it had been badly damaged by a German air-raid during World War II and an Archbishops' Commission had recommended the closing of separate missionary colleges. So the college was available for the central college that opened in 1952.

V. The Church's Discipline in Marriage: Resolutions 92-99

• Resolution 92 affirmed again “that marriage always entails a life-long union and obligation.”
• Resolution 96 restated “Resolution 11(b) of the Lambeth Conference 1930, as follows: That in every case where a person with a former partner still living is remarried and desires to be admitted to Holy Communion the case should be referred to the bishop, subject to provincial or regional regulations.”

VI. Baptism and Confirmation: Resolutions 100-112

• Resolution 110 recommended “that care should be taken to see that before confirmation all candidates are given definite instruction about repentance and about the means provided by God in his Church by which troubled consciences can obtain the assurance of his mercy and forgiveness, as set forth in the Exhortation in the Order of Holy Communion.”

VII, Proposed Chinese Canon: Resolutions 113-116

• Resolution 113 regarding a proposal from the Diocese of South China about ordaining deaconesses to the priesthood replied that “such an experiment would be against the tradition and order and would gravely affect the internal and external relations of the Anglican Communion.”

“Earlier, in 1944, Florence Li Tim Oi had been ordained the first female priest in the Communion by the bishop of Hong Kong; in 1946, to defuse the controversy surrounding her ordination, she surrendered her priest’s licence, but not her Holy Orders."

• Resolution 114 reaffirmed Resolution 67 of the Conference of 1930 that "the order of deaconess is for women the one and only order of the ministry which we can recommend our branch of the Catholic Church to recognise and use."

The Anglican Group for the Ordination of Women to the Historic Ministry had memorialised the Conference requesting that “the full Historic three-fold Ministry be declared open to Women on the same terms as to Men; the ministry of Men and Women being merged into a common priesthood and a common diaconate.”

The Report of the Committee expressed regret for causing “disappointment to those in the Chinese Church who wish to make the experient.”

IX, Administration of Holy Communion: Resolutions 117-118

• Resolution 117 affirmed “that the giving of Communion in both kinds is according to the example and precept of our Lord, was the practice of the whole Catholic Church for twelve centuries, has remained the practice of the Orthodox Churches, and has been universally upheld by the teaching and practice of the Anglican Communion since the Reformation.”

Ninth: 1958

• Presided over by: Geoffrey Fisher
• 310 bishops from 64 countries attend

“In order to reduce the conference to a manageable size, suffragan bishops have had to be excluded for the first time”

“Pressure of work kept the Chinese bishops away from the Lambeth Conference” despite rumors that it was “lack of money” or “the Communist government”

”Roughly two out of every three of the bishops” had their wives with them. There were accompanied by “about 40” children.

Before the opening pageantry, “the first engagement in the official "Lambeth Conference Diary" was a visit on June 28 by the bishops to one of England's most famous, Salisbury, with Stonehenge nearby.”

Opening pageantry
The Conference lasted from July 3 through August 10. The Conference’s opening pagentry began on July 3. as in previous Conferences, by the Archbishop of Canterbury receiving the Anglican Archbishops and Bishops and the invited representatives of other Christian Churches in Evensong in Canterbury Cathedral.

Archbishop Fisher, the 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, sat in the Chair of St Augustine. Twenty-two archbishops or presiding bishops took their position alongside the altar itself. Farther west in the quire were “more than three hundred” other bishops. Archbishop Fisher preached on the theme of word of reconciliation. He said that it was “the reconciliation which comes from strength, not weakness, from charity and wisdom, not from compromise.”

On Sunday, July 6, there was a special Lambeth Conference service at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Work sessions
After the opening pagentry was over, the Conference went into executive session that lasted until the close of the sessions on August 10.”

“The first full session of the Lambeth Conference was enlivened by the spectacle of the Bishop of Peterborough, episcopal secretary of the Conference, gently leading bogus bishops out of the august assembly. One of the bogus bishops was dressed as an Orthodox bishop, the other in robes less easy to assign. The words each tried to say were practically inaudible in the large room. Neither created any disturbance as asked to leave.”

Subjects addressed by the Conference were as follows:
I. The Holy Bible: Its Authority and Message.
II. Church Unity and the Church Universal, including:

(1) The Church and the whole Ecumenical Movement

(2) Re-union Schemes

(3) Relations with particular Churches

III. Progress in the Anglican Communion, including:

(1) The Contemporary Missionary Appeal and means of advance

(2) The Book of Common Prayer

(3) Ministries and Manpower

IV. The Reconciling of Conflicts between and within Nations
V. The Family in Modern Society

Sampling of Resolutions by subject

All the 1958 Resolutions can be read at “Document Library”

A member of the Conference, the Rt. Rev. Stephen Bayne, described the official Resolutions as being filled with “cautious and sometimes indeterminate phrases”

I. The Holy Bible: Its Authority and Message. Resolutions 1-12

• Resolution 4 acknowledged a debt to the “devoted scholars who . . . have enriched and deepened our understanding of the Bible, not least by facing with intellectual integrity the questions raised by modern knowledge and modern criticism.”
• Resolution 10 expressed belief “that the presentation of the message of the Bible to the world requires great sensitiveness to the outlook of the people of today.”

II. Church Unity and the Church Universal. Resolutions 13-57

• Advocates of church unity were heartened by the forty-five resolutions on questions of Church Unity that make it clear that the bishops are in earnest about their "desire to further negotiations and conversations with other Churches."

III. Progress in the Anglican Communion. Resolutions 58-99

(1) Progress in the Anglican Communion Missionary Appeal. Resolutions 58-72

• Resolution 61 redefined the “duties and composition” of the Consultative Body as “a continuation committee of the Lambeth Conference.”
• Resolution 62 urged “that every opportunity be taken, at the local and provincial level, to make effective use of such channels of communication as television, radio, films, religious drama, and the secular and religious press.

(2) The Book of Common Prayer - Prayer Book Revision. Resolutions 73-80

• Resolution 73 welcomed “the contemporary movement towards unanimity in doctrinal and liturgical matters by those of differing traditions in the Anglican Communion as a result of new knowledge gained from biblical and liturgical studies, and is happy to know of parallel progress in this sphere by some Roman Catholic and Reformed theologians.

(3) Ministries and Manpower. Resolutions 81-99

• Resolution 86 urged “each province of the Anglican Communion to keep under continuous review its standards of training for ordination, both with regard to the period required and the content of the course, having regard to the demands made upon the clergy in modern conditions.”

IV. The Reconciling of Conflicts Between and Within Nations. Resolutions 100-111

• Resolution 104 declared “that the Church is not to be identified with any particular political or social system, and calls upon all Christians to encourage their governments to respect the dignity and freedom of people within their own nations and the right of people of other nations to govern themselves.”
• Resolution 110 The Conference affirmed “its belief in the natural dignity and value of every man, of whatever colour or race, as created in the image of God. In the light of this belief the Conference affirms that neither race nor colour is in itself a barrier to any aspect of that life in family and community for which God created all men. It therefore condemns discrimination of any kind on the grounds of race or colour alone.”

V. The Family in Contemporary Society. Resolutions 112-131

• Resolution 113 affirmed “that marriage is a vocation to holiness, through which men and women share in the love and creative purpose of God. The sins of self-indulgence and sensuality, born of selfishness and a refusal to accept marriage as a divine vocation, destroy its true nature and depth, and the right fullness and balance of the relationship between men and women. Christians need always to remember that sexual love is not an end in itself nor a means to self-gratification, and that self-discipline and restraint are essential conditions of the freedom of marriage and family planning.”

“The bishops had adopted statements about marriage at almost every conference, but now they attempted to construct a complete theology of marriage and family with a very positive perspective.”

• Resolution 115 said that “the Conference believes that the responsibility for deciding upon the number and frequency of children has been laid by God upon the consciences of parents everywhere; that this planning, in such ways as are mutually acceptable to husband and wife in Christian conscience, is a right and important factor in Christian family life. . . .”

This resolution represented a change of “stance on family planning.” Saying that family planning is "a right and important factor in Christian family life" was an admission either that they had been wrong in 1920 or that the times had changed.

• Resolution 118 recognised “that divorce is granted by the secular authority in many lands on grounds which the Church cannot acknowledge, and recognises also that in certain cases where a decree of divorce has been sought and may even have been granted, there may in fact have been no marital bond in the eyes of the Church. It therefore commends for further consideration by the Churches and provinces of the Anglican Communion a procedure for defining marital status, such as already exists in some of its provinces.”

This resolution represented a changed stance on divorce.”

• Resolution 120 acknowledged that introducing monogamy into societies that practice polygamy “involves a social and economic revolution and raises problems which the Christian church has as yet not solved.”
• Resolution 126 warned against gambling, drunkenness, and use of drugs.
• Resolution 128 called “attention to the plight of refugees and stateless persons.”

Closing service
On August 10, there was a closing service in Westminster Abbey. The preacher was the Most Rev. Henry Knox Sherrill, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Tenth: 1968

• Presided over by Michael Ramsey He famously dozed off during at least one debate.
• 462 bishops attended. The Conference was too large to be accommodated at Lambeth and took place at Church House, Westminster (the administrative offices of the Church of England). Church House contained “an assembly hall” for plenary sessions and “many adjoining rooms” for the “smaller sub-committees which worked in detailed reports.”

The increased size of this the biggest Conference to date was because of six reasons as follows:

(1) the normal increase in the number of bishops attending,

(2) “united churches,” such as the Church of South India, containing “an Anglican element” sent bishops who participated without vote,

(3) for the first time some fifty observers from other denominations attended,

The other three reasons were as follows:

(4) it was decided to invite “suffragan and assistant bishops” for the first time,

(5) for the first time there were “60 to 80 observers from other Christian Churches and traditions” and the World Council of Churches,

(6) there were also “consultants with special theological training” who provided expert help in preparing committee Reports.

The Conference lasted from Thursday, July 25 through Sunday, August 25, 1968.

Opening pageantry
This Conference continued the tradition of an opening service in Canterbury Cathedral. It was held on Thursday, July 25, 1968. The sermon was preached by Archbishop Ramsey.

Work sessions
The Conference addressed three major subjects as follow:
I. Renewal of the Church in Faith
II. Renewal of the Church in Ministry
III. Renewal of the Church in Unity

After the Conference began its work, it was decided to open its proceedings to the Press rather than waiting until the last week when the committees made their reports to the full sessions as had been the custom in previous Conferences.

During the first week of work, the Conference met in full sessions in the assembly hall to survey the three subjects in “a general way.” Then the conference divided into three sections which met in separate halls for general discussion of its subject. After that the three sections were sub-divided into a total of thirty-three sub-committees with a minimum of seven members and a maximum of seventeen. These sub-committees with the assistance of “consultants and observers” did the “most intensive work of the Conference.”

The 1968 Conference did not issue the usual Encyclical. It confined itself to Resolutions and Committee Reports.

Sampling of Resolutions by subject
All the Resolutions can be read at “Anglican Communion Document Library.”

I. Renewal of the Church in Faith: Resolutions 2-23

• Resolution 3 encouraged theologians “to continue to explore fresh ways of understanding God's revelation of himself in Christ, expressed in language that makes sense in our time. It believes that this requires of the theologian respect for tradition and, of the Church, respect for freedom of inquiry.”
• Resolution 6 urged “all Christians, in obedience to the doctrine of creation, to take all possible action to ensure man's responsible stewardship over nature; in particular in his relationship with animals, and with regard to the conservation of the soil, and the prevention of the pollution of air, soil, and ocean.”
• Resolution 8 affirmed the words of the 1930 Conference that “war as a method of settling international disputes is incompatible with the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ,” condemned use of nuclear and bacteriological weapons, and upheld the right of conscientious objection.
• Resolution 22 disagreed with Pope Paul VI’s conclusion that all methods of birth control other than abstinence from sexual intercourse or the so-called rhythm method are contrary to the “order established by God.”
• Resolution 23 recognised that polygamy “poses one of the sharpest conflicts between the faith and particular cultures.”

II. Renewal of the Church in Ministry: Resolutions 24-43

• Resolution 32 recommended the ordination of women to the diaconate and the recognition of previously-appointed "deaconesses" as deacons.
• Resolutions 34-38 addressed Ordination of Women to the Priesthood. Some bishops continued to push for the ordination of women but the Conference affirms that “the theological arguments” for and against it are “inconclusive.” The Conference asked provinces to study the question and report its findings to the Anglican Consultative Council. The Conference also recommended that “before any national or regional church or province makes a final decision to ordain women to the priesthood, the advice of the Anglican Consultative Council (or Lambeth consultative body) be sought and carefully considered.”
• Resolution 43 addressed the requirement that ordinands assent to the Thirty-nine Articles. The Convention suggested that assent to the Thirty-nine Articles be no longer required. Voting: Adopted, with 37 dissentients.

III. Renewal of the Church in Unity: Resolutions 44-69

(1) Relations with Other Churches: Resolutions 44-59

• Resolution 45 recommended that “under the direction of the bishop Christians duly baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity and qualified to receive Holy Communion in their own Churches may be welcomed at the Lord's Table in the Anglican Communion.”
• Resolution 46 recommended that, “to meet special pastoral need, such communicants be free to attend the Eucharist in other Churches holding the apostolic faith as contained in the Scriptures and summarised in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. . . .

“It is significant that the absence of the historic episcopate was not considered a hindering factor, whereas disparity of faith was.”

Regarding Church Unity in general, whether the Anglican Communion “will be able to retain its cohesiveness in the course of its attempts to unite with non-episcopal, episcopal and papal-episcopal Churches” remains to be seen. .

(2) The Role of the Anglican Communion: Resolutions 60-69

• Resolution 69 established the Anglican Consultative Council.

Eleventh: 1978

• Presided over by Donald Coggan
• 440 bishops attended.

The 440 bishops included 400 diocesan and 40 assistants. They came from 25 provinces and from “about 100 countries.” In addition, eight members of the Anglican Consultative Council standing committee, 20 consultants, and 25 observers from other churches participated fully in the conference.

The number of “dark-skinned bishops” had increased because in many Anglican provinces in the Third World an English bishop had been replaced by a bishop native to the country.

Archbishop Coggan invited bishops to bring their wives, who formed a “separate conference.” Mrs. Coggan was in charge of a committee making arrangements for a conference for bishops' wives. The conference for wives was held at Christ Church College Canterbury, August 5–13. The program included prayer, discussion, talks and lectures with speakers, such as Allan Wicks, the Canterbury Cathedral organist, Bishop Lesslie Newbigin of the Church of South India and Dr. Cecily Saunders who was instrumental in the rise of the hospice movement in England.

This was the first Conference to be held on the campus of the University of Kent at Canterbury where every subsequent Conference has been held.

Cost of Conference
In the Anglican Consultative Council’s deliberation about calling a Conference, the question of cost came up. The estimated cost was one million dollars for the 440 bishops and “up to 60 consultants and observers.” Some members of the Council “expressed dismay at the cost of such a conference.” However, Sir Louis Mbanefo of Nigeria said that a Lambeth Conference "is an experience and an inspiration and you can't put money on it. The delegates from Africa feel Lambeth is necessary and they are prepared to pay to the limit of their own pockets for the fellowship they get out of it."

Preparations for Conference
To prepare bishops for the Conference, a book of articles was published by the Church Information Office in London. The book contained forty articles by scholars from across the Anglican Communion. Thirty-one were by clergy and nine were by laity, four of whom were professional church workers.

Opening service
The Conference opened in Canterbury Cathedral with a celebration of the Eucharist at 10:30 a. m. on Sunday, July 23. Archbishop John Sepeku of Tanzania was the celebrant, using the Tanzanian Liturgy. Archbishop Coggan preached.

Music was provided by the cathedral choir and organ, and, also, a group of black musicians using steel drums. The bishops’ reactions were mixed. Some approved it as exemplifying the emergence of the Third World. Others disapproved of the music, which included "Mood Indigo," John Philip Sousa's Washington Post march, and "Feelings", as unsuitable for the Eucharist in the cathedral.

At the opening service, the bishops wore their episcopal robes. However, after that, their clothing became informal. Some wore “bright, casual clothes,” but many Africans wore their colorful native costume.

Working groups
The bishops were assigned to three groups to consider three subjects:

• Group I discussed the question, "What is the Church for?" It was chaired by Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.
• Group II had as its subject, "The People of God and Ministry." It was chaired by Bishop Douglas Hambidge of Canada.
• Group III considered "The Role of the Anglican Church Among the Churches." It was chaired by Bishop Patrick Rodger of England.

These three groups were later divided into thirty-three sub-groups.

In addition to their work in groups, there were four afternoon plenary sessions:

• July 28, "Training for Ministry in the Church"
• July 31, "Ordination of Women to the Priesthood"
• August 2, "Anglican Relations with Other Churches"
• August 4, "The Anglican Communion and its Future"

Plenary sessions were open to the press.

Special lectures
Two lecturers spoke at the beginning of the conference: "The Conserving Society," by Barbara Ward on July 24, and "The Economic Factor in Human Aspirations," by the Rev. Charles M. Elliott on July 25. Each week there were “devotional lecturers”: Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Rev. Christopher Duraisingh of the Church of South India, and Archbishop Stuart Blanch of York.

Free days
The two weekends during the conference were free days. The free days provided time for some of the bishops to play cricket. A star player was Bishop Barry Valentine from Canada. He led his team to victory “armed with a cricket swing perfected as a student at Cambridge University.

Day in London
On Tuesday, August 1, the members of the Conference and their wives went to London for a tour of Lambeth Palace followed by a Festal Evensong at Westminster Abbey at 2:00 p.m. The preacher at the Abbey service was Archbishop Moses Scott, Primate of the Province of West Africa. After that they attended a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. There they were greeted by the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. (Queen Elizabeth was in Canada at the time).

Authority in the Anglican Communion
During the Conference, Archbishop Coggan, did not speak often. However, what he said regarding authority in the Anglican Communion was a “major contribution”. He began: “Brothers, I think that many of you have been feeling during our last two weeks that a word needs to be said about the complex and difficult subject of authority in our Anglican Communion . . . We have been searching somewhat uneasily to find out where the centre of that authority is.” The Conference report said that, in the Anglican Communion, authority is a "dispersed authority," a concept set forth by a previous Conference. There is a "family resemblance" that holds the Anglican Communion together in spite of its disagreements. In Resolution 10, Primates were asked to initiate a study on the nature of authority within the communion.

Closing service
The closing service was held on August 13 in Canterbury Cathedral. It was a celebration of the Eucharist at 10:30 a. m. at which Archbishop Coggan was the celebrant and Presiding Bishop John Allin of the Episcopal Church (United States) preached.

Sampling of Resolutions

The Conference adopted thirty-seven Resolutions. All Resolutions can be read at “Resolutions Archive from 1978 Lambeth Conference.”

• Resolution 1 on “Today’s World” set out “some of the concerns of the bishops about today's world,” problems that need “a change in attitude and practice,” such as:

• “the gap between the rich and the poor, between the powerful and the powerless”
• ”expenditure on armaments” as “disproportionate to sums spent on such essentials as health and education”
• ”delicate ecological balances” being “disturbed by modern technology, or threatened by the toxic effects of human ingenuity.“

The bishops said, “we do not pretend to a knowledge of the practical solutions for these problems.”

• Resolution 3 on “Human Rights” deplored and condemned “the evils of racism and tribalism, economic exploitation and social injustices, torture, detention without trial and the taking of human lives, as contrary to the teaching and example of our Lord in the Gospel.”
• Resolution 10 on “Human Relationships and Sexuality” reaffirmed heterosexuality as the scriptural norm but recognized “the need for deep and dispassionate study of the question of homosexuality, which would take seriously both the teaching of Scripture and the results of scientific and medical research” and expressed pastoral concern for homosexuals and encouraged dialogue with them.
• Resolution 11 on “Issues Concerning the Whole Anglican Communion” advised “member Churches not to take action regarding issues which are of concern to the whole Anglican Communion without consultation with a Lambeth Conference or with the episcopate through the Primates Committee, and requests the Primates to initiatate a study of the nature of authority within the Anglican Communion.”
• Resolution 15 on “Partners in Mission” commended the “Partners in Mission” process to member churches.
• Resolution 21 on “Women in the Priesthood” made “progress on ordination of women to the priesthood”. The Conference accepted provinces that ordain women and urged that they “respect the convictions of those provinces and dioceses which do not” and urged those which do not ordain women to do the same.
• Resolution 22 on “Women in the Episcopate” recognized that some provinces wish to consecrate women to the episcopate but recommended that no decision be taken “without consultation with the episcopate through the primates and overwhelming support in any member church and in the diocese concerned.”
• Resolution 25 on “An Anglican Doctrinal Commission” asked the Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council to establish an inter-Anglican theological and doctrinal advisory commission with “the advice of the primates, and the primates and provinces, by whatever means they feel best”.
• Resolution 31 on “Relations with Lutheran Churches” emphasized strengthening of relations with Lutheran Churches.

Twelfth: 1988

• Presided over by Robert Runcie
• 518 bishops present

There were “nearly one hundred American bishops present, and about eighty from Africa, compared with about fifty English bishops.” Anglicanism in Africa is “securely rooted” and controlled by Africans and in most cases “prospering.”

At previous Lambeth Conferences, only bishops were invited to attend, but all members of the Anglican Consultative Council and representative bishops from the "Churches in Communion" (i.e. the Church of Bangladesh, the Church of North India, the Church of South India, and the Church of Pakistan) were invited to attend.

Daily Eucharist
There were daily celebrations of the Eucharist at the Conference, conducted by a different Province on each day. The “old cleavage of churchmanship” no longer existed.

The international and multi-lingual character of the Anglican Communion was demonstrated by the fact that “simultaneous interpretation was needed, and provided, into Spanish, French, Swahili and Japanese, as well as English”. During one celebration of the Eucharist, a white South African bishop read the gospel in a Bantu language and Archbishop Desmond Tutu read part of the Eucharistie prayer in Afrikaans.

Keynote address
Archbishop Runcie gave a keynote address on "The Nature of the Unity We Seek." He said that the disagreement about the ordination of women was an opportunity for the Conference to do four things:

1. to review whether the independence of the provinces needs to give way to interdependence,

2. to examine critically the notion of "dispersed authority,"

3. to accept the challenge of genuine "catholicity," and

4. to develop "more solid structures of unity and coherence."

Runcie also spoke about the "radically provisional character" of Anglicanism. He said Anglicans will not replace “dispersed authority” with an "alternative papacy."

Working sections
The Conference was divided into four working sections:

l. Mission and Ministry

2. Dogmatic and Pastoral Concerns

3. Ecumenical Relations

4. Christianity and the Social Order

These subjects gave the bishops a full agenda for discussion and decision in their working sections. Throughout the discussions, there was a “determination that nothing would disrupt the sisterly unity of the Anglican provinces.” Also, in the Plenary Sessions the debates were “high-minded, earnest and charitable.”

Authority in the Anglican Communion
The 1978 Conference report said that, in the Anglican Communion, authority is a "dispersed authority," a concept set forth by a previous Conference. There is a "family resemblance" that holds the Anglican Communion together in spite of its disagreements.

The authority question faced by the 1988 Conference was: "How can the Anglican Communion, which has no central legislative body to make decisions, come to a common mind?" Archbishop Runcie’s keynote address placed the question of authority before the 1988 Conference. In the report of the Conference, The Truth Shall Make You Free: The Lambeth Conference 1988: The Reports, Resolutions, and Pastoral Letters from the Bishops, “authority appears limited to gathering the members of the church and facilitating their conversation.”

Sampling of Resolutions
The Conference passed seventy-two Resolutions.

All the Resolutions can be found at “Resolutions Archive from 1988 Lambeth Conference.”

• Resolution 1 on “The ordination or consecration of women to the episcopate” accepted the ordination of women as bishops; asked Provinces to respect the decision of Provinces that have approved the ordination of women to the episcopate, without such action indicating acceptance, and to maintain “the highest possible degree of communion with the provinces which differ”; “recognized ‘serious hurt’ resulting either from ordination of women or the questioning of the validity of the episcopal acts of a woman bishop”; asked the bishops to “make pastoral provision for clergy and congregations whose opinions differ from theirs”; and asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to appoint a commission to examine its implications for the Communion. (Voting: For 423; Against 28; Abstentions 19.)

In 1989, the first woman bishop in the Communion, Barbara Harris, was consecrated as suffragan bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

• Resolution 2 failed to pass. The motion was made by “a group of ‘catholic’ and ‘evangelical’ bishops and urged restraint from ordaining women to the episcopate for “an unspecified period”. It was defeated in a secret ballot by 277 to 187.
• Resolution 8 Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).

This resolution includes a summary of “the official responses to the ‘Final Report’ of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC I) from the member provinces of the Anglican Communion.”

1. Eucharistic Doctrine.

The provinces gave a clear "yes" to the Statement on "Eucharistic Doctrine." There were requests for “clarification,” but “no province rejected the Statement and many were extremely positive”. The Conference’s opinion was that the Statement on the Eucharist “sufficiently expresses Anglican understanding.”

2. Ministry and Ordination.

“Again, the provinces gave a clear "yes" to the Statement on ‘Ministry and Ordination’."

3. Authority in the Church.

“The responses from the provinces to the two Statements on "Authority in the Church" were generally positive.” However, questions were raised “about a number of matters, especially primacy, jurisdiction and infallibility, collegiality, and the role of the laity”.

• Resolution 12 on “United Churches in full communion” expressed “gratitude for the presence of bishops from the Church of South India, the Church of North India, the Church of Bangladesh and the Church of Pakistan”, and acknowledged “that their presence reminds us that our commitment as Anglicans is to the wider unity of the Church”.
• Resolution 18 on “The Anglican Communion: Identity and Authority” asked the new Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission to explore “the meaning and nature of communion” and urged that “encouragement be given to a developing collegial role for the Primates’ Meeting” so that it is able to “exercise an enhanced responsibility in offering guidance on doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters.”
• Resolution 20 on “Inter-faith Dialogue” commended “dialogue with people of other faiths as part of Christian discipleship and mission, with the understanding that:

(1) dialogue begins when people meet each other;

(2) dialogue depends upon mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust;

(3) dialogue makes it possible to share in service to the community;

(4) dialogue becomes a medium of authentic witness.

The Resolution also acknowledged that such dialogue is “not a substitute for evangelism.”

• Resolution 21 on “Inter-faith Dialogue: Jewish/Christian/Muslim” commended the document "Jews, Christians and Muslims: The Way of Dialogue" for study and encouraged “the Churches of the Anglican Communion to engage in dialogue with Jews and Muslims on the basis of understanding, affirmation and sharing illustrated in it”.

Jews: “Christians and Jews share hope “for the realisation of God's Kingdom on earth” and share “belief in a God of loving kindness” who is “faithful and he does not abandon those he calls”.

Muslims: Although “what Muslims say about Jesus resonates with Christian faith” in some ways: “ his conception and birth, prophetic ministry, and glorification are attested by both traditions.” However, “his crucifixion, atoning death, and divine sonship are disputed”.

• Resolution 26 on the “Church and Polygamy” upheld monogamy “as God’s plan” but recommended that polygamists can now be baptized and confirmed with believing wives and children provided they promise not to marry again as along as any of their wives are alive and if the local community is agreeable.
• Resolution 33 on “Human Rights” endorsed “the United Nations’ Universal Declaration on Human Rights”.
• Resolution 47 on “Liturgical Freedom” resolved that “each province should be free, subject to essential universal Anglican norms of worship, and to a valuing of traditional liturgical materials, to seek that expression of worship which is appropriate to its Christian people in their cultural context.”
• Resolution 61 on “Islamic Fundamentalism” expressed concern for the emergence of “Islamic religious fundamentalism.”
• Resolution 64 on “Human Rights for Those of Homosexual Orientation” reaffirmed the statement of the 1978 Conference regarding the need "deep and dispassionate study of the question of homosexuality, which would take seriously both the teaching of Scripture and the results of scientific and medical research." It urged such study “to take account of biological, genetic and psychological research . . . , and the socio-cultural factors that lead to the different attitudes in the provinces of our Communion.” It also called the Provinces “to reassess, in the light of such study and because of our concern for human rights, its care for and attitude towards persons of homosexual orientation.”
• Resolution 72 on “Episcopal Responsibilities and Diocesan Boundaries” reaffirmed respect for diocesan boundaries and; affirmed that it is “inappropriate behaviour” for any bishop or priest to exercise episcopal or pastoral ministry in another diocese without prior permission and invitation of the bishop there.

Final Conference report
Shortly after adjournment, a final Conference report, The Truth Shall Make You Free: The Lambeth Conference 1988; the Reports, Resolutions & Pastoral Letters From the Bishops (Church House Publishing, 1988) was published. At the request of Resolution 55 the book was translated into all the Conference languages: French, Spanish, Japanese and Swahili.

Thirteenth: 1998

See also: Cambridge Accord

• Presided over by: George Carey
• 750 bishops were present.
• Archbishop Carey invited suffragan (or assistant) as well as diocesan bishops. This contributed to the increase from the 518 who attended in 1988.
• For the first time 11 women were among the bishops, and the 224 African bishops outnumbered those from any other region.

Spouses of bishops held concurrent Bible studies and attended workshops.

Meetings, worship and special events were held on the campus of the University of Kent in Canterbury.

News about the Conference
News about the Conference as reported by the Lambeth Daily: the Official Newspaper of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, can be read at “Document Library”

The Conference lasted from July 18 to August 9. The first day was used for registration and orientation.

Opening service
On Sunday, July 19, the opening service was held in Canterbury Cathedral at 10.30am. The service was a multilingual Eucharist, presided over by Archbishop Carey. The congregation included the Primates of all 37 Anglican provinces and more than 750 bishops and 600 spouses from around the world, along with members of Britain’s Diplomatic Corps, the Anglican Consultative Council, and several dozen ecumenical guests. Two former Archbishops of Canterbury, Lord Donald Coggan and Lord Robert Runcie, joined the procession.

The Eucharist followed the Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church of Kenya. Languages used in the service included Swahili, English, Portuguese, Arabic, and French. In the past, English had been the only language used. The preacher, Bishop Chiwanga, provided the congregation with instruction about “interpretive charity,” which he defined as “the ability to apply the most loving interpretation to actions and opinions of others . . . listening to one another in love.”

Worship and Bible study
Worship, Bible study, and prayer undergirded Conference from the opening service on July 19 to the closing Eucharist at 6.00pm on August 8. A typical weekday included the following worship and Bible study:

7.15 am Morning Eucharist followed by Bible Study video

9.30 - 11.00 am Morning Prayer and Bible Studies

5.45 pm Evening Prayer followed by Bible Study video

Ecumenical Vespers. On Monday, July 20, there was an Ecumenical Vespers. Leaders of the Anglican Communion introduced a wide variety of representatives from the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed and Baptist denominations and from world and regional Christian associations. During the service, Vatican official Edward Cardinal Cassidy addressed the Conference in a homily in which he praised the concept of Christian unity. However, he voiced concern that deviations in theological practice by local churches are “a grave obstacle to reunion”.

Work groups
The bishops were divided by their interest (rather than being assigned) into four groups or sections to address different general topics:

• Section One: “Called to Full Humanity”, was chaired by Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. This section addressed social and economic justice as well as pastoral concerns "both for people as individuals and for the wider societies in which they live." Subsections considered Human Rights and Human Dignity (specifically treating questions of racism, ethnicity and nationalism); Environment; Human Sexuality; Modern Technology; Euthanasia; International Debt and Economic Justice.
• Section Two: “Called to Live and Proclaim the Good News”, was chaired by Bishop Rowan Williams of the Diocese of Monmouth in the Church in Wales. This section addressed questions of the mission of the church.
• Section Three: “Called to be a Faithful Church in a Plural World”, was chaired by Bishop Frederick Borsch of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in the United States. This section considered challenges and opportunities of diversity within the church and world.
• Section Four: “Called to be One”, was chaired by Bishop Jabez Bryce of Polynesia. This section considered ecumenical relations. Subsections considered the topics: Towards a Vision of the Unity We Seek–Making Visible the Unity We Share; Convergence in Faith and Order-Dialogues with Other Churches; Anglican Relations with New Churches and Independent Christian Groups.

The bishops worked in subsections until the final week when they met in plenary sessions to debate, discuss, and vote on Resolutions proposed by the sections.

London day
On Tuesday, July 28, Conference members traveled in 49 coaches from Canterbury for the London Day. The day began with lunch hosted at Lambeth Palace by Archbishop and Mrs Carey. Prime Minister Tony Blair, himself an Anglican, spoke to the guests and commended the Church for its “tremendous work” in advancing human relations.

In the afternoon, Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh welcomed the Conference participants (bishops of the Anglican Communion, their spouses, and other church colleagues) for a garden party at Buckingham Palace. The 2,000 guests took tea and toured the Palace gardens as the Band of the Coldstream Guards and the Queen’s Division (Normandy) provided music.

Controversial incident
A controversial incident occurred during the conference when Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma of Enugu, Nigeria, attempted to exorcise the "homosexual demons" from Richard Kirker, a British priest and the general secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, who was passing out leaflets. Chukwuma told Kirker that he was "killing the church"; Kirker's civil response to the attempted exorcism was "May God bless you, sir, and deliver you from your prejudice against homosexuality."

Homosexual issue
Sexuality replaced women's ordination as volatile issue. There were differences of opinion over the place of homosexuals in the church. One coalition of bishops pushed for adoption of a statement calling any ordination of non-celibate homosexuals or blessing of same-sex unions "unacceptable." Other bishops wanted the issue to be referred to a study process similar to that adopted for the women's ordination question.

The Human Sexuality sub-section of Section One: Called to Full Humanity was chaired by Bishop Duncan Buchanan(Johannesburg, South Africa). After the first meeting, Bishop Buchanan said he was “shocked and traumatised” by the degree of anger. Regarding the Convention’s allowing bishops to self-select the sections they joined, Buchanan said, “it is my belief that many people have got into the section in order to protect a point of view. . . . That’s where we start.”

Bishop Rowan Williams of the Diocese of Monmouth in Wales Williams said, "while some Christian homosexuals believe that they are offering their experience as a gift to the rest of the Anglican Communion, other members of the Communion may respond, ‘If I were to accept that that gift were of God, it would undermine everything I believe of God.’"

Thus it was that the most hotly debated issue at this conference was homosexuality in the Anglican Communion. It was finally decided, by a vote of 526–70, to pass a resolution (1.10) calling for a "listening process" but stating (in an amendment passed by a vote of 389–190) that "homosexual practice" (not necessarily orientation) is "incompatible with Scripture".

A subsequent public apology was issued to gay and lesbian Anglicans in a "Pastoral Statement" from 182 bishops worldwide, including eight primates (those of Brazil, Canada, Central Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales).

Division and controversy centered on this motion and its application continued to the extent that, ten years later, in 2007, Giles Goddard of Inclusive Church suggested in published correspondence with Andrew Goddard across the liberal–evangelical divide: "It's possible to construct a perfectly coherent argument that the last 10 years have been preoccupied with undoing the damage Lambeth 1.10 caused to the Communion."

Poverty issue
Discussions about a mission to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives by empowering the poor in developing countries using innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training and spiritual development led to the formation of Five Talents.

Resolutions plenary sessions
Plenary sessions for discussion, debate and voting on Resolutions proposed by the four sections were held from Tuesday, August 4 through Friday, August 7.

Forty-one interpreters interpreted Resolutions into Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Swahili and English for the more than 100 bishops using the translation services.

All the 1998 Resolutions can be read at Lambeth Conference: Resolutions Archive from 1998.

Fourteenth: 2008

Icon of the Melanesian Martyrs at Canterbury Cathedral

• Presided over by Rowan Williams
• Over 650 bishops present

The fourteenth conference took place from 16 July to 4 August 2008 at the University of Kent's Canterbury campus. In March 2006 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, issued a pastoral letter to the 38 primates of the Anglican Communion and moderators of the united churches setting out his thinking for the next Lambeth Conference.

Williams indicated that the emphasis will be on training, "for really effective, truthful and prayerful mission". He ruled out (for the time being) reopening of the controversial resolution 1.10 on human sexuality from the previous Lambeth Conference, but emphasised the "listening process" in which diverse views and experiences of human sexuality were being collected and collated in accordance with that resolution and said it "will be important to allow time for this to be presented and reflected upon in 2008".

Williams indicated that the traditional plenary sessions and resolutions would be reduced and that "We shall be looking at a bigger number of more focused groups, some of which may bring bishops and spouses together."

Attendance at the Lambeth Conference is by invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Invitations were sent to more than 880 bishops around the world for the Fourteenth Conference. Notably absent from the list of those invited are Gene Robinson and Martyn Minns. Robinson was the first Anglican bishop to exercise the office while in an acknowledged same-sex relationship. Minns, the former rector of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia, is the head of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a splinter group of American Anglicans; the Church of Nigeria considers him a missionary bishop to the United States, despite protest from Canterbury and the U.S. Episcopal Church.

In 2008, the seven martyred members of the Melanesian Brotherhood were honoured during the concluding Eucharist of the 2008 conference at Canterbury Cathedral. Their names were added to the book of contemporary martyrs and placed, along with an icon, on the altar of the "Chapel of the Saints and Martyrs of Our Times". When the Eucharist was over, bishops and others came to pray in front of the small altar in the chapel. The icon stands in the cathedral as a reminder of their witness to peace and of the multi-ethnic character of global Anglicanism.

In 2008, four Anglican primates announced that they intended to boycott the Lambeth conference because of their opposition to the actions of Episcopal Church in the USA (the American province of the Anglican Communion) in favour of homosexual clergy and same-sex unions. These primates represent the Anglican provinces of Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. In addition, Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, among others announced their intentions not to attend.

The Global Anglican Future Conference, a meeting of conservative bishops held in Jerusalem in June 2008 (one month prior to Lambeth), was thought by some to be an "alternative Lambeth" for those who are opposed to the consecration of Robinson. GAFCON involved Martyn Minns, Akinola and other dissenters who consider themselves to be in a state of impaired communion with Lambeth, ECUSA and Canterbury. The June 2008 church blessing of Peter Cowell, an Anglican chaplain at The Royal London Hospital and priest at Westminster Abbey, and David Lord, an Anglican priest serving at a parish in Waikato, New Zealand, renewed the debate one month prior to the conference. The Reverend Martin Dudley who officiated at the ceremony at St Bartholomew-the-Great maintained that the ceremony was a "blessing" rather than a matrimonial ceremony.

Future conferences

On 23 September 2014, the Most Revd Katharine Jefferts Schori, Primate of the Episcopal Church in the United States, advised that she had been told by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, that the 2018 Lambeth Conference had been cancelled. Welby later responded to reports of cancellation by stating, "As it hasn't been called, it can't have been cancelled." The communiqué issued after the Primates' Meeting in Canterbury in January 2016 said that the primates had accepted Archbishop Welby's proposal that the Fifteenth Conference should be held in 2020.

Further reading

• R.T. Davidson, Abp., The Lambeth Conferences of 1867, 1878 and 1888 (London, 1896)
• Conference of Bishops of the Anglican Communion, Encyclical Letter, etc. (London, 1897 and 1908).
• Dewi Morgan, Lambeth Speaks (London: A.R. Mowbray, 1958). N.B.: This is a sampling of authoritative texts from various Lambeth Conferences across the years.

External links

• Lambeth Conference official website
• Archive of Lambeth Conferences Resolutions
• A Pan-Anglican Synod. A Sermon preached at the General Ordination held by the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Oxford, in the Cathedral Church of Christ in Oxford, on Sunday, December 23, 1866, by Francis Fulford. This file contains documentation on the first Lambeth Conference.
• Documentation on Anglicanism and contraception in connection with the Lambeth Conference
• Conferencia de Lambeth(2008) En Español.
• Records of the Lambeth Conference at Lambeth Palace Library

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "^{article name needed}". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.