The Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual and symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the USA, recently issued invitations to all bishops considered to be ‘in communion’ for the once a decade Lambeth Conference. The startling fact of this is that the only person not invited was Bishop Gene Robinson.
Gay for God
It may be remembered that a few years ago Bishop Robinson made quite a stir both in and out of religious circles by being the first openly gay man to be made a Bishop in the Anglican Communion. In the years since the controversy of the inclusion of Gay and Lesbian people has rocked the Anglican Communion. It is for this reason that the Archbishop chose not to invite Gene Robinson, fearing the controversy his presence could bring. Even so, African Bishops who knew that people who were involved in the laying on of hands, which is part of the ‘bishoping process’, have chosen not to attend.
Churches, denominations and religions are complicated things. While official positions abound within the structures of any given group there are dissenting theologians, congregations, pastors and priests along the spectrum of belief. The true crime, or ‘sin’ in religious speech, is that by not inviting Bishop Robinson, so as to avoid the controversy and heated arguments his presence may invite, the Anglican Communion is denying the variety of perspective and diversity which sits in its midst. The lack of his presence allows those who are participating to assume there is a ‘true way’ of being an Anglican (or Christian) and that dissenting points of view can be tuned out and are therefore not a part of the diversity of the tradition.
The Diverse Church
Of course the Anglican Communion has found itself in the center of passionate debate pertaining to the diversity of its structure and if Bishop Robinson had attended many more people would have chosen not to participate. It has only been this summer that the Church of England, after 15 years of women priests, have decided to allow for women bishops with dissenting congregations able to come under the oversight of ‘super bishops’. The US and Canadian churches have been able to ordain women to priesthood and the role of Bishop for some time, but a handful of diocese (regional areas in the church) have chosen to not affirm this position.
The debate has continued with the inclusion of Gay and Lesbian people in the full life of the church as lay people, deacons, priests and bishops. In the US and Canada dissenting congregations have removed themselves from their bishops oversight and come under the oversight of Bishops in Africa or South America.
The Sin of Denial
To live in such a manner, or to hold such a way of being, places those who dissent in conflict with the larger body. To this end the dissenting group must assume an “us vs. them” attitude that sees itself as persecuted for its beliefs. No congregation can be forced to hold a view it disagrees with. But the church can only be diverse if all of its participants bring the diversity of their views to the table, those who agree with official positions and those who don’t. For churches to come under super bishops, bishops from other countries or to not participate is to live in denial of the diversity that any one tradition can contain within its self.
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