Senior archbishops, moderators and presiding bishops from the 42 churches of the worldwide Anglican Communion will meet in London next month to pray and study the Bible together.
The primates’ meeting had been scheduled to take place in Rome, Italy. However, Covid-related travel restrictions in Italy meant that around half of the church leaders would not be eligible to take part fully and the meeting has been moved to London. This means a planned audience with Pope Francis will not now take place.
At the meeting, called by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Anglican leaders will discuss the latest plans for the Lambeth Conference, the decennial meeting to which all Anglican bishops from around the world are invited. Postponed from 2020 as a result of the pandemic, the next Lambeth Conference will now take place in Canterbury in July and August this year. Its theme will be what it means to be “God’s Church for God’s World”.
Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby have a strong rapport and share many of the concerns that will be addressed at the Lambeth Conference.
The topics scheduled for debate in Canterbury this summer include climate change, with many parts of the Anglican Communion experiencing first-hand the human impact of rising tides, drought, famine and species extinction.
The conference will also debate persecution of Christians around the world, mission and evangelism in a digital age, the effects of the pandemic, science and technology, the world of work and employment, peace and reconciliation and politics and economic justice.
In a message looking ahead to the conference, Archbishop Welby said: “Around the globe, many people are experiencing great suffering. We have only to look at our news screens for a second, to see situations of injustice and inequality. Our conversations at the Lambeth Conference will happen in a world grappling with huge challenges: the climate crisis, the pandemic, racial inequality, conflict and mass migration, rapid scientific and technological change”
In the life of the communion itself, there is a wide range of issues and questions that need to be addressed, he said.
In preparation for the conference, a “listening phase” conference designed to help bishops around the world meet and prepare for the conference is running this month and in March and April. The online series is offering input from theologians and practitioners whose ministry has been informed in particularly complex situations.
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