Anglicans for Comprehensive Unity
noanglicancovenant.org
NEWS RELEASE
DECEMBER 6, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COALITION CELEBRATES SUCCESSES, PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
LONDON – After slightly more than a year, the No Anglican Covenant Coalition can point to several
successes, according to Coalition Moderator, the Revd Dr Lesley Crawley.
Four dioceses of the Church of England have rejected the Covenant (Birmingham; St.
Edmundsbury and Ipswich; Truro; Wakefield). Where synod members were provided with
balanced background material (i.e., material that presented both the case for and the case
against the Covenant), the synods have voted it down. Four dioceses, where little or no material
was presented other than officially sanctioned pro-Covenant material, have approved the
Covenant (Lichfield; Durham; Europe; Bristol). A total of 23 diocesan synods must approve the
Covenant for the matter to return to the General Synod.
The Tikanga Maori defeated the Covenant at their biennial runanganui, virtually ensuring the
defeat of the Covenant in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
The Philippine House of Bishops has indicated they will not support the Anglican Covenant, likely
ensuring the defeat of the Covenant in the Episcopal Church in the Philippines.
Individual dioceses in the Anglican Church of Australia (Newcastle; Sydney) and The Episcopal
Church (California; Eastern Oregon; Michigan; East Carolina; and others) have indicated their
opposition to adoption of the Covenant.
“In November 2010, we launched the Coalition to ensure that the case against the proposed
Anglican Covenant would be given a fair hearing,” said Dr. Crawley. “Today we are seeing our efforts
bear fruit. When fair debate has been allowed, the results have been gratifying.”
Critical to the success of the campaign, especially in the Church of England, has been the support of
the Coalition’s Episcopal Patrons, Bishops John Saxbee and Peter Selby, who have encouraged
diocesan bishops to allow for a full and open debate. In the coming months, 37 more English
dioceses will vote on the Anglican Covenant. Only 18 additional no votes are needed for the Church
of England to reject the Covenant.
The No Anglican Covenant Coalition continues to provide assistance to those researching the
proposed Covenant. The Resources section of the Coalition website (noanglicancovenant.org) is
regularly updated with new material and analysis.
In the coming year:
The Episcopal Church will consider the Covenant at its General Convention in July in Indianapolis,
Indiana. The Executive Council of the church has circulated a draft resolution to reject the
Anglican Covenant.
The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia will consider the Covenant in July
at its General Synod/Te HinotaWhanui in Fiji. Given the rejection of the Anglican Covenant by
Tikanga Maori, rejection of the Covenant by that church seems assured.
The General Synod of the Church of England is scheduled to consider the Covenant at its July
session. However, unless 19 more diocesan synods have approved the Anglican Covenant by
that date, the matter will not return to General Synod.
“Anglican Communion Office officials have repeatedly responded to criticism of the Anglican
Covenant by suggesting that critics have not read the document,” said the Coalition’s Canadian
Convenor, the Revd Malcolm French. “Ironically, we find that the more familiar people are with the
document, the more likely they are to reject it. The Coalition is committed to ensuring a proper and
balanced debate in churches throughout the Anglican Communion.”
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The No Anglican Covenant Coalition is an international group of Anglicans dedicated to protecting
the Anglican Communion from the dramatic changes that would be effected by the Anglican
Covenant.
noanglicancovenant.org
The Revd Dr Lesley Crawley (England) +44 1252 820537
Dr Lionel Deimel (USA) +1-412-512-9087
The Revd Malcolm French (Canada) +1-306-550-2277
The Ven Lawrence Kimberley (New Zealand) +64 3 981 7384
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