Anglican leaders downplay censure of Episcopal Church

From Christian Century-

The Anglican Communion’s worldwide leaders, finishing up four days of heated discussions, sought to project a sense of unity despite a move to exclude the Episcopal Church from key policy decisions as a result of the American province’s acceptance of same-sex marriage.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, overall leader of the global body, stressed at a news conference on Friday (January 15) that the church had chosen to remain together, albeit effectively as a house divided.

“The decision that we would walk together was unanimous,” Welby said, adding that any meeting of leaders of a church of 85 million members in 165 countries and 38 provinces “is bound to give confused messages.”

The Anglican Communion is the world’s third-largest Christian denomination, after Catholics and Orthodox.

Welby played down the decision, leaked a day earlier, to suspend the Episcopal Church from decision-making on policy and governance for a period of three years. He said it had been “completely taken out of context, and then very heavily interpreted” as a sanction on the American province.

More here-

http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2016-01/anglican-leaders-downplay-censure-episcopal-church