Britain: The Church of Ireland Primate Archbishop Robin Eames said yesterday that there was a conciliatory atmosphere at talks in London among leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
He spoke seven hours after 37 of the world's Anglican Primates gathered for the start of an extraordinary two-day summit at Lambeth Palace in London to discuss the crisis precipitated by the election of Canon Gene Robinson, who lives in an openly gay relationship, as Episcopalian Bishop of New Hampshire in the US last August.
The summit was called by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams. It also followed the approval of same-sex blessings in Canada's diocese of New Westminster last May and the row in Britain this summer over the nomination of Canon Jeffrey John, an openly gay man, as Bishop of Reading. He withdrew his acceptance of the post after a campaign by traditionalists within the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The summit was "moving towards a consensus situation," Archbishop Eames told reporters.
"Now, what form that consensus will be won't become obvious - if it is to become obvious - until tomorrow."
"There is a tremendous anxiety to maintain the Anglican community," he added. "I am optimistic that the Anglican communion will emerge from this stronger than it has ever been." he said
Even one of Anglicanism's leading conservatives, American Anglican Council President David Anderson, said yesterday there was only "a 20-35 per cent possibility of a split" in the communion.
The Primates were taken in to Lambeth Palace yesterday through a back door without speaking to the media to discuss in private an issue which it was believed could split the 70 million-strong Communion.
The summit will conclude with a press conference this evening.
Some African Churches had threatened to leave the Communion if the Americans were not disciplined or if the summit did not set them a deadline to comply with the Communion's position on homosexuality.
That was agreed at the 1998 Lambeth Conference and stated that the Communion cannot support "the legitimising or blessing of same-sex unions or ordaining of those involved in same-sex unions".
