Anglican primates of the Americas meet in Brazil, pledge to work together on global issues

The primates of the Americas who met this week were, front row from left, the Most Rev. Alba Sally Sue Hernández García of the Anglican Church of Mexico and the Most Rev. Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, and, back row from left, the Most Rev. Brian Williams of the Anglican Church of South America, the Most Rev. Shane Parker of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Most Rev. Juan David Alvarado Melgar of the Anglican Church of Central America, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and the Most Rev. Philip Wright of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. Photo: Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil

[Episcopal News Service] Top church leaders from seven Anglican provinces in North America and South America, including The Episcopal Church, have released a joint statement after concluding a three-day meeting this week in São Paulo, Brazil, seeking common ground on their faith-based responses to a range of global issues.

The leaders emphasized that this was the first time that both the primates and provincial secretaries from the provinces of the Americas met together. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe represented The Episcopal Church, along with the Rev. Charles Robertson, senior adviser to the presiding bishop, and the Rev. David Ulloa Chavez, the church’s lead for Global Episcopal Partnerships.

The Aug. 10-12 meeting occurred a little more than a month after a meeting in Northern Ireland of the Anglican Consultative Council, at which Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally said she intended to discuss with the primates of the Anglican Communion’s 42 autonomous provinces potential new models of shared leadership. The communion’s member churches are navigating ongoing tensions over theological differences, particularly related to human sexuality.

In Brazil, the regional primates were joined by Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Anglican Communion secretary general.

“We give thanks to God for the gift of our communion, which we receive as the Body of Christ,” the Anglican primates of the Americas said in their joint statement. “At this meeting, we strove to embody that gift as we spoke honestly and with hope about the realities of ministry in our contexts and sought to enter one another’s realities.”

The meeting was hosted by the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil’s Archbishop Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto. In addition to Rowe, the other primates who participated were the Most Rev. Shane Parker of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Most Rev. Juan David Alvarado Melgar of the Anglican Church of Central America, the Most Rev. Alba Sally Sue Hernández García of the Anglican Church of Mexico, the Most Rev. Brian Williams of the Anglican Church of South America and the Most Rev. Philip Wright of the Church in the Province of the West Indies.

“I pray that God continues to inspire, encourage, and hearten us to respond to the challenges of our time, serving as a reconciling and prophetic presence in the Americas,” Bassotto said in a written statement to Episcopal News Service.

The primates’ joint statement noted that Brazil’s Indigenous peoples are “stewards of the Amazon and faithful voices in the struggle for climate justice.”

“We affirmed the dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples whose ancestral lands span the Americas,” the primates said. “Although we are from richly diverse provinces, we share the experiences of living in cultures shaped by forces that call us to action, including colonialism, secularism, polarization, migration concerns, economic and social insecurity, corruption and climate change.”

One step the primates took during their meeting was to revitalize their provinces’ Committee on Migration in the Americas, to foster cooperation on an issue that transcends political and provincial boundaries.

“The committee’s proposal is to centralize and disseminate information that can assist the provinces in their work with migrants — both in preparing those who are leaving and in welcoming those who are arriving,” Christina Winnischofer, the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil’s general secretary, told ENS.

Rowe, in a written comment to Episcopal News Service, called the meeting “a significant opportunity to strengthen relationships and discern the future of our ministry together.

“Especially in this era, we are keenly aware that our shared voice as Anglicans in the Americas can make a profound witness in each of our contexts,” Rowe said. “As our statement says, we have begun a new chapter in our life together in Christ.”

The primates of the Americas said they look forward to working together again in the future, supporting each other in their Gospel work.

“Our Anglican tradition teaches us to find unity in service to God’s mission, and we pledge to work together with mutual accountability and hope for the people of our provinces,” they said in their joint statement. “We leave this gathering with the conviction that we have begun a new chapter in our life together in Christ.”

The meeting was seen as grounding future efforts to strengthen Anglican relations, Robertson told ENS. “In an increasingly divided world, it has been all the more remarkable to see the Primates and Provincial Secretaries of the Americas, with their diverse backgrounds and contexts, come together in fellowship as a first step towards more intentional engagement and collaboration in the future.”

After the meeting, Poggo released a separate statement. “It was wonderful to be a guest at the meeting of the Primates from the Americas, to pray for their ministries and for the churches and communities they represent,” he said. “May God continue to build his Church across the Americas.”

Some of the primates and provincial secretaries remained in São Paulo for an additional meeting with leaders of the Anglican Alliance about a new initiative led by the global relief agency called “A Place at the Table.” The initiative, according to the Anglican Communion News Service, is “based on a conviction that many of the challenges facing the world are shaped not only by a lack of resources, but by distorted relationships of power: who is heard, who makes decisions, who benefits and who is excluded.”

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.