View source for Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings

{{Short description|Meetings of Anglican Communion leaders}}
{{AnglicanCommunion}}
The '''Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings''' are regular meetings of the [[primates in the Anglican Communion]], i.e. the principal [[archbishop]]s or [[bishop]]s of each (often national) ecclesiastical province of the [[Anglican Communion]]. There are currently 38 primates of the Anglican Communion. The primates come together from the geographic [[provinces]] around the world for discussion and consultation. As ''[[primus inter pares]]'' of the communion, the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] chairs the meetings, with the Secretary General of the [[Anglican Consultative Council]] (ACC) serving as secretary.

"The Primates have no authority as a body and their own national churches determine how their ministry is carried out in their own context. The customs and responsibilities vary between provinces."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/structures/instruments-of-communion/primates-meeting.aspx|title=Anglican Communion: Primates Meeting|last=Office|first=Anglican Communion|website=Anglican Communion Website|language=en|access-date=2019-12-31}}</ref>

The Primates' Meeting was established by [[Donald Coggan]], Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1978 as an opportunity for “leisurely thought, prayer and deep consultation”.<ref name=":0" />  The first meeting was held in 1979.

==Recent meetings==

===February 2001 meeting===
Held from 2 to 9 March at the [[Kanuga Conference Center]] in the United States, topics of discussion included mission issues, poverty and debt concerns, "Canons and Communion", and the response to the global HIV/AIDS crisis.

=== October 2003 meeting ===
Following the regular primates meeting of May 2003, [[Rowan Williams]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], convened an extraordinary meeting of the primates of the [[Anglican Communion]] from 15 to 16 October.

The primates gathered at [[Lambeth Palace]] in October for a series of closed meetings discussing a way forward because conflict over the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]] and the [[ordination]] of a [[gay bishop]]. The primates issued a communiqué at the close of the meeting.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2003/10/16/ACNS3633 |title=Anglican Communion News Service: A Statement by the Primates of the Anglican Communion meeting in Lambeth Palace |access-date=2012-12-08 |archive-date=2013-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402195622/http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2003/10/16/ACNS3633 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== February 2005 meeting ===
In February 2005, Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting was held in Dromantine in [[Northern Ireland]] from 21 to 26 February.  The issue of homosexuality was heavily discussed. Of the 38 primates, 35 attended. The primates issued a communiqué that reiterated most of the [[Windsor Report]]'s statements, but added a new twist. The [[Episcopal Church (United States)]] and Anglican Church of Canada were asked to voluntarily withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council, the main formal international entity within the Anglican Communion until the next [[Lambeth Conference]] in 2008.

=== February 2007 meeting ===
The 2007 Primates' Meeting was held in [[Dar es Salaam]], [[Tanzania]], from 15 to 19 February and reviewed a draft covenant for the Anglican Communion which is in part a response to disagreements between national churches on issues of sexuality and authority.<ref>{{cite web|title=Communiqué of the Primates' Meeting, February 2007|url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/68393/communique2007_english.pdf?language=English|website=Anglican Communion|access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

=== January 2011 meeting ===
The 2011 Primates' Meeting was held in [[Dublin]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].  It was attended by the primates of only 23 of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion.  A variety of reasons were offered for the absences. The Archbishop of the [[Province de l'Église anglicane du Congo|Congo]] was unable to obtain a visa. The primates of [[Anglican Church of Mexico|Mexico]] and [[Church of Burma|Burma]] said that they were not well. Four primates cited other engagements: [[Anglican Church of Kenya|Kenya]], [[Church of North India|North India]], [[Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan|Sudan]] and [[Anglican Church of Rwanda|Rwanda]]. The Archbishop of [[Anglican Church of Tanzania|Tanzania]] offered “personal reasons” for his absence, while seven conservative primates boycotted the meeting as a protest against the attendance of the more liberal primates of the Episcopal Churches of the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|United States of America]] and of [[Anglican Church of Canada|Canada]]: namely, the primates of the provinces of the [[Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean|Indian Ocean]], [[Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East|Jerusalem and the Middle East]], [[Church of Nigeria|Nigeria]], [[Church of Uganda|Uganda]], [[Church of the Province of South East Asia|South East Asia]], the Province of the [[Anglican Church of South America|Southern Cone]] in [[South America]] and the [[Church of the Province of West Africa|Province of West Africa]].

===January 2016 meeting ('Primates 2016')===
Most of the primates gathered in Canterbury in January 2016.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160129205723/http://www.primates2016.org/about/ About — Primates 2016]}} (Accessed 31 January 2016)</ref> This followed the longest gap between meetings since they were established, during which the Archbishop of Canterbury, [[Justin Welby]], had been visiting primates individually in their home countries following his installation in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last=Butter |first=Jan |date=6 October 2014 |title=Abp Welby: 'Next Lambeth Conference a decision for the primates' | url=http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/10/abp-welby-next-lambeth-conference-a-decision-for-the-primates.aspx |work=Anglican Communion News Service |access-date=10 July 2015}}</ref> A communiqué was issued following the meeting. Its provisions included a "the recommendation of a working group of our members"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/structures/instruments-of-communion/primates-meeting/2016.aspx|title=Anglican Communion: 2016|last=Office|first=Anglican Communion|website=Anglican Communion Website|language=en|access-date=2019-12-31}}</ref> that the U.S. [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] suspend its involvement in Anglican Communion "decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity" as a consequence for taking action in support of adopting policies of marriage inclusivity that coincided with the national law in the United States, and the announcement that the 15th [[Lambeth Conference]] would be called for 2020.<ref>{{cite web |date=15 January 2016 |title=Communiqué from the Primates of the Anglican Communion |url=http://www.primates2016.org/articles/2016/01/15/communique-primates/ |publisher=Anglican Communion Office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606164840/http://www.primates2016.org/articles/2016/01/15/communique-primates/ |archive-date=6 June 2017 |url-status=usurped |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===October 2017 meeting===
Held again in Canterbury, the 2017 meeting was attended by primates from 33 out of 39 [[Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion|provinces]], with three unavailable due to local circumstances and three declining to attend due to disagreements with other members of the Anglican Communion.<ref name="2017communique" /> The [[Global Anglican Future Conference|GAFCON]]-affiliated Archbishop of Nigeria, [[Nicholas Okoh]], cited "broken fellowship over homosexual practice, same-sex marriage, and the blurring of gender identity".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/8-september/news/world/okoh-to-shun-primates-meeting|title=Archbishop of Nigeria Nicholas Okoh to shun next Primates' Meeting|last=Davies|first=Madeleine|date=8 September 2017|website=[[Church Times]]|access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>

A communiqué was issued, indicating that the focus of the meeting was "in particular the challenge of sharing the love, compassion and reconciliation of Jesus with those in need around the world." It included discussions of [[safeguarding]], to denote measures to protect the [[health]], [[well-being]] and [[human rights]] of individuals, which allow people — especially children, [[Youth|young people]] and [[vulnerable adult]]s — to live free from abuse, harm and neglect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safeguarding|title=Safeguarding|access-date=December 31, 2019}}</ref>{{Circular reference|date=January 2020}} The Primates also discussed approaches to sexuality and same-sex marriage, liturgy and pilgrimage, jurisdictional boundaries between member churches, war, and environmental and humanitarian issues.

The same terms which the U.S. Episcopal Church accepted in 2016 for its decision to change their definition of marriage without Anglican Communion consultation was applied to the [[Scottish Episcopal Church]] as a result of its own support for same-sex marriage.<ref name="2017communique">{{cite web|url=https://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/311326/communiqu%C3%A9-primates-meeting-2017.pdf|title=Communiqué from the Primates' Meeting|date=6 October 2017|publisher=Anglican Communion}}</ref> The result was that until 2020 the Scottish Church agreed that it will "no longer represent the Communion on ecumenical and interfaith bodies; should not be appointed or elected to internal standing committees and that, while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they would not take part in decision making on any issues of doctrine or polity."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/311326/communiqu%C3%A9-primates-meeting-2017.pdf|title=Communiqué from the Primates' Meeting Canterbury Cathedral, England, 2-6 October 2017|last=Communion|first=Anglican, The|date=October 6, 2017|website=Anglican Communion|access-date=December 31, 2019}}</ref>

===January 2020 meeting===
Following a series of regional primates' meetings, Welby called a full Primates' Meeting in anticipation of the [[Fifteenth Lambeth Conference|2020 Lambeth Conference]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anglicannews.org/news/2019/02/archbishop-of-canterbury-calls-an-anglican-primates-meeting-in-jordan-in-january-2020.aspx|title = Archbishop of Canterbury calls an Anglican Primates' Meeting in Jordan in January 2020}}</ref> which was eventually held in 2022.

== List of meetings ==
[[Image:Rowan Williams - by Brian.jpg|thumb|115px|Rowan Williams called an extraordinary meeting in 2003]]
* 1979: [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]], England
* 1981: [[Washington, D.C.]], United States
* 1983: [[Limuru]], Kenya
* 1986: [[Toronto]], Canada
* 1989: [[Cyprus]]
* 1991: [[Newcastle, County Down|Newcastle]], Northern Ireland
* 1993: [[Cape Town]], South Africa
* 1995: [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]], England
* 1997: [[Jerusalem]], Israel
* 2000: [[Porto]], Portugal
* February 2001: [[Kanuga Conference Center|Kanuga]], United States
* 2002: [[Canterbury]], England
* May 2003: [[Gramado]], Brazil
* October 2003: [[Lambeth Palace]], England
* February 2005: [[Dromantine]], Northern Ireland
* February 2007: [[Dar es Salaam]], Tanzania
* February 2009: [[Alexandria]], Egypt
* January 2011: [[Dublin]], Ireland
* January 2016: Canterbury, England (not a Primates' Meeting){{citation needed|date=January 2019}}
* October 2017: Canterbury, England
* January 2020: Amman, Jordan

==References==
<references />
*[http://www.anglicancommunion.org/communion/primates/resources/index.cfm Primates Meeting Communique - February 2007] 
*[http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/42/50/acns4252.cfm Report of the Covenant Design Group - February 2007]
*[http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/special/primates/general/info.html Information about the Anglican Communion], from the 2003 Primates' Meetings
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930022307/http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/36/25/acns3633.html A Statement by the Primates of the Anglican Communion meeting in Lambeth Palace - October, 2003]
*[http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/36/25/acns3634.html Archbishop of Canterbury's statement at the final press conference of the Primates' Meeting - October, 2003]
*[http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/34/50/acns3450.html Pastoral Letter from the Primates of the Anglican Communion - May, 2003]
*[http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5613/archbishop-of-canterbury-calls-for-primates-gathering Archbishop of Canterbury calls for Primates' Gathering - September, 2015]

==External links==
*[http://www.anglicancommunion.org/structures/instruments-of-communion/primates-meeting.aspx Primates' Meetings]
*[http://www.anglicancommunion.org/windsor2004/index.cfm The Windsor Report 2004]
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/anglican_archives/collections/72157620544848168/ Photos from primates' meetings, 2003&ndash;2017]

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[[Category:Episcopacy in Anglicanism]]
[[Category:Primates in the Anglican Communion]]
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[[Category:Recurring events established in 1979]]
[[Category:1979 establishments in England]]