From the Bishop (August 3, 2006)

Here is a letter written in late May by Canon Gregory Cameron, Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, to the London Telegraph. It’s been circulating on a number of blogs, and is of interest because of Canon Cameron’s comments on an Anglican covenant and a so-called “two-tier” approach.

Sir - Your report (”Archbishop backs two-track Church to heal divisions”, May 19) appears to suggest that there is a planned strategy to divide the Anglican Communion in this.way to achieve this end. That is not the case.

A paper exploring how a covenant might be drawn up for the provinces of the Anglican Communion has been adopted for discussion and reflection in the Communion by the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council.

The potential for a covenant arrangement to entail a difference between those who might wish to sign and those who might not is recognised as a complication, and consideration of this challenge will have to form part of that exploration.

That is a long way indeed from saying that the Communion is preparing for a two-tier approach and further still from saying that the Archbishop of Canterbury backs it.

Canon Gregory Cameron, Deputy Secretary General
The Anglican Communion, London W11