Letter from Archbishop Tay and Archbishop Kolini to the Archbishop of Canterbury

The Most Reverend and Right Honorable George Carey
Archbishop of Canterbury
Lambeth Palace
London SE1 7JU
United Kingdom

Dear George,

The consecrations in Singapore are an interim action to provide pastoral assistance and nurture to faithful individuals and congregations. The apostasy of the "12 Theses," the continued rejection of the Lambeth Resolutions by a number of dioceses in ECUSA (see First Promise/AACOM Petition), and the actions of the Primus of Scotland have gone unrebuked as the boundaries of Christian and Anglican Faith have been notoriously breached. The unity of Anglicanism must be understood as grounded not merely in polity but fundamentally in the historic Faith entrusted to us. Far from being an attack on the Communion, this action is an affirmation of the unity of Anglican doctrine and Faith which has been frequently and flagrantly violated in the ECUSA.

It is precisely our irresponsible inaction that has allowed this division to continue. It is the violation of the Faith that makes unity impossible. This pastoral step establishes no new entity but simply gives pastoral care until faithful doctrine and ecclesiastical discipline has been restored. We believe this action will greatly assist the primates in March to address these issues.

We are sure you would agree that this is a pastoral and Gospel issue and not a political one, and should be treated accordingly. Rather than being a serious blow to the Communion, we see this action as reflecting a serious resolve to uphold the Lambeth Resolutions.

We trust that the concern which you have expressed for the unity of the Communion will bear fruit at the Primates' meeting in March and will result in action that affirms the boundaries of the historic Anglican Faith reflected in the Resolutions of Lambeth 1998 and not merely further discussion.

The nine primates at Kampala in November have agreed that the present conditions in the ECUSA have produced an "intolerable situation" involving the "misuse of provincial autonomy," ongoing "innovations exceeding the limits of our Anglican diversity," and Christian standards which are now "being notoriously breached." It was acknowledged in paragraph two of our Kampala Statement that "among us are those ready to respond to specific and urgent situations which may arise in the months before the Primates' meeting in Portugal from 23 to 28 March." Again, we have established no new province or entity but have taken an interim action in accordance with the above. We cannot help but reach the conclusion that you have been seriously misinformed with reference to the consensus reached last November in Kampala. We have simply acted according to paragraph two of the Kampala Statement signed by the nine primates and in response to a request by the attending American Anglican Council (AAC) bishops for intervention.

Any strategy that seeks to ground the unity of the Anglican Communion with its foundation in political accommodation rather than in the essentials of the Christian Faith is doomed. Only an unapologetic and firm insistence in the Faith entrusted to us will keep us together.