Anglican and Episcopal readings

Since I am a lifelong Lutheran and a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and have been teaching Episcopal Church History and English Church History at the School of Theology for over 30 years, I have devoted much of my reading to the subjects I teach, subjects I knew very little about when I came here. I have concentrated especially on primary sources such as the Journals of General Conventions, the reports of the Lambeth Conferences, and the reports of the Anglican Consultative Council meetings. In a sense, the Journal of the 72nd General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America Otherwise Known as The Episcopal Church 1997 is three books. First there is the Report to the 72nd General Convention Otherwise Known as The Blue Book: Reports and Resolutions of the Committees, Commissions, Boards and Agencies of the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, USA for Consideration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July Sixteenth to Twenty-fifth Inclusive, in the Year of Our Lord, 1997, 550 pages. It contains the reports from the interim bodies of General Convention and is the primary source of their work. Whether one agrees with the reports or not, here is the thinking and the work of the Episcopal Church between General Conventions. While it is distributed to bishops and deputies, others may purchase copies as the dean's office always does here at the School of Theology.

Second there is the Journal of the 72nd General Convention ... 1997, 950 pages. This contains the directory, the minutes of the House of Bishops, the minutes of the House of Deputies, summaries and indexes, and supplements (more about this last topic later). This volume is indispensable for knowing and understanding the actions of General Convention. While at times it is difficult reading, it is well worth the effort. The third volume is Supplement to the Journal of the 72nd General Convention ... 1997, 442 pages. This includes a directory of the interim bodies, addresses, appendices to the General Convention minutes, and reports not included in The Blue Book. An example is the "Concordat of Agreement between the Episcopal Church and the ELCA."

A "fourth" volume, so to speak, is the Constitution and Canons For the Government of the Protestant Episcopal Church... Together With The Rules Of Order Adopted in General Conventions 1789-1997 Revised by the 1997 Convention, 245 pages. This volume is revised after each General Convention. I require students to read in all four volumes.

Another volume of "required" reading for those in the Anglican tradition are the official reports of the Lambeth Conferences. The Official Report of the Lambeth Conference 1998: Transformation and Renewal, July 18-August 9, 1998, Lambeth Palace, Canterbury, England (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1999), 534 pages, is the latest volume. This volume includes "The Virginia Report," the reports, the plenary presentations, the resolutions, sermons, and a list of participants. Whether one agrees or not, this statement gets one's attention: " `shall we starve our children to pay our debts?'-the creditors, led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), say, .yes, you pay your debts before you feed your children. Yes, you prioritize repayment of debts over expenditure on health, education, clean water and sanitation. Yes, your children shall face unlimited liability for the debts of their governments"' (p. 356). A helpful secondary reflection is James E. Solheim, Diversity or Disunity? Reflections on Lambeth 1998 (New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 1999). Another helpful volume with regard to Lambeth is Roger Coleman, ed., Resolutions of the Twelve Lambeth Conferences 1867-1988 (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 1992).

The first meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council was in Limuru, Kenya, February 23-March 5, 1971, and it meets every three years. The report of the last Council meeting is James M. Rosenthal and Nicola Currie, eds., Being Anglican in the Third Millennium, Panama 1996: The Official Report of the loth meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1997), 560 pages. It contains sermons and addresses, the hearings, the reports, the resolutions of the Council, and appendices. Two important appendices are "The Virginia Report: The Report of the Inter-Anglican Theological and Doctrinal Commission," and "The Dublin Report: Renewing the Anglican Eucharist," also published as Renewing the Anglican Eucharist: Findings of the Fifth International Anglican Liturgical Consultation, Dublin, Eire, 1995, edited by David R. Holeton. "The Virginia Report" grew out of the call of the Lambeth Conference of 1988 to consider the meaning and nature of communion. It notes that the interdependence of the Provinces of the Anglican Communion is maintained by certain structures and relationships. Among these are the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council, and the Meeting of the Primates. These are what provide the unity of the Anglican Communion. "The Dublin Report" is a very clear statement about the place and structure of the Eucharist.