Mark McCall—Resisting the ACC’s Growing Power

from TitusOneNine by Kendall Harmon

The new ACC constitution also attempts to impose diversity criteria on the primates in selecting the primates’ standing committee. They are to “have regard to” diversity between regions and sexes in appointing their members. The new constitution also infringes on the traditional prerogative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to appoint members of Anglican commissions by giving the ACC authority to establish these commissions. It is significant that at last December’s meeting of the ACC’s standing committee it considered measures to regulate the governance of the Lambeth Conference and the frequency of Primates’ Meetings.

The fourth concern is that the new constitution reduces the role of the member churches in the ACC. In addition to redefining the ACC for legal purposes so that the members appointed directly by the member churches are no longer part of the legal entity, the new constitution also eliminates the requirement that amendments to the constitution be ratified by the member churches.

The last concern raised by ACI is that the new constitution appears not to be consistent in important respects with the new Anglican Communion Covenant, completed only last December. The Covenant not only reflects the traditional understanding of the ACC as the body composed of the members directly appointed by member churches; it also defines a Communion that recognizes “the central role of bishops as guardians and teachers of faith,” that has four coequal instruments retaining their historic independence and control of their own memberships, and that is not subject to a central executive authority like that into which the ACC standing committee is evolving.

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