About Rowan Williams’ Advent Letter to the Primates

The Archbishop of Canterbury has sent an Advent letter to the Primates of the Anglican Communion. There is much here, but I will focus on the following paragraph:

8. These questions are made all the more sharp by the fact that the repeated requests for moratoria on problematic actions issued by various representative Anglican bodies are increasingly ignored. Strong conscientious convictions are involved here. No-one, I believe, acts out of a desire to deepen disunity; some believe that certain matters are more important than what they think of as a superficial unity. But the effects are often to deepen mutual mistrust, and this must surely be bad for our mission together as Anglicans, and alongside other Christians as well. The question remains: if the moratoria are ignored and the Covenant suspected, what are the means by which we maintain some theological coherence as a Communion and some personal respect and understanding as a fellowship of people seeking to serve Christ? And we should bear in mind that our coherence as a Communion is also a significant concern in relation to other Christian bodies – especially at a moment when the renewed dialogues with Roman Catholics and Orthodox have begun with great enthusiasm and a very constructive spirit.

What stands out, nay, shouts to me is Dr. Williams' utter cluelessness as to what is needful for “personal respect”.

If one has children who willfully and brazenly disobey household rules, you may clearly warn them once before discipline, but then if the disobedience continues, you must impose discipline, not make more expressions of “concern.” Otherwise there will be rampant disrespect for you and for your rules – and disrespect not only from the disobedient children, but also from faithful children who see your spinelessness.

Rowan Williams not only has refused to discipline The Episcopal Church and other apostates, but also willfully undermined the Primates after they sought to do the job at Dar es Salaam. And he short-circuited Lambeth from doing the job by turning it into an Inbada. He is like an indulgent parent not only will not discipline, but who also deflects and undermines all efforts of schools, of churches, and even of law enforcement to bring his riotous brats in line. No one respects such a father, no matter how shiny his mitre.

And speaking of the Roman Catholics and Orthodox, they are just being polite in any so-called “renewed dialogues.” They know full well that Rowan Williams has turned the Anglican Communion into a playground for apostates and heretics. He has thereby shot ecumenical efforts with orthodox Christians to Hell.

Having lost the respect of the vast majority of orthodox Anglicans as well as a great many not-so-orthodox Anglicans by his fecklessness, the best thing Rowan Williams could do now for the Communion and for the whole catholic church is to repent and to resign.

Otherwise, he is, as Christopher Johnson points out, a pointless man sending out useless letters.