The following article first appeared in the January/February 2010 edition of Encompass, a bi-monthly publication focused on news and events within the Anglican Communion. Click here to receive this newsletter via email, or join the American Anglican Council and receive a hard copy in your mailbox!

BY ROBERT H. LUNDY, EDITOR

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis (Photo courtesy George Conger)

In an open letter to the Anglican Communion, the Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis resigned from his position on the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion (SCAC), claiming his presence had “no value” and that his voice there was “like a useless cry in the wilderness.” Archbishop of the Anglican/Episcopal Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, Dr. Anis in a four page letter cited numerous failures of the SCAC as his reasons for resignation. The Primate’s resignation sent shockwaves throughout the Anglican Communion and called to question the credibility of the self-styled Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion, a group that until May, 2009 was known as the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC). Because this newly renamed committee includes representatives of three of the Anglican Communion’s four Instruments of Communion: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates Meetings and the Anglican Consultative Council, the SCAC holds considerable sway and power over the Communion’s direction.

On January 30, just over a month since the SCAC’s last meeting, Archbishop Anis announced his resignation from the committee via the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East’s website. The usually quiet and mild-mannered leader uncharacteristically chided the committee saying, “I have come to the sad realization that there is no desire within the ACC and the SCAC to follow through on the recommendations that have been taken by other Instruments of Communion to sort out the problems which face the Anglican Communion and which are tearing its fabric apart.”
   

One of those problems, according to Anis, is the SCAC’s lack of response to The Episcopal Church’s (TEC) departure from Anglican teaching. “The current SCAC provides no effective challenge to the ongoing revisions of TEC nor does it apply the recommendations of the Windsor Report and the Primates Meetings in Dromantine and Dar es Salam. I believe that this current state of no action will lead to more divisions and fragmentation simply because it widens the gap between the ‘promise’ and the ‘follow-through,’ diminishes the trust between churches, and produces an ‘ecclesial deficit.’”

The Archbishop went on to say that had the committee actually acted on the recommendations of the Primates and Windsor Report, “There would have been no need for interventions or divisions,” referring to the creation of the Anglican Church in North America (AC-NA).
   

Dr. Anis’ critique also described what he saw as flaws in the recently released Anglican Communion Covenant, the Listening Process which now includes the Continuing Indaba Project (funded by an Episcopal priest who is actively opposed to Lambeth Resolution 1.10), and the way in which the SCAC has questioned the authority of the other Instruments of Communion, especially the Primates’ Meetings.
   

Archbishop Mouneer Anis with his fellow primates. (Photo Courtesy George Conger)

“I am afraid to say that the Listening Process, as it is now, is taken out of context of the whole resolution [Lambeth 1.10] which rejects ‘homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture.’… it seems as if the aim of the Listening Process is to convince traditional Anglicans, especially in the Global South, that homosexual practice is acceptable. In our Communion where some churches depend financially on others, there is no guarantee of a fair, two-way listening process. My heart breaks when some of my colleagues say, ‘we too reject homosexual practice, but we cannot speak up because we have great financial needs.’ It is sad that money speaks louder than the Scriptures. I wish that the Anglican Communion Office would clarify with honesty what is really the ultimate aim of the Listening Process.”
   

Compared to the lengthy announcement and critique by Archbishop Anis, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s statement on the resignation was brief. “Bishop Mouneer has made an important contribution to the work of the Standing Committee, for which I am deeply grateful. I regret his decision to stand down but will continue to welcome his active engagement with the life of the Communion and the challenges we face together.”
   

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, leads the SCAC, and will have to find a replacement for Anis. If not filled with another orthodox voice, Anis’ vacant seat could further tip the balance of power on the SCAC further towards the more liberal provinces such as Canada, TEC and Wales. The Anglican Communion Office has not made an announcement as to who will replace Archbishop Anis on the committee, but many are waiting to see what will happen.†