The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Presidential Address at Lambeth 2008

Quite a few people have said that the new ways we’re suggesting of doing our business are an attempt to avoid tough decisions and have the effect of replacing substance with process. To such people, I’d simply say, ‘How effective have the old methods really been?’ Earlier Lambeth Conferences issued weighty reports and passed scores of resolutions (I must put my hand up and admit that I’ve drafted parts of those reports and resolutions myself in the past!); no-one would say they have been a waste of time, because they still embody a lot of careful thinking and planning. Yet not much of this material attempts to convey what was different about meeting in a prolonged time of prayer and fellowship as we always do at these Conferences. And as for resolutions: if you look at the resolutions that have been passed since 1867, you’ll find many of them, on really important subjects, have never been acted on...(Ed: How true indeed!)

Posted on 07/21 Print version
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