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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 September 2009
Recent tensions within Anglicanism have brought about an intense re-visiting of some of the debates that surrounded its emergence as a worldwide Communion in the nineteenth century. Then, as now, there were a number of suggestions for stronger structures at the centre. With Lambeth 2008 and the recent ACC 14 (Anglican Consultative Council 14), the Anglican Communion has effectively reaffirmed its commitment to a voluntarist, relational way of being together; dealing with differences through mutual self-limiting rather than by central control. Beyond specific proposals, such as that for an Anglican Covenant, this continued commitment to a ‘polity of persuasion’ will require time and patience as well as a quality of ongoing engagement to succeed. What is at stake is more than Anglican unity. It is the capacity for Anglicanism to witness with integrity to the world about living under God in community, sharing power, and co-existing interdependently on a tiny and increasingly conflicted planet.
This is a revised and expanded version of an article, ‘Towards an Anglican future in a polity of persuasion’ to be published in Facing the Future (Melbourne: Acorn Press, 2009).
Dr Jeffrey Driver is Archbishop of Adelaide, South Australia.
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