By Margaret Rodgers

Archbishop Greg Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone (South America), speaking on behalf of 22 Primates of the Anglican Communion called last month for the expulsion of the Anglican Church of Canada from the Communion.
His statement followed the decisions of the Canadian General Synod held early June at St Catherine’s in the Diocese of Niagara.
Events at the General Synod had been much awaited, not just in Canada but in Anglicanism worldwide, for the major item for debate, was a resolution that would have allowed individual dioceses to permit blessings of same-sex unions in churches.
Prior to the debate, the Rev Canon Gregory Cameron, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative told the General Synod he acknowledged the right of the Canadian Church to decide the matter, but he reminded his listeners that a ‘yes’ vote to same-sex blessings would mean that “the Anglican Church of Canada refuses to hear the voice and to heed the concerns of your fellow Anglicans in the global south.”
The Synod deferred the decision on the motion and voted to ask the [Canadian] Primate’s Theological Commission to “review, consider and report by spring 2006 whether the blessing of committed, same-sex unions is a matter of doctrine.”
This appeared to satisfy members of the Synod opposed to the motion, and from London, the Archbishop of Canterbury speedily released a statement welcoming the decision as one that “offers hope for the continuing collegiality of the Anglican Communion.”
He also said “it is important that the Canadian church has held back from a structural shift that would have run counter to the pleas and wishes of the Primates’ meeting” and he pointed out that the Canadian Synod “has avoided complicating still further the work of the Lambeth Commission.”
Lambeth Palace has remained strangely silent after the Canadian decision the very next day, to affirm “the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships.”
Since the term sanctity means ‘holy’, biblically minded Anglicans around the world have been dismayed by this Canadian vote.  Nine bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada issued a statement declaring this affirmation was an error. But their protest would “reinforce division within the church” declared Archbishop Andrew Hutchison the newly elected Primate of Canada.
Formerly Archbishop of Montreal, Hutchison is a well-known liberal who says he personally has difficulty with same-sex marriages but supports dioceses wanting to bless same-sex unions.
Speaking for the 22 Primates, Archbishop Venables said “the use of the word sanctity means that the whole issue has been decided and it is devastating. It’s saying that God has agreed to bless same-sex unions as the word carries that implication. It’s rewriting the Christian faith…We would like to see them expelled.”
Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies and Lambeth Commission member said “It is completely unacceptable to Bible believing orthodox Christians that same-sex unions are described as ‘holy’. Such language is reserved for marriage alone.”
From Africa came news that the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA), meeting in Nairobi, had stated “this latest move of the Church of Canada can neither be justified nor supported.”
Supporters of the Canadian Synod’s motion continue to argue that their use of the word ‘sanctity’ carries no doctrinal significance, but it seems clear that the cohesion and unity of the Anglican Communion remains under further threat of division.