by Madeleine Collins

It was a cold Monday, the night of August 9, and the clock had just struck 10pm. It was the end of an exhaustive debate at a special meeting of Sydney’s Standing Committee, and a consensus had finally been reached. No law would be introduced at Synod allowing lay people the right to administer the Lord’s Supper.

The legislation – which the previous year’s Synod had asked the Standing Committee to introduce next month – was shelved in the wake of legal complications and concerns over the effect it would have on Sydney Diocese’s relations with others in the Communion.

The surprise decision means the Synod now has sovereignty to debate the issue freely this October with two key recommendations on the table. Committee members by majority indicated their continued support for lay people or deacons to administer the Lord’s Supper and have called on Synod members to reaffirm their commitment too. The Committee has also requested that Synod members discourage taking disciplinary action against anyone who permitted it until the complex legal problems could be resolved.

Bishop of Georges River, Peter Tasker, said for Sydney to introduce lay administration would pose many problems for the Diocese’s relations in those parts of the Communion it is closest to on theological grounds – Asia, Africa and South America. He said Lay Administration was simply ‘not relevant’ to their situation, as these provinces, unlike Sydney, do not have many theologically trained lay people.

“It’s hard to fit Lay Administration with being Anglican for them. The starting point is further back,” Bishop Tasker said.

He said the Primates of those regions, known as the ‘Global South’ are already doing battle with the West over the homosexuality issue and they do not want to jeopardise their good relationship with Sydney Diocese – which has supported their stance against same sex blessings and the ordaining of gay clergy – over what they perceive is a minor concern.

“The stand they have taken on the homosexuality issue is a massive stand,” he said. “They’ve stepped out from the crowd and it’s absorbing all their time and effort.”

Bishop Tasker said a number of the Primates feel that if Sydney deals with Lay Administration wrongly, it would force them to say to the Diocese ‘we would hate to have to come to a point to whether we’re for or against you’”.

The Global South represents two thirds of the Anglican Communion.

The Committee’s task was always going to be difficult – they knew Synod had asked them for an ordinance allowing lay administration, but confusion over its legality remained a sticking point. Archbishop Peter Jensen made it clear he is not prepared to sign an ordinance unless he is convinced that it is lawful to do so.

If passed, the resolution will have no legal force or formal force, and does not bind the Archbishop or alter the rights of any person. However, the Committee believes it will affirm Sydney’s long-held view that lay or diaconal administration is a legitimate expression of Anglicanism.

It may only be a temporary measure in a debate spanning almost three decades, but for many it is a wise, and perhaps the only safe way forward. in an already divided Communion following the appointment of Bishop Gene Robinson.

Dr John Woodhouse, Principal of Moore College, who moved the motion, said determining the legal situation might take another year, or even 10 years.

“[This motion] is a declaration of intent,” said Dr Woodhouse. “ It does not itself change the law, nor does it bind anyone. It will, however, in my opinion, create a good environment in which to explore the best process for effecting legal change if legal change is needed. Our denominational rules are there to guard against wrong behaviour, not to stop right behaviour.”

The resolution notes Synod members have ‘consistently endorsed the principle that, for theological, pastoral and evangelistic reasons, suitable lay persons and deacons should be permitted to administer the Lord’s Supper’.

Bishop of North Sydney Glenn Davies said the resolution serves to encourage those parishes, ‘of which there are many in the Diocese’, where there will be no objection to lay or diaconal administration in line with the teaching of the scriptures. “This has been the express will of the Synod for the past two decades. That will has not abated,” he said. “Of course, there are still those who are opposed…and the Standing Committee takes seriously their concerns as well.

“This Synod has always envisaged that laypersons, like the deacons, ought to be recognised leaders within the congregation. All this has done is encourage people to be wise in their ministry in parishes. Sydney has got a highly educated lay people…there is no lack of qualification here.”

That Sydney Anglicans want to bring in Lay Administration of Holy Communion – sometimes known as Lay Presidency – is not a new development. The Synod has actively debated the issue since 1977, and has received reports from many church bodies over the course of the past 27 years. The Synod and its Standing Committee believe there are good biblical, theological and practical grounds for introducing it.

Lay administration has gained high-level support – and opposition – over the years. In 1993 the Sydney Diocesan Doctrine Commission concluded that the continued prohibition of lay administration did not seem justifiable on theological grounds. In 1997, the Appellate Tribunal of the Anglican Church of Australia by majority found lay administration was consistent with the constitution of the Australian Church. However, it is generally agreed the legal problems can only be resolved through a Canon of the General Synod or via a determination from the secular courts – both processes deemed too problematic.

Overseas primates and bishops who have contact with Sydney Diocese have been personally advised of the proposed resolution, as have lay and clerical members of Synod.