Archbishop Peter Jensen and the Sydney Standing Committee have been commended for supporting the strong stance African, South American and Asian Primates have taken against the US over the appointment of Bishop Gene Robinson.

The Nigerian Primate, Archbishop Peter Akinola –  spokesperson for the 27 Primates of the Global South – wrote to Archbishop Jensen in July to thank him for backing the Primates’ statement deploring the actions of the US Episcopal Church (ECUSA).

Archbishop Akinola congratulated Archbishop Jensen and the Committee for their ‘reassuring’ correspondence following the Committee’s decision to boost pressure on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lambeth Commission to penalise ECUSA after appointing an openly gay man as a bishop.

“I personally congratulate you and salute the courage of all who have dared to identify publicly and unashamedly with the cornerstones of our historic faith,” the Primate wrote. “Whenever the authority of the Bible is compromised, nothing else can stand.”

The Lambeth Commission, which is charged with finding a solution to the looming split in the Church over homosexuality, will announce its findings next month.