Q&A: What Is the Lambeth Conference?

Anglican bishops have been gathering about once a decade since 1867 for the Lambeth Conference. And as the Anglican Communion has grown, so has the conference.

This year's gathering occurs amid a rancorous debate over the role of gays and lesbians in the church.

What happens in Canterbury by the time Lambeth concludes Aug. 3 will likely have lasting repercussions for the communion's 38 national churches, including its U.S. branch, the Episcopal Church.

Here are some basic question and answers about this year's Lambeth Conference.

A: The bishops' meetings were originally held at Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury's official London residence. But the conference is too large to be held there now, and will be at the University of Kent in Canterbury.

A: The Archbishop of Canterbury, currently the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, heads the Church of England, the fount from which the global Anglican Communion springs. The archbishop is also the communion's spiritual leader, therefore, the conference is held in his home diocese.

A: Lambeth Conference is one of four "instruments of communion" for the world's 77 million Anglicans. The others are the yearly meetings of primates, the senior archbishops who typically lead national churches; the Anglican Consultative Council, an international assembly of lay and ordained Anglicans; and the Archbishop of Canterbury himself. Churches are considered part of the Anglican Communion at the the Archbishop of Canterbury's say so.

A: The Archbishop of Canterbury leads Lambeth, with help from a design committee and the secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council.

A: Bishops from throughout the Anglican Communion. This year, more than 800 have been invited.

A: The first openly gay Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, was not invited in an effort to sooth lingering outrage over Robinson's 2003 election. Also not invited are the missionary bishops appointed by overseas Anglicans to lead disaffected North American conservatives, such as the Virginia-based Bishop Martyn Minns.

Continued on page 2: Can bishops at Lambeth kick church members out of Communion? »