by J M Rosenthal
Three of the seven dioceses of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone welcomed Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, on his recent pastoral visits in South America. The stops included Northern Argentina, Bolivia, and Uruguay. In Montevideo, the Archbishop also addressed the meeting of the Provincial Synod. The province has 40,000 communicants of varying social and racial groups.
During the visit the Archbishop made the observation that "the Province was not monochrome as some people think it is". The Primate of the Southern Cone, the Most Revd Maurice Sinclair, has been outspoken in his concerns for the Anglican Communion and its need to hold allegiance to Scriptural authority. The Province has a strong evangelical biblical tradition but, at the same time, there was evidence of traditional Communion services, with a splendid Choral Eucharist featuring the Missa Criolla, with its haunting Indian tonality, in the Cathedral in Montevideo. Diocesan Bishop Miguel Tamayo was the chief celebrant, with the Bishop of Peru, the Rt Revd Bill Godfrey, the Primate, and the Archbishop as con-celebrants. Vestments in the province range from practical 'ponchos' to cope and mitre. There was a breadth of music from all traditions in the service.
During the recent Provincial Synod, a vote was taken on the ordination of women as priests. The vote in favour of the measure received a majority but failed to reach the needed 2/3 majority to pass. According to a Provincial press release "some bishops and delegates spoke of their desire to be faithful to the biblical witness as a reason for their opposition". Bishop Sinclair shared his support for the motion, in a statement given just before the vote. The original motion debated did not request a change in the canons to make women's ordination to the priesthood the policy of the Province, but rather simply requested permission from the Province for those Dioceses who wished to do so.
There are women deacons in the province, and two of them made a remarkable impression on their visitors. The Revd Audrey Gonzalez and the Revd Martha Tamayo, both deacons in the Diocese of Uruguay, have a powerful ministry in an AIDS hospital in Montevideo. Archbishop Carey and Mrs Eileen Carey, a trained nurse, visited the hospital, with Archbishop Carey laying hands on the patients and praying with the families.
Deacon Audrey also ministers to the English-speaking community at Holy Trinity Cathedral, as well as visiting the English home for the elderly and a mission station in Punta del Este. A journalist by training, Deacon Audrey has just had a book of her sermons published in Uruguay. She is originally from Tennessee, USA.
The cathedral has a unique street-people ministry. People from all walks of life mixed well with the hundreds that gathered in the cathedral hall for a reception. Street children sat on the floor in front of the English Ambassador and Mrs Carey during the service.
Speaking of the excitement of the Province over the visit of Archbishop Carey, Presiding Bishop Sinclair noted "this is the most attention the church has ever received from the press and media". The province hopes the impact of the visit will increase its visibility in the community. The Church has excellent relations with both the Roman Catholic and the Pentecostals. Clergy from both denominations were on hand at a welcoming party for the Careys.
In the Diocese of Northern Argentina the Archbishop's team attended a Sunday School program for Pentecost in the Finca Independencia area of Salta, a poor area, where the priest and people at St John the Baptist Anglican Church have a thriving congregation. Children are bussed in from surrounding areas for their lessons that are accompanied by hand clapping music and a puppet stage.
Arriving in a small airplane, the Archbishop was given a large and warm reception at Ing Juarez in the Chaco region, a city that is 80 percent Anglican! This work in this indigenous Indian community has over 80 pastors from the Wichi and Toba tribes, led by Bishop Mario Marino. Over 6000 filled the city arena for a three-hour festival of praise. Included was a musical group from the Diocese of Paraguay.
Archbishop Carey took the opportunity of his visit with government officials to speak out on the church's concerns over Indian land rights issues, and urged compliance with agreements already on the record but yet to be enforced. Special concerns have been raised over the plight of the Pilcomayo Indians. The Anglican Church works alongside the Roman Catholic Church in these concerns.
In Bolivia, where Anglican work began with the South American Missionary Society (SAMS), the Rt Revd Gregory Venables invited the Archbishop to join him in consecrating a new church, Christ the Light of the World, in Santa Cruz. The priest, the Revd Raphael Samuel, said that their ministry was one of "reconciliation and hope" in a scenario that is polarised by fundamentalist reductionism, putting churches at odds with each other. The impressive new building stands tall as witness to the community of the Anglican presence there. The congregation has undertaken a communal forty-day fast and is "enthused and ready" for its next step. Traditional Bolivian pipe music added to the festivities. The two prelates consecrated the new altar, complete with a procession of items for the altar by people from the parish. This parish has much needed support from the Diocese of Singapore. Two priests from that diocese joined in the celebration. In Santa Cruz the Archbishop was received by city officials and the Roman Catholic Archbishop, Mons Julio Terrazas Sandoval.
Bolivia faces being the poorest of the South American republics, though rich in natural resources, and is often traumatised by the reality of the drug trade in its midst. The Santa Cruz community also has a 60 percent divorce rate.
Archbishop Carey said he was "moved and appreciated the warm welcome" and pledged to help the Province in raising its profile in the Anglican Communion. The Careys received many gifts, some from people who were very poor, but produced exquisite handcrafts and woven materials.
In his Provincial address, Dr Carey said, "I hope so much that, as you plan for the next stage in your journey of faith together, you will pay particular attention to equipping your ministers, ordained and lay, for this pioneering work, giving them a vision not only for the encounter with diversity around them in the secular world, and in relations with other Christian bodies, but also as members of that world-wide church. This is something which Anglicanism has sometimes struggled to acknowledge, preferring to focus on the local and the immediate. But the days are gone when parochialism can work. What we do or say here can so easily be broadcast to the other side of the world within seconds. So, I want to encourage outward-looking theological education, which will strengthen the identity of this Province and will equip your people - our people - for the realities of the world and the Church today."
Referring to conflict in the Church he said, "we must find Christ-centred ways of handling conflict in the body of Christ. Earlier I spoke of diversity. Yes, it is an important word, but diversity by itself cannot hold any group of people together. Surely there will be, amongst other characteristics, a commonality of belief, behaviour, and style of life. So it must be with Anglicanism. Conflict in the body is understandable. Which family does not experience conflict from time to time? Christ calls us not to part from one another, not to snarl and attack one another, not to vilify one another but to love and talk one to another."
"The search for unity in diversity, and unity in truth is deep-rooted, and continues today. It is not something we should fear, nor is it something to turn our backs on. God is faithful and just, and it is when we turn to him in true humility, and genuinely seek his guidance that he will lead us towards his truth which is expressed, after all, in his Son," Archbishop Carey explained.