Traditionalists and conservatives tend to see things through a positive lens (pro), where liberals and progressives tend to filter things with negative bent (anti).

Conservatives write about "pro-life" issues, where progressives describe the same discussion as in "anti-abortion" ... "pro-nuclear family" versus "anti-marriage equality" ... Florida's "Parental Rights in Education" bill versus "Don't Say Gay" bill ... "pro-family values" versus "anti-LGBTQ rights" ... "Freedom of Expression and/or Speech)" versus "hate speech" ... "peaceful demonstrations" versus "violent protests" ...

RESOLUTION 1.10

In the crosshairs is Resolution I.10 on Human Sexuality, which came out of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. The Resolution clearly affirms the traditional marriage of one man and one woman in a lifelong bond.

The 1998 Lambeth Conference writes: "This Conference commends to the Church the subsection report on human sexuality ... in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage ..."

The legal community would call that "Black Letter Law." Resolution I.10 is written in black ink on white paper and its meaning is absolutely crystal clear.

Resolution I.10 dealing with Human Sexuality was passed by a vote of 526--70 (a total of 596 bishops voted of the 749 bishops who attended.) This is also the first time that women bishops participated in Lambeth, which was hosted by then-Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey.

In 1998, there were 11 female bishops in the Anglican Communion most of whom were from The Episcopal Church including: Barbara Harris (Massachusetts-suffragan); Jane Dixon (Washington, DC-suffragan); Mary McLeod (IX Vermont); Catherine Roskam (New York-suffragan); Geralyn Wolf (XII Rhode Island); Carolyn Tanner Irish (X Utah); and Catherine Waynick (X Indianapolis); Chilton Knudsen (VIII Maine). Other women Anglican bishops included: Canadians Victoria Matthews (IX Edmonton); and Ann Tottenham (York-Credit Valley in Toronto area bishop); and New Zealander Penny Jamieson (VIII Dunedin) rounded out the delegation of women bishops attending the 1998 Lambeth.

The 1998 Lambeth Resolution goes on to recognize: "that there are among us persons who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation," while assuring homosexual persons that "they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ."

However, the Resolution does reject "homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture," but it further says it "cannot advise the legitimizing or blessing of same-sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same-gender unions."

Obviously, the Lambeth 1998 Resolution I.10 has been ignored. Churches across the Anglican Communion, such as The Episcopal Church, are celebrating same-sex marriages and ordaining deacons, priests and bishops openly living in same-sex relationships. Nowadays, Anglican Provinces are even dealing with transgender clergy, something that Lambeth 1998 never even foresaw.

Written in 1998, Lambeth I:10 built upon Resolution 10 on Human Relationships and Sexuality coming out of the 1978 Lambeth Conference hosted by Archbishop of Canterbury Donald Coggan. A total of 440 bishops attended the 1978 Lambeth Conference. At the time, there were no women bishops. Barbara Harris would not be consecrated for another 11 years, thus kicking open the door to the House of Bishops.

"The [1978 Lambeth] Conference gladly affirms the Christian ideals of faithfulness and chastity both within and outside marriage, and calls Christians everywhere to seek the grace of Christ to live lives of holiness, discipline, and service in the world," Resolution 10 says. "While we reaffirm heterosexuality as the scriptural norm, we recognise the need for deep and dispassionate study of the question of homosexuality, which would take seriously both the teaching of Scripture and the results of scientific and medical research."

The 1978 Lambeth Conference is not the first time the worldwide gathering of Anglican bishops has tackled the modern issues surrounding marriage and family.

LAMBETH 1930

The 1930 Lambeth Conference, called by Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Gordon Lang tackled sexuality within marriage head on. The 308 bishops met from July 7 through August 9. They had plenty of time to pray, to discuss, to deliberate, to research, and to determine how the Anglican Communion should move forward in preserving the integrity of the marriage and protecting the life of the family.

Eleven resolutions in 1930 strongly affirmed the-up-until-then biblical and traditional understanding of marital sexual relations.

Resolutions 9 through 19 dealt specifically with the Life and Witness of the Christian Community in Marriage.

RESOLUTION 9: The Conference believes that the conditions of modern life call for a fresh statement from the Christian Church on the subject of sex. It declares that the functions of sex as a God-given factor in human life are essentially noble and creative.

RESOLUTION 10: The Conference believes that in the exalted view of marriage taught by our Lord is to be found the solution of the problems with which we are faced.

RESOLUTION 11: Mindful of our Lord's words, "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder," it reaffirms "as our Lord's principle and standard of marriage a life-long and indissoluble union, for better or worse, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, and calls on all Christian people to maintain and bear witness to this standard." ... The Conference, while passing no judgement on the practice of regional or national Churches within our Communion, recommends that the marriage of one, whose former partner is still living, should not be celebrated according to the rites of the Church.

RESOLUTION 12: In all questions of marriage and sex the Conference emphasises the need of education. It is important that before the child's emotional reaction to sex is awakened, definite information should be given in an atmosphere of simplicity and beauty. The persons directly responsible for this are the parents, who in the exercise of this responsibility will themselves need the best guidance that the Church can supply.

RESOLUTION 13: The Conference emphasizes the truth that sexual instinct is a holy thing implanted by God in human nature. It acknowledges that intercourse between husband and wife as the consummation of marriage has a value of its own within that sacrament, and that thereby married love is enhanced and its character strengthened.

RESOLUTION 14: The Conference affirms:
1: the duty of parenthood as the glory of married life;
2: the benefit of a family as a joy in itself, as a vital contribution to the nation's welfare, and as a means of character-building for both parents and children; and
3: the privilege of discipline and sacrifice to this end.

RESOLUTION 15: Where there is clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, the method must be decided on Christian principles. The primary and obvious method is complete abstinence from intercourse (as far as may be necessary) in a life of discipline and self-control lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless in those cases where there is such a clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, and where there is a morally sound reason for avoiding complete abstinence, the Conference agrees that other methods may be used, provided that this is done in the light of the same Christian principles. The Conference records its strong condemnation of the use of any methods of conception control from motives of selfishness, luxury, or mere convenience.

RESOLUTION 16: The Conference further records its abhorrence of the sinful practice of abortion.

RESOLUTION 17: While the Conference admits that economic conditions are a serious factor in the situation, it condemns the propaganda which treats conception control as a way of meeting those unsatisfactory social and economic conditions which ought to be changed by the influence of Christian public opinion.

RESOLUTION 18: Sexual intercourse between persons who are not legally married is a grievous sin. The use of contraceptives does not remove the sin.

RESOLUTION 19: The Conference emphasizes the need of strong and wise teaching to make clear the Christian standpoint in this matter. ... That standpoint is that all illicit and irregular unions are wrong in that they offend against the true nature of love, they compromise the future happiness of married life, they are antagonistic to the welfare of the community, and, above all, they are contrary to the revealed will of God.

SLIPPERY SLOPE OF CONTRACEPTION

Resolution 15 called for the limited use of conception control in family planning. Sexual abstinence through self-control was considered the preferred method, a spacing the birth of children, but other methods may be used. When the votes were counted, there were 193 for and 67 against. The Resolution passed by a three to one margin of the bishops of voting, with the other 40 bishops abstaining.

This was the slippery slope to the widespread use of contraception control. "The Pill" was developed in 1960, and although the intrauterine device (IUD) has been known since the 1800s, its popularity peaked in the 1960s and 1970s along with The Pill.

That slippery slope created by the 1930 Lambeth Conference is now glare ice leading to unfettered use of abortion as a method of birth control.

Originally, the idea was to prevent the conception of a child. Now the idea is to prevent the birth of the already conceived child. The mother's womb has become an arena of death.

Even though God said in the Garden of Eden to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) women and men have tried to design methods to thwart God's command to "be fruitful and multiply." God reiterated His command to be fruitful and multiply to Noah following the Great Flood. (Genesis 9:7)

In the United States, Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) was a 20th century birth control activist and she coined the term "birth control" as opposed to the term "contraception." She opened the first birth control clinics in New York, which would eventually evolve into Planned Parenthood clinics across the country, many of which have become abortion mills.

She felt that the use of birth control would elevate women away from the position of being objects of lust and elevate sex away from an activity that was purely being engaged in for the purpose of satisfying lustful desires.

Even before the 1930 Lambeth Conference convened, on the doorstep of the Great Depression, The Times of London foresaw that there would be a seismic change to the moral life of society as the Anglican bishops gathered to wrestle with the sexual issues of the day. Resolution 15 allowing for use of contraceptive methods within a marriage was a bombshell with rippling effects that are still felt today.

Up until that time, the churches within Christendom condemned contraception as impeding God's procreative purpose for marriage. Now it seems like it's only the Roman Catholics, the Amish, and the Mormons who take a strong doctrinal stance against artificial contraceptive and birth control methods.

EARLY LAMBETH WISDOM

There have been 14 Lambeth Conferences since 1867. The XV Conference is
scheduled to begin on July 26.

I - 1867: Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Longley, 76 bishops;

II - 1878: Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Tait, 100 bishops;

III - 1888: Archbishop of Canterbury Edward Benson, 145 bishops;

IV - 1897: Archbishop of Canterbury Frederick Temple, 194 bishops;

V - 1908: Archbishop of Canterbury Randall Davidson, 242 bishops;

VI - 1920: Archbishop of Canterbury Randall Davidson, 252 bishops;

VII -- 1930: Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang, 308 bishops;

VIII - 1948: Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher, 349 bishops;

IX - 1958: Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher, 310 bishops;

X - 1968: Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey, 462 bishops;

XI - 1978: Archbishop of Canterbury Donald Coggan, 440 bishops;

XII - 1988: Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie, 518 bishops;

XIII - 1998: Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, 749 bishops including the first bishopettes;

XIV - 2008: Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, 670 bishops;

XV - July 26-August 8, 2022: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Six lesbian and gay bishops from the United States, Canada, and Wales have been invited.

Even the Anglican Communion, through the 1908 Lambeth Conference Resolution 41, condemned contraception for the good of the nation. "The Conference regards with alarm the growing practice of the artificial restriction of the family, and earnestly calls upon all Christian people to discountenance the use of all artificial means of restriction as demoralizing to character and hostile to national welfare."

The bishops of the 1920 Lambeth Conference were absolutely emphatic about the use of contraceptive control and presented a united front of the uncompromising and unqualified rejection of all forms of artificial contraception, even within marriage. The bishops waited through seven Lambeth Resolutions dealing with the Problems of Marriage and Sexual Morality.

"We utter an emphatic warning against the use of unnatural means for the avoidance of conception, together with the grave dangers -- physical, moral and religious -- thereby incurred, and against the evils with which the extension of such use threatens the race. In opposition to the teaching which, under the name of science and religion, encourages married people in the deliberate cultivation of sexual union as an end in itself, we steadfastly uphold what must always be regarded as the governing considerations of Christian marriage," The bishops warned in Resolution 68. "One is the primary purpose for which marriage exists, namely the continuation of the race through the gift and heritage of children; the other is the paramount importance in married life of deliberate and thoughtful self-control."

Both the 1908 and the 1920 Lambeth Conferences were presided over by Archbishop of Canterbury Randall Davidson. There were 242 bishops present in 1908 and 252 bishops went in 1920.

In 1920, the Lambeth bishops considered "the open or secret sale of contraceptives," to be a vice. They also continued to affirm "as our Lord's principle and standard of marriage a life-long and indissoluble union, for better or worse of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, and calls on all Christian people to maintain and bear witness to this standard."

LAMBETH 2008

Rowan Williams became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2003, so he convened the 2008 Lambeth Conference. By that time, the wheels are starting to come off of Lambeth I.10. As the titular head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Williams was unwilling to touch the Resolution I.10 with a 10-foot pole. Instead, he preferred to engage in "Indaba", an informal African method of on-going discernment or discussion without ever reaching a firm conclusion.

In 2003, Vicky Gene Robinson, an openly partnered Episcopal priest, was elected the IX Bishop of New Hampshire and became the first out and proud gay bishop in Anglicanism. Three years later in 2006, Katherine Jefferts Schori was elected the XXVI Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, thus becoming the first female provincial primate in the Anglican Communion. She was one of 24 women bishops in the Anglican Communion when 2008 Lambeth met. The females with miters hailed from the United States (15); Canada (4); Australia (2); New Zealand (2); and Cuba (1).

Both actions help to cause chasms in The Episcopal Church and wider Anglican Communion and facilitated a brokenness of communion between congregations, dioceses, and provinces. This is a brokenness which is only getting wider with each Lambeth Conference. The fabric of Anglicanism was torn and rent asunder.

Five GAFCON archbishops chose not to go to Archbishop Williams' Lambeth Conference: Peter Akinola (III Nigeria); Emmanuel Kolini (II Rwanda); Benjamin Nzimbi (IV Kenya); Henry Orombi (IV Uganda); and Gregory Venables (II Southern Cone), citing both Robinson's elevation to the bishopric and Jefferts Schori's elevation to the primacy.

"You will know that some of us have not been able to take Communion with the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church since February 2005 -- a period of about three years," the GAFCON Primates wrote in turning down the invitation to Lambeth. "The reason is that TEC took an action to consecrate Gene Robinson as Bishop in 2003 contrary to the resolution of the Lambeth Conference, an action of which they have not repented. The consecrators of Gene Robinson have all been invited to Lambeth, contrary to the statement of the Windsor Report that members of The Episcopal Church should 'consider in all conscience whether they should withdraw themselves from representative functions in the Anglican Communion.'"

Other GAFCON bishops who distanced themselves from the 2008 Indaba session were Peter Jensen (XI Sydney); and Michael Nazir-Ali (CVI Rochester in England).

Even though Bishop Robinson was not formally invited to Lambeth, he went anyway and hung around the edges creating headlines for himself and his homosexual agenda.

Following the Lambeth Conference, the bishops who attended the decennial gathering said: "There has been a wonderful spirit of dialogue and we want that to continue beyond the Conference by every means possible -- the Indaba must go on."

The 2008 Lambeth Conference, dedicated to "Equipping Bishops for Mission" and "Strengthening Anglican Identity" did not issue formal resolutions. Instead, the 670 gathered bishops issued a series of "reflections" on Mission and Evangelism; Human and Social Justice; the Environment; Ecumenism; Relations with other World Religions; Anglican Bishops and Anglican Identity; Human Sexuality; The Scriptures; The Anglican Covenant (Reviewing St. Andrew's Draft); The Windsor Process; and Statements of Solidarity with other Christians.

"The section on Human Sexuality appears here to address the tensions that have arisen in our common life. It should have been titled 'The Bishop and Homosexuality' because these discussions were the focus of this topic in the Indaba groups," the 2008 Lambeth bishops wrote in their reflection on human sexuality. "The self-select sessions identified with human sexuality included Human Sexuality and the Witness of Scripture, Listening and Mission, The Anglican Communion and Homosexuality, Listening in Practice, Sexuality and Spirituality, Questions of Science, Culture and Christ, Culture and Homosexualities, Listening to the Experience of Homosexual People."

Obviously, the focus of the Lambeth bishops on homosexuality was on Bishop Robinson. His consecration brought turmoil to The Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion.

They continued: "As Bishops we need to repent of the ways in which our hardness of heart toward each other may have contributed to the brokenness of our Communion at this present time. We need to repent of statements and actions that have further damaged the dignity of homosexual persons. People who have held traditional views on this matter have sometimes felt that they have been dismissed with ridicule or contempt."

Although Bishop Robinson has never repented nor said he is sorry for fracturing the church, other Episcopal bishops regretted what happened and voiced their sorrow.

"In addition to previous expressions of regret by both the House of Bishops and the General Convention of The Episcopal Church," the bishops revealed, "some individual bishops of The Episcopal Church have expressed apologies in their groups, noting that they had not previously grasped the depth of the negative impact that their action in the consecration of a bishop living in a same-gender union had caused in many parts of the Communion."

Since Lambeth 2008 was an elongated Indaba session, the bishops did not put out any definite and clear teaching in the way previous Lambeth Conference bishops had.

Instead, the 2008 Lambeth bishops suggested several options in going forward as a Church in crisis including:

**Take decisive action; although that action is not defined ...

**"Let God be God" -- allowing Him to transform attitudes and behaviour ...

**Take an "If it is from God it will last" attitude ...

**Looking for a clear direction from the wider Communion ...

**More Indaba sessions are needed where the purpose is not "I win, you lose," but "Nobody wins, nobody loses" and we grow together in Christ ...

**Ongoing dialogue within the Church as a "Christian witness" ...

**The Communion needs to develop 'catholic patience' ...

**Engage in further careful study of the Scriptures, theology, doctrine and other disciplines ...

**Give pastoral care but do not canonize, regularize, legalize or endorse homosexual relationships

**Stopping cross-provincial and cross-diocesan intervention to create the time and space for the Spirit of God to "lead us into all truth" ...

**The perspectives of bishops and dioceses need to be heard and respected ...

**Legal action in the courts should be avoided ...

**Reaffirm the moral authority of the whole of the Lambeth 1998 Resolution I:10, and the report commended in it, and continue its implementation, but not the style of debate that led to it ...

**Acknowledge that some good work has been done on the resolution such as the development of the Indaba listening processes, and the intentional development of closer relations among bishops and dioceses ... and;

**Declare a "Decade of Sharing and Generosity" and keep walking, keep talking, keep listening together.

SAME-SEX SPOUSES STAY HOME

A lot has happened since Lambeth 2008. Instead of one homosexual bishop in The Episcopal Church, there are now two sitting gay bishops: Thomas Brown (X Maine); Deon Johnson (XI Missouri); and two sitting lesbians: Bonnie Perry (XI Michigan); Mary Glasspool (New York-assisting). Vicky Gene Robinson (IX New Hampshire) has retired, Thomas Shaw (XV Massachusetts) has died; and soon, Jeffrey Mello (XVI Connecticut-elect) is to join the Episcopal House of Bishops in October.

Even though Thomas Shaw, SSJE, was consecrated bishop in 1994, as a member of the Society of St. John the Evangelist -- a religious order in the Anglican Communion -- he took the monastic Vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, and he lived out his Vow of Chastity.
It was the election and consecration of Vicky Gene Robinson, who was the first openly gay priest living in a same-sex relationship to be elevated to the bishopric, that tipped the scales.

The issue is not whether a person is same-sex attracted, the issue is whether that person who is same-sex attracted, or has a homosexual orientation, physically acts on that attraction with another person.

Lambeth I:10 teaches: "Sexual intercourse between persons who are not legally married is a grievous sin." In 1998, the Lambeth bishops could not foresee the current situation where same-sex couples would be "legally married." However, the practice of same-sex blessings, and eventually legal marriage, was starting to raise its ugly head, as was the first stream of gay and lesbian ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood. However, Vicky Gene Robinson would not burst on the scene until 2003.

Lambeth I.10 clearly affirms that: "homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture," yet it assures homosexuals "that they are loved by God and that all baptized, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ."

Lambeth I.10 also advised against "the legitimizing or blessing of same-sex unions or ordaining those involved in same-gender unions."

The Netherlands is the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001.

Ellen Barrett was the first lesbian priestess ordained by Bishop Paul Moore (XIII New York) in 1977 and Robert Williams was the first openly gay priest to be ordained by Bishop John Spong (VIII Newark) in 1995.

Other "married" gay and lesbian bishops within the wider Anglican Communion include: the Anglican Church of Canada Bishop Kevin Robertson (York-Scarborough in Toronto area bishop); and Church of Wales Bishop Cherry Vann (XI Monmouth).

In 2008, Bishop Robinson was not invited to Lambeth, nor will he be invited in 2020 because he is now retired and no longer a sitting bishop. Now the six sitting gay and lesbian bishops are invited to Lambeth but their same sex "spouses" are not.

The exclusion of same sex spouses from Lambeth has caused a huge flap with cries of discrimination being sounded all the way from the United States, Canada and Wales to Canterbury.

Same sex marriage, what the Progressives call "Marriage Equality," has been legalized nationwide in Canada since 2005; in Wales since 2014; in the United States since 2015.

What the gay and lesbian bishops are running up against with their quest to bring their "husbands" and "wives" with them is the time-honored teachings of Lambeth I.10:

I.10-B: This Conference in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage;

I.10-C: This Conference recognises that there are among us persons who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation. ... We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ;

I.10-D: This Conference while rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture, calls on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals, violence within marriage and any trivialisation and commercialisation of sex;

I.10-E: This Conference cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same-sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same-gender unions.

The bishops are crying "foul." They don't think it is fair that the heterosexual bishops, be they male or female, can bring their spouses with them and they cannot.

"The invitation process has also needed to take account of the Anglican Communion's position on marriage which is that it is the lifelong union of a man and a woman," explains Anglican Communion Secretary General Josiah Idowu-Fearon. "That is the position as set out in Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. Given this, it would be inappropriate for same-sex spouses to be invited to the Conference."

Archbishop Justin Welby as the convener of Lambeth 2022, "has had a series of private conversations by phone or by exchanges of letter with the few individuals to whom this applies." He also had a liveZoom meeting with all six bishops in January.

In a letter to Bishop Glasspool, the Archbishop of Canterbury apologized for the difficulty brought on by Lambeth I.10.

"I feel I owe you an explanation of my decision not to invite your spouse to the Lambeth Conference ..." he wrote to the American bishop. "a decision that I am well aware will cause you pain, which I regret deeply."

"When will the Church accept to it the gift of the LGBTQ community?" Bishop Glasspool asks. "Young people are watching us. If they haven't written off all of Christianity for being homophobic, they do find The Episcopal Church inviting and inclusive. After a lifetime of discussion, I am relatively confident that The Episcopal Church will never again turn its back on the LGBTQ community. Will the same be said of Lambeth 2022?"

The Episcopal House of Bishops is not happy with the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to follow Lambeth I.10.

"We join our voices with those in The Episcopal Church who have expressed their disappointment and dismay at the exclusion of same-gender spouses from the invitation to Lambeth Conference," the House of Bishops said in a supportive statement. "The spouse community understands that the Anglican Communion is not of one mind with regard to marriage, and that, in the life of the Communion, this is a complex issue."

The bishops feel that the exclusion of same-sex spouses is a failure to live into the theme of the 2022 Lambeth Conference which is "God's Church for God's World: Walking, Listening, and Witnessing Together."

"Exclusion of same-gender spouses, however, seems like a simplistic reaction to this complex issue," the Episcopal bishops continued. "It saddens us that all are not welcome to walk, listen, and witness with us, and that all voices will not be heard at this gathering."

The Archbishop-of Canterbury is walking on a swaying high wire. He is trying to hold the Lambeth Conference together. In 2008, the gay bishop from New Hampshire was not invited to Lambeth by Archbishop Williams. In 2022, the gay and lesbian bishops are invited to Lambeth by Archbishop Welby, but the invitation does not extend to their "husbands" and "wives."

Whereas Archbishop Welby is willing to invite the gay and lesbian bishops to Lambeth but feels inviting their spouses to be "a step too far," which would result in the bishops from the Global South bolting.

In 2008, more than 200 bishops did not attend Lambeth Conference as a "matter of conscience" because the Archbishop of Canterbury invited the Episcopal bishops who had approved of the 2003 consecration of a committed gay priest as the new Bishop of New Hampshire, even though Bishop Robinson, himself, was not personally invited.

Justin Welby is well aware that, as Archbishop of Canterbury, he is one of the four Instruments of Communion (and Unity) -- along with the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council, and the Primates' Meeting -- holding the Anglican Communion together.

"Therefore, I find myself caught in a really difficult position where we seek to bring everyone together ..." Archbishop Welby acknowledges. "to look at these questions together, to see if we can learn to do so lovingly, to disagree well, to learn to love one another profoundly and deeply, and to respect each other's human dignity. And there's a lot of way to go on that."

Several Anglican bishops have already signaled that they will not attend Lambeth 2022.

"They've changed the discussion to inviting the "partners" of the gay bishops when the issue is the bishops themselves," explained GAFCON Chairman Archbishop Foley Beach (II ACNA). "So, the Lambeth Conference is in itself in violation of Lambeth 98 I.10 (doctrine on sexuality that says the Church does not legitimize same sex relationships) itself by having these bishops in homosexual marriages coming to the Conference. So, what are we to do with that?"

There are six bishops in the Anglican Communion living in same-sex relationships -- Mary Glasspool in New York, Kevin Robertson in Toronto, Bonnie Perry in Michigan, Thomas Brown in Maine, Cherry Vann in Wales, and Deon Johnson in Missouri -- who are heading to Lambeth.

Among the bishops signaling they are not attending Lambeth 2022 is Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit (VI Kenya).

"I will not be at the Lambeth Conference... God's plan of marriage is between a man and woman for procreation," the Kenyan Archbishop stated.

Three other African archbishops have also decided not to travel to Canterbury, including: Henry Ndukuba (V Nigeria); Laurent Mbanda (IV Rwanda); and Stephen Kaziimba (IX Uganda) citing they would not be attending "because the Anglican Communion has failed to address with remorse and repentance the issues that necessitated their absence at the 2008 Lambeth Conference."

"Instead, Lambeth 2022 is to focus on peripheral matters about the environment and difficulties experienced by disadvantaged communities," the trio states. "Their focus on the environment should be rooted in biblical theology within an authentic salvation message and must not abandon that for any social cause."

In 2018 GAFCON III, meeting in Jerusalem, called on the Archbishop of Canterbury "not to invite bishops of those Provinces which have endorsed by word or deed sexual practices which are in contradiction to the teaching of Scripture and Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, unless they have repented of their actions and reversed their decisions."

Their heartfelt plea has fallen on deaf ears.

Paul Bates (VIII Liverpool) is also not attending Lambeth to protest that same sex bishops not being allowed to bring their partners. Such boycotts caused by moral aversion work both ways.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline