13 July 2008: Countdown to the Lambeth Conference
The world press seems largely to be ignoring the Lambeth Conference (which starts Wednesday, 16 July) having spent so much energy covering the run-up to it. Google News indexes about 2700 articles about the Lambeth Conference, but 3,400 articles about the weather in New Zealand, 10,000 articles about Pope Benedict XVI, 20,000 articles about Iran's recent missile tests, 22,000 articles about cricket matches around the world, and 120,000 articles about the upcoming US presidential election.

13 July 2008: the 50 most influential Anglicans
In its countdown to Lambeth, The Telegraph (London) profiles the fifty most influential figures in the Anglican Church. You can help shape the list.

13 July 2008: Pope Benedict offers prayers for Lambeth
In Sydney, the Pope said he would not offer advice to Anglicans, but hoped they would be able to avoid further schisms or new fractures, says a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

11 July 2008: In search of wisdom between the extremes
Leading churchmen share their hopes and fears for the future of the Anglican Communion on the pages of The Times (London).

8 July 2008: Women bishops approved for Church of England
The Anglican Communion News Service reports in a terse and businesslike manner on the vote of the General Synod of the Church of England to permit women to be bishops. There is a vast amount of commentary about this in the British press, notably including articles in The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, and the Daily Mail, Every imaginable lobbying organization has issued a statement or a press release, but we're not going to link to any of them. Editorials in The Times, The Telegraph, and The Guardian comment and make predictions. The Vatican, via the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, issued this statement of regret. Thinking Anglicans has its usual encyclopedic roundup of reports and reactions, but there's no one link we can give you to find it all. Look here and here and here and here and here.

7 July 2008: Passing of the Bishop of Bangor
The Bishop of Bangor (Tony Crockett) died after a fight with cancer. He was, says the Telegraph, a fluent Welsh speaker, enthusiastic about pilgrimages, and he 'encouraged others to see the Christian life itself as a pilgrimage of spiritual discovery.' We suspect this may be a tribute from BBC Wales.

7 July 2008: Flight from women bishops
An editorial in The Tablet suggests that 'it is not particularly complimentary to the Catholic Church to treat it as a refugee camp, just over the ecclesiastical border as it were, for disgruntled Anglicans.' But the Bishop of Ebbsfleet suggests otherwise, in a column in the Catholic Herald, after the Church of England's decision to allow women bishops.

7 July 2008: Aspinall warns Jensen
On Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio, the Australian Primate warned that conservatives face legal battle if they try to overstep the laws of the church. You can listen here, read a transcript here, or read what the Sydney Morning Herald had to say about it.

7 July 2008: Williams stands tall
The religious reporter for the Telegraph gives a moving account of an address by the ABC in York Minster. 'By the end of his sermon many of the congregation were close to tears. Others were celebrating that the Archbishop seemed like a man transformed.' The BBC reported that the ABC said that Jesus would feel the pain on both sides of the divide.

7 July 2008: Church of England said to be looking at Super Bishops
The Telegraph reports that the Church of England is considering a new class of 'super bishop' to be created to cater for traditionalists who oppose the introduction of women. Friends at amazon.co.uk tell us that there have been several orders of radioactive spiders sent to Lambeth Palace.

6 July 2008: 'Building an æroplane while flying'
In an interview with The Times (Johannesburg), Archbishop Thabo Makoga describes his first six months in office, with the challenges of crime and the poverty divide; and he calls for efforts to end political violence in Zimbabwe.

6 July 2008: Women bishops shouldn't scare the synod
In anticipation of Monday's discussion at General Synod, Canon Jane Hedges argues in the Telegraph against the proposal for safeguards to protect those who find the prospect of women bishops troubling. As a sign of the times, the Independent has a photo of the security measures that await synod delegates.

5 July 2008: Archbishop of Sudan admitted as a Sarum canon
This is Wiltshire reports that Daniel Deng, who has been an active peacemaker in the Sudan, has been made a canon of Salisbury cathedral. The dioceses of Salisbury and Sudan have had a close relationship for thirty years.

5 July 2008: The battle for hearts and souls
The Sydney Morning Herald comments on the suddenly high visibility of the Archbishop of Sydney on the political stage.

4 July 2008: Tom Wright accuses GAFCON of bullying
The Bishop of Durham has some surprisingly harsh words for Garcon. You can listen to his interview on the BBC here.

29 June 2008: Tutu urges African Union to intervene in Zimbabwe
Agence France Presse reports that Archbishop Tutu thinks there is 'a very good argument' for the AU to send in an international force. And the Archbishop of York calls for Britain to close its embassy in Harare. The Church Times reports that life in Zimbabwe has 'degenerated beyond description'.

28 June 2008: GAFCON ends in Jerusalem; many statements issued
The Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) has ended in Jerusalem, issuing this statement. The Jerusalem Post reported 'African Anglicans aiming to usurp UK Archbishop'. The Guardian reported 'Conservative Anglicans form global network' and then 'Conservative Anglicans form breakaway church in revolution led from the south'. The Sydney Morning Herald reported 'Anglicans' new group denounces liberalism'. The New York Times reported 'Anglicans Face Wider Split Over Policy Toward Gays'. The BBC's headline amused us: 'Anglican conservatives form group'. What manner of group? The Guardian's amazing religion reporter, Riazat Butt, has noted that white men are beginning to pull the strings, squeezing their African brothers out of the picture. If you're hungry for more detailed coverage of GAFCON, there are hundreds of articles in the world press, but be careful to understand each writer's politics before taking anything as Gospel. If you're hungry for more analysis and commentary, please wait a week to give the analysts and commentators time to understand it.

27 June 2008: Virginia trial court rules on breakaway parishes
The US Episcopal News Service reports 'Virginia court rules application of 'Division Statute' is constitutional'. It is the nature of the US legal system that this ruling is not definitive. A final decision could be several years in the future.

26 June 2008: Bishop of Pennsylvania found guilty of misconduct
The Associated Press reports that the Rt Revd Charles Bennison, Bishop of Pennsylvania, has been found guilty of engaging in conduct unbecoming of the clergy. The US Episcopal News Service filed this report, which includes links to vastly more detailed coverage should you be interested.

24 June 2008: +Akinola and +Orombi on violence against gays?
The Episcopal News Service reports that, pressed by the media at a news conference, the two primates declined to condemn violence against homosexuals. Religious Intelligence reports that a few days later, Archbishop Peter Jensen (Sydney) declared that any violence against a person is wrong, and the primates assented.

29 June 2008: Tennis star a nun
The Observer (London) reports that Andrea Jaeger, Wimbledon's youngest quarter-finalist, is now an Anglican Dominican nun and a founder of Athletes for Hope.

27 June 2008: Crimean memorial
Today's Zaman (Istanbul) tells the story of Christ Church, built to highlight tolerance of a religious minority and the Ottoman British alliance. It was closed in the 70s, but reopened in 1991 after the arrival of Sri Lankan refugees.

22 June 2008: Another Australian diocese clears the way for a woman bishop
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Diocese of Brisbane, at its Annual Synod, has cleared the way for its first woman bishop. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that Brisbane's Annual Synod 'has voted to automatically de-frock priests who are jailed for child sex offences'.

22 June 2008: Church and State in Malawi
The Nyasa [sic] Times (Malawi) reports that Malawi's High Court 'has temporarily lifted, on a technicality (due to undated papers of affidavit by the plaintiffs' Commissioner for Oaths) the injunction against the House of Bishops, brought by members of the clergy to stop the Bishops imposing their own candidate on the Diocese of Upper Shire, elections to vacant bishopric'.

20 June 2008: Church of England archbishops rebuke London priest
The Anglican Communion News Service has released the text of a terse joint statement by the archbishops of Canterbury and York on last week's blessing of vows between two clergymen in London. Church Times and BBC coverage of that statement is vastly longer than the statement itself.

20 June 2008: Summary of upcoming Church of England General Synod
The Church of England holds three General Synod meetings per year. The Anglican Communion News Service has released a briefing on what to expect at the next such meeting, from 4 to 8 July. The Church Times reports on one of the more contentious topics, that of women bishops, and also suggests that it is likely to dominate the Synod.

19 June 208: Obituary: Henry Chadwick
The Guardian published this obituary of Henry Chadwick, written by Rowan Williams. It begins with a quote: 'The Anglican church,' it was said, 'may not have a Pope, but it does have Henry Chadwick.' Obituaries also in The Times, The Telegraph, and the New York Times.

19 June 2008: GAFCON begins, moves quickly to Jerusalem
The Global Anglican Future Conference was to have begun in Jordan and then made a 'pilgrimage' to Jerusalem, but the US Episcopal News Service reports that some key participants were denied entry to Jordan so the whole affair was moved to Jerusalem. The US ENS noted 'On June 19, GAFCON's organizers released a document, "The Way, The Truth and the Life," which, according to a news release on the conference website, "sets out to define authentic Anglicanism, discuss what is at stake in the conflict, and what the future holds for orthodox Anglicans."' There is passable coverage of GAFCON in the secular press, and it seems in general that the significance of this conference is defined by its press coverage. The Telegraph, a London-based UK national newspaper usually noted for its conservative stance published this exasperated take on GAFCON and the reaction of the average resident of Angle Land to being instructed on the nature of authentic Anglicanism.

The Anglican Communion News Service appears to be on holiday, but the US Episcopal News Service (one of whose reporters is based in London) is doing a quite credible job of reporting on international Anglican news such as GAFCON. For example, the US ENS reports on the speech given by the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, Suheil Dawani, to GAFCON participants.

15 June 2008: Conservative anger at same-sex exchange of vows in London
The BBC reports that traditionalists were angered at the exchange of vows in a London church by two clergymen who were already civil partners. The Press Association reported it as 'Anglican church's first gay "wedding"'. Thinking Anglicans has gathered a good bit of commentary here.

15 June 2008: Anglican Benedictine priory on the market
The property section of The Times (London) reports that the numbers at Burford Priory have dwindled, so they hope to sell up and move to a more modest home. Visit their website (designed by Perpetual Curate) for a fine image of their labyrinth on a frosty morning. We thought it would be crass for us to mention the asking price here, but come to think of it, that asking price is why this is news.

15 June 2008: Recycled water for baptisms?
The parish of St James, Toowoomba, in the Diocese of Brisbane, has embraced eco-spirituality, and has discovered that its energy-saving steps, including solar panels on the roof, pay financial benefits as well, reports the Courier-Mail (Queensland).

12 June 2008: Prime Minister apologizes for Canada's role in residential schools
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) wrote this editorial about the Canadian government's apology to aboriginals for its policy of assimilation through residential schools. That apology has been widely accepted as an important step in the process of reconciliation. The Anglican Church of Canada, which ran about 30 of those residential schools, apologized 15 years ago; this recent retrospective in the Anglican Journal gives an overview.

11 June 2008: California bishop urges all couples to seek civil union before church blessing
Bishop Marc Andrus of the Diocese of California wrote this letter to his diocese and thinks that such a policy would treat all marriages equally. The San Francisco Chronicle, newspaper in Bishop Marc's See city, wrote this expansive report on the issue. Catholic Online reported it as 'Bishop "Downgrades" Marriage'.

11 June 2008: Hugo Rifkind: Gordon Brown's moral compass is more like a dodgy satnav
In the Spectator, a self-described heathen takes a light-hearted look at the recent report produced for the Church of England. "It has got to be a tough gig, producing a report for the Church of England. Whatever the question, the answer has got to be 'the Church'."

10 June 2008: Sydney says No
The Sydney Morning Herald has published this long and detailed essay on why the Archbishop of Sydney and his flock are not going to the Lambeth Conference.