[Episcopal News Service] Members of the Church of England's General Synod have signaled their overall support for an Anglican covenant but remain divided on how much authority or influence it should marshal in the communion's 38 provinces.
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali of the Diocese of Rochester told the church's main legislative body February 12 that the covenant "is one way of ensuring that the common life of the communion is healthy and effective."

In the past, the Anglican Communion "has been held together by a common history, similar … ways of worship and the so-called 'bonds of affection,'" he said. "In a rapidly globalizing world and a fast-developing communion, these are no longer enough."

Nazir-Ali was introducing a motion that synod "do take note" of a Church of England report that responds to the latest draft (St. Andrew's Draft) of the Anglican covenant.

"The main purpose of the covenant is inclusion rather than exclusion," Nazir-Ali said. "We cannot forget, nevertheless, that these questions have arisen for us because of the need for adequate discipline in the communion on matters which affect everyone."

During a one-hour synod debate, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams disagreed with Nazir-Ali's position on the covenant. "We mustn't have excessive expectations of the covenant," Williams said, cautioning against it being a legal instrument. "It's part of an ongoing inquiry of what a global communion might look like. At every stage it is something which churches voluntarily are invited to enter into."

Addressing synod on February 12, the Rev. John Plant of the Diocese of Leicester acknowledged the "significant improvement" in the text of the St. Andrew's Draft and commended Aspinall's comments about the covenant being "more relational." Plant raised his concerns about a covenant that is constitutional.

"The word 'relational' is not a weak word for a Christian," said Williams, acknowledging that relationship involves "sacrifice, thought, suffering, patience, learning, endurance. When the language 'relational' is used, it is not second best, it is a summons to deepening and intensifying our communion."

The Rev. Brian Lewis from the Diocese of Chelmsford also raised concerns about the covenant being legalistic, noting that had it been in existence two decades ago "it would have been used to argue against the ordination of women."

Lewis warned that the church is "not going to catch the imagination of our culture by handing over to the communion the decisions of which challenges we are able to face.

"Importing others' solutions -- whether they be from America or Nigeria -- simply won't do," he said.