Archbishop Justin Welby has told the 18th plenary meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-18) gathered in Accra, Ghana that the Communion needs to rethink its expectations of unity and autonomy.

He stated that the Anglican Communion is not a place where one group should order the life and culture of another, adding that such control is often neo-colonial abuse.

Archbishop Justin made the comments in a section of his speech talking about the Instruments of Communion – the four bodies that hold the Anglican Communion together: the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates Meeting, the Lambeth Conference and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He said that when times change so must the Instruments of Communion.

Leading up to his remarks about the Instruments, the Archbishop spoke of the significance of intentional discipleship. He noted that,

"[Discipleship is] lived differently because of different cultures, for we are not the same, although we are one. That is one of the basic reasons why, as well as being interdependent, we are also autonomous as Provinces."

He went on to say that there is no reason why one group should order the life and culture of another.

"Money, power, access to resources should never call the tune, yet such is the lust for power in all human beings – and I include myself, for I sin like everyone else – that one group always seeks to tell another what to do." 

The Archbishop said that in a post colonial world, where every day we face more attacks on the Christian faith and Christian churches, we have to find marks and signs that show we are one, and yet do not result in the imposition of one powerful group’s values on another.

"It does not matter whether it calls itself the Archbishop of Canterbury as a focus of unity and an instrument of Communion, the Primates’ meeting, the Lambeth Conference, or any other: any submission to the will of those outside our own Province must be voluntary, never compelled.

He challenged the ACC members to consider how to bridge the gap between interdependence and autonomy without abuse of power. He told the meeting that the Chicago Lambeth quadrilateral from the 1880s sets out what guides the belief of Anglicans and that the five Marks of Mission are what Anglicans do.

The Archbishop shared a brief history of each of the instruments and emphasised their ongoing development.

“The Instruments have grown and changed over the years. They have responded to changes caused by wars, colonialism, decolonising, corruption and failure, heresies and schisms, technological and scientific advance. They have never had either doctrinal or ethical authority, but they have moral force.”

Archbishop Justin spoke of the many changes the world has faced and continues to face and that the instruments must be the way forward in mutual help where country comes after obedience to God.

“My desire is to see Christ glorified in truth, and in my heart of hearts I can say with truth that is what I aim for. I may well get things wrong but let me be clear – before other people outside this room gather to tell me what I must do – I will not cling to place or position as an Instrument of Communion provided the other Instruments choose a new way.

"The Instruments are just what their name suggests, they exist to serve the call of Christ.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury's full speech is available here to watch in full.

Read text of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s address here.