Anglican Communion Head to Address Assembly

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is known not only as primate of the Church of England but as a scholar and a poet.

Born in 1950, he is a native of South Wales and was educated at both Cambridge and Oxford and has taught at both universities. In 1991 he was elected bishop of Monmouth, and eight years later the Church of Wales elected him archbishop.

Williams became Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002, the first Welshman in that office and the first since the 13^th century not from the English church. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the symbol of unity for the Anglican Communion, consisting of self-governing provinces around the world.

The archbishop addresses the LWF as Lutherans and Anglicans face common challenges and share deepening relations. Nourished by years of theological dialogue, agreements in many places allow clergy of one tradition to serve churches in the other and provide for joint parishes, cooperative theological education and mission.

In Europe, the Porvoo agreement links the British and Irish Anglican churches and Baltic and Nordic Lutheran churches. In the United States, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is in “full communion” with The Episcopal Church. Similar relations exist in Canada.

Anglican Communion Head to Address Assembly

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