The Lambeth Conference
Author Paul Avis and Benjamin M. Guyer (Eds.)
Publisher T&T Clark £85
Format hbk
ISBN 9780567662316 2017
How much do you really know about the Lambeth Conference and its place in the Anglican Communion? This book seeks to offer an historical overview alongside more personal experiences of past conferences, all designed to inspire discussion about Lambeth 2020, its aims and its potential. A variety of contributors give, for the most part, a reasoned and balanced account of the Lambeth Conference, illuminating also the other Instruments of the Anglican Communion and the principles upon which the Communion seeks to operate. The one stridently jarring voice is that of Mark Thompson of the Diocese of Sydney, whose essay reads less as ‘scholarly study’ and more as a GAFCON manifesto. There is one lone ecumenical contributor: Donald Bolen providing a Roman Catholic perspective on Lambeth. The collection is informative and could easily provide material for a series of teaching or discussions sessions in churches keen to engage with the Lambeth Conference. It would be a useful addition to library collections (especially given its cost), where it could be consulted alongside other relevant texts such as Lambeth and Windsor reports.
GUDRUN WARREN