The Church of England Evangelical Council with the Anglican Evangelical Assembly, PO Box 93, Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 5WL

4 October 2002

Dear Sir,

As the Chairmen of the two principal Anglican evangelical consultative and representative bodies, which include Reform and Church Society among their wide membership, we are convinced that concern over scriptural authority and issues of sexuality is found much more widely than simply among the ‘conservative evangelical wing’ of the Church of England.

The statements of the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolutions covered many subjects but were particularly explicit on the authority of Scripture. By an overwhelming majority the bishops of the worldwide Communion affirmed a traditional view of Scripture and its authority. It is this that all evangelicals wish to affirm with, we believe, the majority of the world Anglican Communion.

The vast majority of our world Communion and its bishops have argued that Lambeth Resolution 1.10 on sexuality simply reflects what the Bible says and should therefore be upheld by all church leaders.

The request by Reform that any Christian leader should be asked to assent to the Communion’s understanding of the authority of Scripture, and its view of the place for sexual intercourse being within heterosexual marriage alone, is surely not unreasonable. The danger of a ‘rift’ becomes explicit if some in leadership are unable to teach and commend the Church’s expressed opinion on these matters.

While we would have would preferred that such matters could be solved privately and amicably, the matters raised publicly by Reform are of serious consequence for us all.

Yours truly,

The Revd Dr Paul Gardner - Chairman, Church of England Evangelical Council

The Revd Chris Green - Chairman, Anglican Evangelical Assembly