³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

In short, there wasn't one. Those expecting this Lambeth Conference to be the ecclesiastical equivalent of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corall will have to revise their historical analogies. It's a long way from Tombstone in Arizona, to Canterbury in Kent. Instead, many bishops have talked about a sense of purposeful peace as they have met in groups for Bible study, conversation and exploration. A cynic might point out that more than 200 bishops have boycotted the conference, and that's why there's an atmosphere of peace: if they were here, they would be expressing anger at recent developments in Anglicanism. There are, of course, conservative bishops in attendance at Lambeth, including traditionalist bishops such as Ian Ernest, who is Bishop of Mauritius, Archbishop of the Indian Ocean, and chairman of CAPA (the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa), and other leaders from the Anglican grouping. Walking around the campus, I've noticed many of the most famous figures in the Anglican culture war having coffee and walking to one gathering or another. Today I saw Gregory Venables in a coffee shop, and walked past a smiling Katherine Jefferts Shori on her way to the Big Top (the circus tent that is housing the main worship sessions and plenary events). Is it just a calm before the next storm?