Of the Anglican Church of the Central Region of the Americas

It is my great joy to extend the warm greetings of the Anglican Communion to the bishops, clergy and people of the Constitutive Synod of the Anglican Church of the Central Region of the Americas assembled in San José Costa Rica.

On this occasion your celebrations are accompanied by the prayers and the best wishes of your brothers and sisters in our great Anglican family of over 70,000,000 faithful Christians, extended through 165 countries of the world. This is truly an historical occasion in the life of our Communion. In these days we are celebrating a new stage in the life of our Church in this region. We celebrate with you what has been a remarkable history and we give thanks to God for the growth and maturity in Anglican life and witness which has led to this moment.

And what a rich and varied history and witness this has been. You, the people of God in the Anglican Communion in this Isthmus, have seen many changes. You have met many challenges from the encounter and interaction of various cultures and from the results of colonial and economic domination over many years. From the arrival in 1742 of the first missionary from the English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to the founding of congregations of Afro-Caribbean immigrants working in the timber and banana industries in the 19th Century. From the immigration connected with the construction of the Panamá Canal, to the incorporation of chaplaincies serving the expatriate British and US communities. From the transfer of jurisdiction from the Church of England to the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, and now to the formation of an autonomous Province of the Anglican Communion. This Church has evolved and has become a comprehensive family, of Latinos, Blacks, Mayas, Miskitos, Creoles and other races and cultures, reflecting the diversity of the human family in this part of the world.

It is this richness and diversity which will be one of your gifts to our worldwide Communion. You will bring your reading and understanding of the Scriptures from your own context. You will bring your indigenous liturgical expression, your traditions and customs. You will bring to the Anglican Communion your testimony and experience of living with conflict. The Churches and peoples of this region have suffered decades of political strife, of civil wars and social upheaval. This is a part of the world which has produced martyrs for the faith, and where Christians have been on the forefront of the search for peace and justice. We look forward to being enriched and strengthened by your testimony, and to your contribution to a Communion-wide theological reflection on the great issues of our time.

Indeed, the international character of our fellowship will be deepened as your Province takes its rightful place within the Instruments of Unity in our Communion: The Lambeth Conference, and in due course the Meeting of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council.

At this Synod we speak of autonomy, but, of course, autonomy is not isolation or even independence. The Churches of the Anglican Communion belong to the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, and we seek to live, whether in England, the Sudan, the United States, or Central America with the same faith, sacraments and ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ through the ages. But we have a certain family likeness and relationship. As Anglicans we belong together, and are joined by a common life through our Instruments of Unity, and a common inheritance in the way we use Scripture, tradition and reason in discerning the mind of Christ for the Church today.

As Secretary General of the Anglican Communion I pledge to you the support and assistance the Anglican Communion Office, which exists to serve you and all the Churches of the Anglican Communion, in promoting our interdependence and co-operation, and in helping us in our local contexts and mission to be attentive to the insights, the needs, the gifts and the witness of our global family.

May God richly bless each member of the Anglican Church of the Central Region of the Americas, the newest part of our family. May God continue to bless your ministry and mission, and lead you forward in witness to Christ and in the service of the Gospel.

¡De sus hermanos y hermanas de la Comunión Anglicana una calurosa bienvenida, saludos cordiales y mucha bendición!