Lambeth

Lambeth (pronounced lam-bith)

(1) A south London suburb, the location of Lambeth Palace, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

(2) A habitational surname based on the locality.

(3) A slang term for the hierarchy of the Church of England (on the model of "Pentagon", "Downing Steeet" etc.

(4) In informal use, an ellipsis of "Lambeth Conference".

1255: The earliest known use was in 1062 as Lambehitha, from the Old English lamb (lamb) + hȳþ (hithe) (landing-place on a riverbank), the name clipped to Lambeth (probably reflecting oral use) by at least 1255.  It was thus a point on the banks of the Thames where the geography and tidal flows were suitable for boats to dock or moor to discharge or take on cargo, lambs presumably common.  Lambeth Palace has for some eight-hundred years been the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.  It sits on the south bank of the Thames, a ¼ mile (400m) south-east of the Palace of Westminster (containing the houses of parliament) on the opposite bank.  Lambeth is a proper noun.

A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 and those awarded span a number of fields including law, music, literature, medicine and (obviously) divinity.  Some of the degrees (notably the doctorates) are similar in concept to the honorary degrees conferred by universities but all are in law “substantive” and those granted doctorates are entitled to in any circumstances use the honorific “Dr” and the post-nominal of a Lambeth Doctor of Divinity appears as “DD (Cantuar)” whereas an honorary DD from an academic institution would be written DD (Hon).  Many Lambeth degrees have been granted on much the same basis as the honorary awards of other institution; in this case “recognition of service to the church” (although that phrase has generously been interpreted and, in effect, extended to “recognition of service to God”; a typical Anglican fudge that can mean whatever at the time suits Lambeth).  Historically, there were also Lambeth degrees which required some form of examination.  Reflecting the position of the Church of England as an established state church, Lambeth degrees technically are “degrees of the realm” so, in legal theory, a king, queen or regent could veto an award but in practice this power would be exercised by the government.  Lambeth degrees have not for some years been awarded and their immediate future is uncertain but, in the English way, it’s expected they won’t cease to exist but will become a rarity.  

Rowan Williams (b 1950; Archbishop of Canterbury 2002-2012) and Benedict XVI (1927–2022; pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022) chat at Lambeth Palace.

The Lambeth Conference

The Lambeth Conference is a (nominally) decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the AoC (Archbishop of Canterbury), 15 held since the first in 1867.  The Anglican Communion is an international association of autonomous national and regional churches, not a governing body and the office of AoC is in no way analogous with the Roman Catholic pope; while a pope is an absolute monarch atop a theocracy, the AoC is the "spirital head" of the Anglican community but holds no executive authority.  The conferences serve a collaborative and consultative function and are said to express “…the mind of the communion" on issues of the day; resolutions passed at a Lambeth Conference are without legal effect, but can be influential (if others are in the mood to be influenced).

Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury's official London residence.

Conferences were never the pure and high-minded discussions of ethics, morality and theology some now appear to believe characterized the pre-modern (in this context those held prior to 1968 when "the troubles began") events.  Agenda and communiqués from all conferences have always included the procedural, administrative and jurisdictional although in recent years, they’ve certainly reflected an increasingly factionalized communion rent with cross-cutting cleavages, first over the ordination of women and of late, homosexual clergy.  During the 1998 conference, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma (b 1954) of Nigeria attempted to exorcise "homosexual demons" from the soul of Nigerian-born Richard Kirker (b 1951), a British priest and general secretary of the LGCM (Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement).  Recalling perhaps Ephesians 4:32 or (less charitability) the more cautionary Matthew 6:15, Kirker forgave him.  There have since (as far as is known) been no exorcisms at Lambeth conferences but the squabbles over gay male and female clergy have never been resolved.  The spirit of Kirker notwithstanding, at this point, the disagreements seem insoluble.  The poisonous atmosphere at, and in the aftermath of, the  conference in 2008 did not enhance the image of the church and a typically Anglican solution to avoid a repetition in 2018 seemed to have emerged.  In 2014, in answer to the suggestion he had cancelled the 2018 conference, Archbishop Justin Welby (b 1956; 105th Archbishop of Canterbury 2013-2025), in a statement worthy of any of his predecessors, responded by stating: "As it hasn’t been called, it can’t have been cancelled."

A communiqué, issued after the primates' meeting in January 2016, noted the bishops had accepted the archbishop’s proposal the 15^th conference should be held in 2020.  However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was in March 2020 decided to postpone things to the summer of 2021 but the virus proved elusive and by July, the delay had been extended to 2022.  The first epistle of Peter was chosen as the biblical focus for the conference, the theme of which is said to be what it means to be “God’s Church for God’s World”.  The apostle Peter wrote this epistle to give comfort to Christians suffering persecution from non-believers, hoping to encourage them to live pure lives despite their vicissitudes.

#lambeth got tagged in Lindsay Lohan's political commentaries on the dramatic night of the Brexit referendum in 2016.  She was a part of Team #remain.  

Peter didn’t sugar-coat the message (1 Peter 4:12-19), making it clear that for Christians, suffering is actually a participation in the sufferings of Christ and an occasion for rejoicing, helpfully adding that in the midst of the suffering, the Holy Spirit rests upon those who are suffering, this being a great consolation.  He further explained God uses suffering to purify the Christian community, God's household.  God uses the abuse that pagans unjustly heap on Christians to prepare his people for the return of Christ and warns people not to be surprised at the fiery ordeal that will come upon them as followers of Jesus.  Actually, they should be both grateful and happy and thus glorify God, for if they share in Christ’s sufferings it means they will also share in his glory.

In a world beset by fire, flood, pestilence and plague, 1 Peter seemed a good theme to loom over a Lambeth Conference and surprising some (while disappointing others, the 15^th conference in 2022 proved less incendiary than had been (gleefully by some) predicted.  Whether or not Christians beyond the Kent conference rooms much mused on “God’s Church for God’s World” isn't known but the words must have resonated with Archbishop Welby’s predecessor, Rowan Williams.  During his tenure at Lambeth, Dr Williams probably felt more ignored than persecuted by non-believers, finding the internecine squabbles of the believers in the Anglican factions rather more tiresome.  Declaring the problems in the church “insoluble” he seemed not unhappy to be leaving Lambeth to return to his study and write about Dostoevsky (Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881)).  A generous spirit, he would have wished his successors well.

Lambeth's latest: Dame Sarah Mullally (b 1962) in the regalia of Bishop of London.

In March 2026, Dane Sarah was installed (modern Anglicans no long fancy the idea of an "enthronement") as AoC; No longer one of the world's more desirable jobs (essentially because it can't be done), along with Dr Williams, all will wish her the best of British luck.  In feminist theory, the phenomenon of women being appointed to suddenly undesirable jobs is known as the "glass cliff".  Were it possible for the job still to be done, the Anglicans would have appointed the 106^th man rather than the first woman, the previous 105 prelates all men since the first, Saint Augustine of Canterbury (circa 630s-circa 604) in 597 (not to be confused with the still influential Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430)).

Whatever the motivations of the Anglicans in handing the keys to Lambeth Palace to a woman, they didn't including attempting to find common ground with the factions that for decades have railed against the notion of homosexual clergy or the ordination of women.  The reaction to Dame Sarah's appointment was most sharp in Africa where many (1) note the twelve apostles (the "only clergy appointed by Jesus Christ") were all men and (2) still adhere to the notion of homosexuality as defined in The Buggery Act 1533 during the reign of Henry VIII (1491–1547; King of England (and Ireland after 1541) 1509-1547): "The detestable and abominable Vice of Buggery committed with Mankind or Beast".  Given that uncompromising stance, few were surprised when some African churches announced they were withdrawing from communion with Canterbury, a move matched by some in the US while the puritan faction in Australia's Sydney Diocese has already re-aligned with the traditionalist GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) aggregation.  As schisms go, there have been many more bloody and while some regret the siloization of the Anglican community, the pulling up of drawbridges should make future Lambeth Conferences less gut-wrenching affairs so there's that.