Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey to Speak at Duke Feb. 7

The former leader of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop George Carey, will speak on his church's heritage and future at Duke University Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 2:30 p.m. The address will be in the Goodson Chapel in the Divinity School and is free and open to the public.

Carey, also Lord of Clifton, was the 103rd archbishop of Canterbury. During his tenure as archbishop, 1991-2002, he successfully advocated for resolutions for the ordination of women in the Church of England and against practicing homosexuality or blessing same-sex unions throughout the Anglican Communion. He also ministered in apartheid South Africa, in Sudan during the civil war and in Rwanda in the aftermath of genocide.

In a telephone interview from London, Carey said the current tumult in the Anglican Communion, which includes threats of schism, stems from the decision of the Episcopal Church in 2003 to ordain an openly gay man as bishop.

"I want to emphasize that I am not going to go back over that and spend a lot of time on it," he said. "I'm much more interested in forward thinking and saying, ‘This is a reality; we've got to live with realities; no one wants to lose the American church from the Anglican Communion, so what do we need to do to carry on walking together?'"

Professor Jo Bailey Wells, director of the Divinity School's Anglican Episcopal House of Studies, said she invited Carey with the hope that "his speaking would provide an opportunity and a focus for unity, even where there is disagreement."

"He contributes the experience of listening to a huge variety of views and voices," said Wells, a priest in the Church of England. "I imagine he has some wisdom."