Frank T. Griswold
Reflections on the Season of Advent by the Presiding Bishop
Advent is a season filled with paradox: it marks both a beginning and an end. It marks a time of waiting and anticipation, as we look to the incarnation of the word of God in the person of Jesus Christ. At the same time, it causes us to reflect on Christ coming again at the […]
Christmas message from the Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold, III
"Let the Son of God grow in you, for he is formed in you. Let him become very great-immense — in you… and may he become to you a great smile and exaltation and perfect joy which no one can take from you." These words from a 12th century abbot, Isaac de l'Etoile, invite us […]
A Statement from the Presiding Bishop on the Death of Matthew Shepard
I grieve at the death of Matthew Shepard, and deplore the hate and violence which led to it. My prayers are with Matthew, his family, his friends, and his parish. Matthew was not only a member of our church family, but of our human community. He could have been our child. He was our brother. […]
Religious Persecution Abroad
Dear Members of the House and Senate: I have recently returned from a once-a-decade meeting of all Anglican bishops around the world known as the Lambeth Conference. Nearly 750 bishops from every Church of the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church in the United States is one, met for three weeks to worship, learn, […]
William Reed Huntington Memorial Sermon
Grace Church, New York City September 30th, 1998 I am honored to have been asked to preach on this occasion when we call to mind the ecumenical vision of William Reed Huntington, sixth rector of this church, which is symbolized by the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888. This document has become the foundation upon which all […]
Starr Investigation of President Clinton
The Presiding Bishop has made the following response to queries of church members regarding the matter of the Starr investigation of President Clinton. I respect, and hope that we will honor, the plea of President Clinton for forgiveness. This is rooted in my understanding and experience of God's boundless compassion and mercy. I am deeply […]
The Presiding Bishop’s Statement on East Timor
The unfolding tragedy in East Timor is yet another sad and agonizing example of the human family's inability to live in harmony. So much divides us. The killing includes among its many victims the Reverend Francisco de Vasconcelos Ximenes, General Secretary of the Christian Church in East Timor, which is a partner of the Uniting […]
Debt and Economic Justice
Recognizing the importance and urgency of issues of international debt and economic justice, this Conference adopts the following statement: We see the issues of international debt and economic justice in the light of our belief in creation: God has created a world in which we are bound together in a common humanity in which each […]
From Canterbury: Glimpses of the Eternal Design
Having just returned from the Lambeth Conference, I am still in a time of sorting and sifting the events of those weeks in Canterbury with my brother and sister bishops. I have written a first letter to the church about one aspect of the conference, and will have more to share in the autumn about […]
Human Sexuality
The bishops of the Anglican Communion meeting this past August for the Lambeth Conference tried to embrace diverse articulations of the Gospel in reference to the question of homosexuality. A group of bishops holding widely divergent views succeeded, after two and one-half weeks of intense conversation and study, in putting forward unanimously a resolution that […]