ARMAGH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Archbishop Robin Eames, who has worked to guide the global Anglican Communion through disputes over the roles of women and gays, announced Tuesday that he plans to retire as Irish primate at the end of the year.
Eames, 69, was appointed in 1986 as archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the senior position in the Irish church. He is the longest-serving primate in the Anglican Communion, an association of 38 national churches that claims 77 million members worldwide.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams tapped Eames to head a commission to develop recommendations to hold the Anglican Communion together following the election of an openly gay priest, V. Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire in the U.S. Episcopal Church.
The commission's findings, published as the 2004 Windsor Report, called for apologies from the U.S. church for acting without consulting the broader communion, and for some African leaders to apologize for meddling in the affairs of the American church.
From 1988-90, Eames led another commission which sought to resolve differences over the appointment of women as bishops. The commission's report recommended maintaining "the highest degree of communion" despite disagreement on the issue.