On the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ejection from the worldwide Anglican fellowship
This week a very significant thing happened in the Anglican Church worldwide. Though numbers vary somewhat, it appears that the leaders of over 80 per cent of the 100 million Anglicans throughout the world finally lost patience with the leaders of the liberal old western churches (which have been losing numbers and influence while thrashing about seeking to be politically correct rather than faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures). Last week they declared a “reset” of the Anglican Communion as a confessional church connexion gathered around the Jerusalem Declaration that was agreed at the first Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) in 2008. They are forming the “Global Anglican Communion”. They are not leaving the Anglican Communion, they said, rather they are renewing it with joyful commitment to “the Faith once for all delivered to the saints”. It is the liberal abandonment of that faith that has caused division, uncertainty and chaos in the Communion and GAFCON is claiming it back. They will form a new Council of Primates and elect a leader (a first amongst equals) instead of the Archbishop of Canterbury whom they no longer accept as their leader.
This is a happy development for Bible-believing Anglicans, and not before time. Like developments in the Commonwealth there has been a shift in leadership from the West to the Global South where the churches are lively, growing and enthusiastic about their faith even in the midst of deprivation and suffering in a number of places (e.g. Northern Nigeria, Sudan). It seems that the more Christians are persecuted the more the church grows, and it is appropriate that the leadership of world Anglicanism reflects where the growth and action is.
It is no wonder that GAFCON, which continues to support orthodox believers in the Church of England, has lost patience with its leadership
The GAFCON leadership is calling a conference (G26) for all orthodox Anglican bishops, who can sign the Jerusalem Declaration, in Abuja Nigeria in March of next year. All are welcome. This coincidently will be about the same time as the new Archbishop of Canterbury takes up her office. Her appointment was made without adequate consideration of the wishes of the majority of Anglican churches and her apparent liberal direction of travel means they have been presented with more of the same leadership that has failed to discipline wayward Provinces and restore any semblance of unity to the Communion post the widespread agreement after the Lambeth Conference in 1998. The Chairman of GAFCON said on the news of the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury — “Due to the failure of successive Archbishops of Canterbury to guard the faith, the office can no longer function as a credible leader of Anglicans, let alone a focus of unity”. It would appear that Dame Sarah will find herself relating to a very different world-wide Communion.
Again, coincidently and perhaps ironically, on the same day this week it was announced that the English House of Bishops has postponed any further implementation of the “Living in Love and Faith” process, which has been causing agony and division in the church for more than a decade. This has been abandoned because of legal and theological advice that has shown the bishops what they should have known already, that their proposals change the doctrine of marriage held by the Church of England. Such a change, though possible, must follow due synodical processes and decisions, and requires a two thirds majority to alter doctrine. As the current process has been shambolic and lacking integrity, it is good to see the bishops at last consenting to adhere to proper processes. However, this looks more like a press of the pause button rather than the delete one, and means that discontent will rumble on in the church.
It is no wonder then that GAFCON, which continues to support orthodox believers in the Church of England, has lost patience with its leadership, as it sees no real evidence of repentance or a change of heart about the liberal direction of travel. It wishes to stop wasting time in pointless squabbles and to bring together those who are firm in faith to get on with the task of bringing the Good News of the Gospel to a lost and suffering world. Compassion and clarity of doctrine are not enemies but ought to go together — the grace and truth only ever perfectly shown in the person of the Lord Jesus needs to be followed as far as possible by his followers.
Bishops in the early Church were noted and respected for their courage and adherence to the Apostolic Faith. Bishops today in the West, with thankfully a number of notable exceptions, have too often become uncertain trumpets, driven by expediency, who seem to want to sanctify current fashionable opinions more than to be faithful to their ordination vows to uphold the Christian Faith as revealed in the Scriptures. This is a sad and tragic state of affairs. To quote the Dutch/American theologian R.B.Kuiper — “The church that has grown indifferent to the truth is, to put it mildly, on its way out”. GAFCON shines a light of hope to a generation looking for an alternative to the faithless, materialistic, self-absorbed answers of the current western world. We are told that Gen Z are showing signs of a “quiet revival” of interest in matters of faith. They are attracted to a church that knows what it believes, and whose members display changed lives, and where its believers have hope and joy even in the midst of pain and problems.
The chairman of GAFCON, The Most Rev Dr Laurent Mbanda, has asked for prayer that they will lead the future direction of the Global Anglican Communion “in prayerful submission to the Holy Spirit as we hear the voice of Jesus in his wondrous Scriptures, to the glory of God”.
All faithful Christians will surely wish them well!
