Sydney Synod on the Scottish Episcopal Church decision

At the last night of Sydney Synod this motion, proposed by the Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, was passed with strong support. It is the same motion he brought to the General Synod. It was passed there with some amendments.

Here is the text passed by Sydney Synod on 17 October 2017:

Synod –

a. notes with regret that the Scottish Episcopal Church has amended their Canon on Marriage to change the definition that marriage is between a man and a woman by adding a new section that allows clergy to solemnise marriage between same-sex couples as well as couples of the opposite sex,

b. declares that this step is contrary to the doctrine of Christ and the doctrine of our Church, and therefore inconsistent with the Fundamental Declarations of our Churches,

c. notes with sadness that the Scottish Episcopal Church has thereby put itself out of fellowship with the wider Anglican Communion,

d. expresses our support for those Anglicans who have left or will need to leave the Scottish Episcopal Church because of its redefinition of marriage, or who struggle to remain in good conscience, and

e. prays that the Scottish Episcopal Church will return to the doctrine of Christ in this matter and be restored to communion with faithful Anglicans around the world.

Ferrying the Primates across the rubicon: Lambeth Resolution I.10 and the 2017 Primates Meeting

“Nearly one year ago I wrote an essay titled ‘Crossing the Rubicon: Lambeth Resolution I.10, the Church of England, and the Anglican Communion,’ which began this way:

Earlier this year I was speaking with an English friend concerned about the direction of the Church of England. ‘Where do we draw the line?’ he asked. ‘That’s easy,’ I replied: ‘It’s called Lambeth Resolution I.10.’

I then analyzed (‘fisked‘) a letter by Mr. William Nye, the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council, who had clearly been authorized to speak for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. In this letter Mr. Nye attempts to relativize the 1998 Lambeth Resolution I.10 on Human Sexuality as speaking for that Conference only, hence having no ongoing normative authority.

In the light of the Communiqué from the October 2017 Primates’ Meeting, I would go a step further and say that in the view of the Lambeth Establishment, Resolution I.10 was a huge mistake and aberration, the effects of which will be undone at Lambeth 2020. …”

– On the GAFCON website, Dr Stephen Noll takes a look at what really happened at the 2017 Primates’ Meeting.

Scottish Anglican Network statement on the Meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion

“The Scottish Anglican Network is grateful to the GAFCON primates who gave courageous leadership by not attending the meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion this week. We are thankful too for the GAFCON Primates and others who did attend and who robustly supported the complementary nature of biblical marriage. …”

– Read the full statement here.

Also from the Scottish Anglican Network:

Secxit (or why I must leave the Scottish Episcopal Church) – Daniel Davies.

Can two walk together unless they are agreed?

“Today’s Communique from the Primates’ Meeting 2017, in Canterbury, England, is very disappointing, but it is not surprising.  As we have consistently said, the current ‘Instruments of Unity’ are broken, and as Archbishop Ntagali, Primate of Uganda, has said, ‘every attempt to repair the torn fabric and heal the betrayal has made the situation worse.’ This has again proved true.

When the leaders of Gafcon and the Global South, representing the majority of the world’s Anglicans, met in Cairo last month it was their prayer that ‘the outcome of the upcoming [Primates] meeting would be decisive and lead to coherent and responsible action regarding the issues which continue to tear apart the fabric of the Communion, issues that have eternal consequences.‘ Judging by the Communique, their hopes for the meeting have been disappointed. …”

– An initial Response to the Primates’ Meeting 2017 Communique from GAFCON.

Are we surprised, really?

“It was confirmed that the Anglican Church of North America is not a Province of the Anglican Communion. We recognised that those in ACNA should be treated with love as fellow Christians.”  Statement of the Primates Meeting 2017

The Primates Meeting of 2017 has issued its final statement.  Who wrote the statement—the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican Communion Office, the Secretary General or the whole body of the Primates?

If the whole body of the Primates wrote the final statement, where are the signatures of the Primates who consented to all of these statements?  When did the Primates come together and write this statement?  How many drafts did they have to go through before they came to this statement?  Which Primates were actually involved in writing it?  When did they discuss and redraft?  How many Primates were present to approve the final draft?  Was it even shown to the Primates before they departed?”

– Canon Phil Ashey, President of the American Anglican Council, asks some questions about the final statement from the Primates’ meeting.

Response from Bishop Andy Lines to the Primates’ Communiqué

“The Primates’ Communiqué appears to continue promoting the narrative of Anglicans ‘walking together’ despite the absence of four Provinces representing millions of Anglicans, and despite profound disagreement expressed within the meeting on understandings of what it means to be Christian, and how we know what is right and wrong.

The Bishop Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church played a leading role in the Primates’ Conference. Although there was talk of ‘consequences’ for SEC’s action, he was unrepentant, and showed no concern for those under his care who cannot accept the decision to redefine marriage. They now feel betrayed and de-churched. Meanwhile millions of Anglicans will be concerned that the Communiqué does not appear to express any view on the actions of SEC or the thinking behind it.

The document does not criticise false teaching, but focuses on ‘border crossing’ as if it is more harmful. I take the long-established view of orthodox Anglicans across the world, that we cannot make an equivalence between Provinces who choose to abandon key aspects of biblical theology and ethics, tearing the fabric of the Communion and putting souls in danger, and those who respond to calls for help from faithful Anglicans within those Provinces. My role as Gafcon missionary Bishop is clearly needed more than ever: to provide ministry to and encourage emerging congregations of faithful Anglicans in Britain outside the official structures.

They, along with many within those structures want to be part of a global movement based on the unchanging truths of God’s word, and obedience to that word which includes ministry mentioned in the Communiqué: evangelism and discipleship, and also  compassionate response to those suffering in contexts of violence and poverty; ministry of which Gafcon-aligned provinces are at the cutting edge.”

– From GAFCON UK.

Anglican Communion News Service smears GAFCON and manipulates Archbishop of Canterbury

“You’d think, wouldn’t you, that you could trust the news reports which emanate from the official Office of the Worldwide Anglican Communion.

You’d hope, wouldn’t you, that the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) might issue factual statements of reliable and verifiable truth, as all good reporting should be, instead of tinted opinion with a tainted political agenda, as all journalism so often is. …”

– “Archbishop Cranmer” takes a close look at a story promulgated by the Anglican Communion News Service.

Related: ‘Archbishop Welby “taken aback” by Las Vegas prayer criticism’ – ACNS.

Faithfulness to Christ against the odds: the Anglican Communion and the global sexual revolution

“Global Anglican leaders will gather to meet in Canterbury in early October for a summit meeting. Most of them come from contexts where the Anglican church is continuing to teach and promote the biblical Gospel of repentance and faith in Christ for salvation, and the historic Christian understanding of sexuality and marriage. A few Provinces, with most of the wealth and power, are dominated by a leadership wanting to promote a different form of Christianity that is more acceptable to the secular West.

The last Primates meeting, in Canterbury January 2016, only made these divisions clearer. The majority of Primates resolved then to work together to continue the important work of the Anglican Communion, but required TEC to withdraw from full involvement, as they had violated the ‘bonds of affection’ by continuing to pursue their revisionist agenda, of which acceptance of same sex marriage was the latest example. But the TEC leadership, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion Office, interpreted things very differently. …

Primates from the Global South and their advisors due to attend the meeting in Canterbury should not be in any doubt that the ground has shifted since the fruitless efforts of years gone by to discipline TEC for their revisionist actions which have torn the fabric of the Communion. …”

— The Rev. Andrew Symes at Anglican Mainstream makes clear what next week’s Primates gathering in Canterbury is about.

Please do pray for the Primates, especially that they will be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Photo: The 2016 Primates meeting.)

Just who is raising objections?

“Five bishops in the Anglican Church of Australia have asked their church lawyers whether bishops can take part in consecrating another bishop of a church which is not formally part of the Anglican Communion.

Meanwhile bishops from Uganda and Sudan have been taking steps to support a movement in South Africa to maintain biblically faithful Anglican witness. The Southern Africa Mission held an ordination service of the Church of Uganda in Trinity Anglican Church Franchhoek near Cape Town on 10 September. …”

– Anglican Mainstream reprints an article written by Chris Sugden for Evangelicals Now.

Who decides membership in the Anglican Communion? Not the Secretary General of the ACC!

“It is simply not true to say that ACNA is part of the Anglican Communion,” he [Idowu-Fearon] said. “To be part of the Communion, a province needs to be in communion with the See of Canterbury and to be a member of the Instruments of the Communion. ACNA is not in communion with the See of Canterbury—and has not sought membership of the Instruments.”  Idowu-Fearon added that “There is a long-standing process by which a province is adopted as a province of the Communion… ACNA has not gone through this process.”  <http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/acna-not-province-anglican-communion-secretary-general-clarifies/> Accessed 13 Sep 2017.

The Secretary General’s statement that The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is not a province of the Anglican Communion is misleading at best.

It ignores the very process of recognition of the Anglican Church in North America by some GAFCON provinces as early as July 2009.

It ignores the public and published recognition of Archbishop Foley Beach as “a fellow Primate of the Anglican Communion” by those Primates of the Anglican Communion who installed him as the second Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America on October 9, 2014.

The Secretary General ignores the recognition of the Anglican Church in North America as a “partner province” of the Global South by the Primates of the Global South in their October 2016 Communique. …”

– Canon Phil Ashey, President of the American Anglican Council, challenges a declaration by the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council.

Preparing for Primates’ Meeting 2017

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, speaks about his hopes for the Primates’ meeting next month, where there will be a focus on the issues facing the world, including human sexuality (didn’t the last Primates’ meeting speak clearly about that?), the environment and climate change, evangelism, refugees, conflict and persecution.

See also:

“I attended the Canterbury Primates Meeting held in January 2016 because I believed it might be possible to make a new start and change the pattern of repeated failure to preserve the integrity of Anglican faith and order. I was disappointed. The Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Lusaka the following April neutered the Primates’ action to distance The Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) from Communion decision making.

TEC has not repented, and continues to take aggressive legal action against orthodox dioceses. For example…”

Is GAFCON divisive?

“The suggestion that Gafcon is a divisive movement, and in particular aimed at breaking up the Anglican Communion, is one I hear from time to time.

It’s heartbreaking to hear it because it is untrue and it is an indication of the power of gossip.

I never tire of telling the story of the meeting of Primates at the end of the Jerusalem Conference 2008. …”

– GAFCON General Secretary Dr peter Jensen answers the question.

Faith in a time of crisis

“This is a book written by people of gospel conviction who are calling all those with gospel conviction to stand for that gospel. And it is not just for Anglicans.”

– ACL Council member Nigel Fortescue reviews “Faith in a time of crisis” by Vaughan Roberts and Peter Jensen – on the GAFCON website. (Originally published in Southern Cross, August 2017.)

See also this earlier review by fellow ACL Council member Dan McKinlay, published in June.

The book is available from Matthias Media (AUS), The Good Book Company (UK) and Amazon (for fun, click on ‘Peter Jensen’ in the Author line at Amazon, to see other books written, or nor written, by Peter Jensen.).

Some Reflections on the Global South Primates Meeting

“Many of you will have read the statement of the Global South Primates Steering Committee from their meeting in Cairo this past weekend. In the swirl of the weekly news cycle, it’s easy to look at this statement as just another murmur from the background of Anglican geopolitics.  I’d like to offer a few thoughts about why their statement should be considered newsworthy.

First, let’s remember that the Global South Primates include the Archbishops or principal Bishop-leaders of the largest Anglican Churches in the world – Nigeria (in terms of real average Sunday attendance in church), Kenya, and Uganda for starters.  They include those leaders of the Gafcon movement – which plants the future of a renewed Anglicanism around a common confession of faith, the Jerusalem Declaration.

But the Global South movement existed before Gafcon, and includes those provinces in that part of the world that have not yet joined Gafcon, like Southeast Asia, but have for many years stood firmly on the authority and clarity of the Bible as the ultimate authority within the councils of the Church. That’s a big deal. …”

– Canon Phil Ashey, President of the American Anglican Council, puts last week’s Global South communique in perspective.

Global South Primates’ Communique, Cairo, September 9 2017

“We, the Primates of the Global South, met in Cairo from 8-9 September 2017 to work together in service of the Church, to follow up the recommendation of the 2016 Global South Conference and to discuss arising issues. …

We express our sadness for the decision taken by the Scottish Episcopal Church to change its doctrine of marriage and are thankful for the faithful remnant of the Scottish Anglican Network that continues to contend for God’s Word. We are also saddened by the decisions of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada to allow same-sex marriage. If this decision is ratified it will further tear the fabric of the Communion.  …

We are saddened that the 16th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka, Zambia, did not unequivocally accept the decisions of the last Primates Meeting. While we expressed a desire to walk together as a Communion, this was contingent upon our decisions regarding The Episcopal Church being respected and upheld. Unfortunately, this agreement was not enforced and The Episcopal Church has been allowed to take part in decision making regarding ‘matters pertaining to polity and doctrine.’ They have also represented us in ecumenical meetings.  This has led to a further breakdown of trust and confidence.

In light of this reality, we discussed the Archbishop of Canterbury’s invitation to the upcoming Primates’ Meeting. …”

– Read the full Communique at Global South Anglican.

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