Prayer for the Primates’ Gathering
A good prayer to pray –
“Almighty God
to whom all will someday give an account;instil, we pray,
within the hearts of all Primates of the Anglican Communion,
a holy fear
that they may love you and your Word
more than the approval of men;this we ask through our only Mediator and Head of the Church,
Jesus Christ,
who evermore lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit.Amen.”
– from GAFCON.
GAFCON preview of the Primates’ Meeting
“Archbishop Justin Welby has called the Primates of the Anglican Communion to meet in Canterbury 11th-16th January to find a way to resolve the spiritual and moral crisis that has beset the Communion throughout the opening years of the twenty first century.
This is a courageous initiative and the GAFCON Primates will attend in the hope that Archbishop Welby will, like them, stand firm to guard the gospel we love, knowing that we cannot rewrite the Bible to suit the spirit of a secular age.
Many orthodox Primates did not attend the last Primates Meeting in 2011 under the chairmanship of his predecessor, Rowan Williams. They were not prepared to share in fellowship with provinces like The Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) which had rejected the clear teaching of Scripture and the collegial mind of previous Primates Meetings and the Lambeth Conference 1998 by pressing ahead with the blessing of same sex unions and ordaining those in such relationships.
This time, GAFCON and the other orthodox Primates are willing to attend, but they know that after many years of debate, action is needed to restore the spiritual and doctrinal integrity of the Communion they care for so deeply. They are clear that their continued presence will depend upon action by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a majority of the Primates to ensure that participation in the Anglican Communion is governed by robust commitments to biblical teaching and morality.
It has been suggested that the way forward is for the Anglican Communion to abandon the idea that there should be mutual recognition between the provinces and that it should instead find its unity simply in a common relationship with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
This is not historic Anglicanism; the See of Canterbury is honoured and respected as the Mother Church of the Communion, but the unity of the Communion does not depend upon the Archbishop of Canterbury. Rather, it depends upon the various provinces being able to recognize each other, with all their differences of culture, as truly apostolic and committed to the faith as it has been received. Tragically, that recognition has now broken down and affection for Canterbury is no substitute. As the GAFCON movement affirmed in the Jerusalem Declaration of 2008,
‘While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury’.
The Anglican Communion is in danger of losing the gospel of God’s costly grace to us sinners for the poor substitute of cheap grace which makes us comfortable but can neither save nor transform. The choice before the Primates as they gather in Canterbury is whether they will recognize this reality and take the difficult but necessary action to restore the bible to its central place in the life of the Communion, or whether they will accept a merely cosmetic solution which will see it increasingly taken captive by the dominant secular culture of the West.”
– From the GAFCON website.
‘The spinning has started against orthodox Anglican archbishops’
“…there is a danger that if the Archbishop of Canterbury’s meeting of global Anglican archbishops next week goes south, orthodox leaders could find themselves on the end of some New Labour-style spinning.
It appears to have already started…”
– The Rev. Julian Mann writes at The Conservative Woman. Let’s hope this is not so. Thanks to Anglican Mainstream for the link.
Possibly related: What can we learn from Jesus’s hospitality? – on the Primates 2016 website. (Logo courtesy of the Anglican Communion Office.)
‘Church ‘should repent’ over treatment of gay Anglicans’
“More than 100 senior Anglicans have signed an open letter calling on the Church of England to repent on its treatment of lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians.”
– More pressure on Archbishop Welby ahead of the Primates’ Meeting. And even more reason to pray for all at that gathering. Report from BBC News. (Image: BBC.)
A reminder of what is at stake at the Primates’ meeting
In March 2015, GAFCON General Secretary Archbishop Peter Jensen gave the Richard B. Gaffin Lecture at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
His topic was “Beginning in Jerusalem: The Theological Significance of the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference”. You can watch it on Vimeo.
Dr. Jensen explains the reasons for the formation of GAFCON, giving a glimpse of the pain involved, and the strong gospel hope for the future.
This is a sobering encouragement to watch, and is very helpful background for understanding why the GAFCON Primates are not likely to compromise at next week’s meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
See also:
GAFCON Final Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration – 29 June 2008.
The Jerusalem Declaration formatted as a PDF file.
The Anglican Communion is at a Crossroads– GAFCON website.
Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, Primate of Uganda, Pastoral Message – January 2016.
Canadian Primate calls for prayer and talks up unity
“The primates need to address openly and honestly the tensions in our common life. We need to confess any and all ‘…uncharitable thoughts towards our neighbours and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us’ (Litany of Penitence for Ash Wednesday, p 284, Book of Alternative Services).
We need to hear afresh St. Paul’s appeal to be reconciled in Christ and to devote ourselves to that work however hard it may be, and however long it may take. We need to be eager in renewing the bonds of affection that draw us together in mission.”
– Primate of Canada, Fred Hiltz, is talking up ‘unity’ when it is the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church of the USA which have torn the fabric of the Anglican Communion. (e.g see The Episcopal Church: Tearing the Fabric of Communion to Shreds, 2012 edition – PDF file.) And observers may ask which mission is on view in the Archbishop’s call.
The Anglican Communion Office’s new Primates 2016 website revieals Roman Catholic philosopher and advocate, Jean Vanier has been invited to address the Primates’ meeting.
This is in addition to a sixth century artefact being sent from Rome for the gathering.
ACNA Archbishop sees ‘no easy answers without repentance and Gospel Truth’
Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, Dr. Foley Beach, writes asking for prayers ahead of the crucial Primates’ Meeting in Canterbury next week –
“I see no easy answers without repentance and Gospel Truth. Pray for wisdom. Pray for confidence in the Truth of God. Pray for boldness. Pray for humility. Pray for repentance. Pray for healing.
What is at stake? It is really not about me or about the Anglican Church in North America. It is the reputation of Jesus Christ. It is the souls of millions of people who are being taught a false Gospel and are being led into spiritual and sexual bondage under the pretense of the Christian Faith.”
Crisis in the Anglican Communion: recent history and potential outcomes
“GAFCON presents itself not as an alternative, breakaway Anglican Communion, but as the majority of the Anglican Communion, committed to renewing worldwide Anglicanism based on united confession of Christ and adherence to the Bible and the historic formularies, and necessarily rejecting revisionist doctrine and practice.
They are calling on Archbishop Justin to exercise leadership, and re-commit the Anglican Communion to a clear orthodox theology and practice as a basis for united mission in the world…”
– Anglican Mainstream’s Andrew Symes pens an overview of where the Anglican Communion stands, how we came to this point, and possible outcomes to next week’s Primates’ Meeting called by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Background reading:
- When to make a stand – Dr Mark Thompson (PDF, 2015)
- The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns – Dr Mark Thompson (2008)
- The Limits of Fellowship – Phillip Jensen (2008)
- A Crisis in Koinonia – David Short, Rector of St. John’s Vancouver (2004)
– all from our Resources section.
We urge all our readers to pray for a Christ-honouring outcome to the Primates’ Meeting.
And from The Anglican Mission in England:
“AMiE would like to welcome the GAFCON Primates to England for the Primates’ meetings in Canterbury, 11-15 January, and assure them (and the other Primates) of our prayers for this significant meeting.
We are grateful to the GAFCON Primates for their support of our work in England as well as recognising the Anglican Mission in England ‘as an authentic expression of authentic Anglicanism both for those within and outside the Church of England‘ (Nairobi Commitment 5).
Along with others we are encouraging all AMiE supporters to pray for Archbishop Justin Welby, the Primates and for a God-glorifying outcome to their meetings.”
Must Canterbury Fall?
“The current power struggle is about redefining and recasting the faith of the historic Anglican Communion. …
The Episcopal Church has tried to occupy that centre of influence in order to shape the communion according to its vision of the Christian faith, untethered from the authority of scripture. Canterbury under the previous leadership allowed TEC space and even support with its Communion Changing agenda.”
– With the Primates’ meeting just days away, Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden write this opinion piece (also published at Anglican Mainstream) in The Church of England Newspaper. They appear to take a more optimistic view of Canterbury than many. Time will tell.
Pastoral Message and Call to Prayer from the Primate of Uganda
The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, has sent this Pastoral Message and Call to Prayer to all the leaders in his Church.
He addresses the coming Ugandan elections, and also next week’s Primates’ gathering called by the Archbishop of Canterbury –
“The Archbishop of Canterbury understands that the first topic of conversation in the ‘gathering’ of Primates is the restoration of godly order in the Anglican Communion. This is the unfinished business from the non-implemented, but unanimously agreed, Communique from the 2007 Primates Meeting in Dar es Salaam…”
– Read it all at the GAFCON website. (Photo credit: Diocese of Bristol.)
Archbishop Welby requests prayer for Primates’ Meeting
“The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is asking people to pray for the Primates of the Anglican Communion who will be meeting in Canterbury on 11-16 January 2016. The leaders of the 38 Anglican provinces will be at the gathering, which was called by Archbishop Justin Welby in September last year. …
The agenda will be set by common agreement with all Primates. It is likely to include the issues of religiously-motivated violence, the protection of children and vulnerable adults, the environment, and human sexuality.”
– Report from the Anglican Communion News Service.
The meeting just might also address faithfulness to Christ and obedience to his word.
See also: The Anglican Communion is at a Crossroads – from Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council,
“The Archbishop of Canterbury has called together all the Primates of the Anglican Communion for a meeting in Canterbury 11th – 16th January 2016 which we believe will be decisive for the future of the Communion. …
Will Christ rule our life and witness through His word, or will our life and witness be conformed to the global ambitions of a secular culture?
This was the reason GAFCON was formed in 2008: to renew a Communion in crisis, drifting from biblical truth. While the presenting issue was human sexuality, this was really just one symptom of a deeper challenge, the emergence of a false gospel which rejects the core Anglican commitment to the truth and authority of the Bible.
GAFCON works to make this fundamental issue of biblical truth clear to Anglicans everywhere so that, equipped by God’s word and empowered by His Spirit, we can live under the lordship of Christ and make him known as Lord and Saviour to a world in desperate need of Him.
The GAFCON Primates will attend the Canterbury meeting, but they are clear that their continued presence will depend upon action by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a majority of the Primates to ensure that participation in the Anglican Communion is governed by robust commitments to biblical teaching and morality.” (emphasis added)
From the Vault: Are we stronger then He?
Guard what you love
Here’s a short introduction to GAFCON.
Archbishop Wabukala writes to GAFCON clergy
GAFCON Chairman, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala has written to GAFCON clergy concerning the Primates’ gathering in January –
“Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray you will take a moment to read this important message.
As those who are ordained, we have a special responsibility to care for the people of God. In the foundational liturgy of our Communion, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer described this work as being that of messengers, watchmen and stewards of the Lord.
For many of us that calling is becoming harder as we face the challenges of a compromised church and an increasingly hostile culture. GAFCON was formed in 2008 to enable faithful gospel ministry to survive and thrive in today’s world as we stand united in our testimony to the truth of God’s Word.
Sadly, that truth continues to be called into question in the Anglican Communion and I am writing to invite you to partner with us as a decisive moment approaches. …”
– Read the full letter here via Anglican Ink.
See also: The Anglican Communion is at a Crossroads (on GAFCON’s updated website).
Update: Archbishop Wabukala has also issued this GAFCON Chairman’s Christmas Pastoral Letter, 2015.
(Archbishop Wabukala welcomes Archbishop Welby to Nairobi’s All Saints Cathedral in this 2013 photo by Russell Powell.)
Archbishop Welby — Why I am a Christian
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, writes on FaceBook:
“People often ask me why I’m a Christian. Here’s what I tell them.
I’m a Christian because Jesus Christ found me and called me, around 40 years ago…”
– Read his full post here.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…