Statement from Lambeth Palace, 21 April 2023

“Responding to ‘The Kigali Commitment’ issued by GAFCON IV today, a spokesperson for Lambeth Palace said:

‘We note that The Kigali Commitment issued by GAFCON IV today makes many of the same points that have previously been made about the structures of the Anglican Communion. As the Archbishop of Canterbury has previously said, those structures are always able to change with the times – and have done so in the past. The Archbishop said at the recent Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Ghana (ACC-18) that no changes to the formal structures of the Anglican Communion can be made unless they are agreed upon by the Instruments of Communion.’ …” (emphasis added)

– Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.

And from the GAFCON IV Kigali Commitment, representing perhaps 85% of global Anglicans:

“Public statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other leaders of the Church of England in support of same-sex blessings are a betrayal of their ordination and consecration vows to banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture. …

We have no confidence that the Archbishop of Canterbury nor the other Instruments of Communion led by him (the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meetings) are able to provide a godly way forward that will be acceptable to those who are committed to the truthfulness, clarity, sufficiency and authority of Scripture. The Instruments of Communion have failed to maintain true communion based on the Word of God and shared faith in Christ.

All four Instruments propose that the way ahead for the Anglican Communion is to learn to walk together in ‘good disagreement’. However we reject the claim that two contradictory positions can both be valid in matters affecting salvation. We cannot ‘walk together’ in good disagreement with those who have deliberately chosen to walk away from the ‘faith once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3). The people of God ’walk in his ways’, ‘walk in the truth’, and ‘walk in the light’, all of which require that we do not walk in Christian fellowship with those in darkness (Deuteronomy 8:6; 2 John 4; 1 John 1:7).

Successive Archbishops of Canterbury have failed to guard the faith by inviting bishops to Lambeth who have embraced or promoted practices contrary to Scripture. This failure of church discipline has been compounded by the current Archbishop of Canterbury who has himself welcomed the provision of liturgical resources to bless these practices contrary to Scripture. This renders his leadership role in the Anglican Communion entirely indefensible. …” (emphasis added)

Great Encouragement — yet much Grief that this is needed

Dominic Steele and the team in Kigali have posted a number reactions to the Kigali Commitment.

Do watch them here to understand something of the sadness and pain in this moment, as well as the encouragement to stand firm in Christ.

Interviewees include (not in order) –

* Michael Stead, Statement Committee Chair
* Richard Coekin, Co-Mission Network, London
* Jay Behan, New Zealand Bishop
* Lee Gatiss, UK Church Society Director
* Andy Lines, Bishop for Anglican Network in Europe
* Julian Dodds, USA Bishop
* Vaughan Roberts, Minister of St Ebbes Oxford
* William Taylor, Minister of St Helens London
* Matt and Anne Kennedy, Binghamton New York
* Pete Smith & Jennifer Hercott, Gafcon Australia
* Bill Atwood, Regional Secretary for the Americas
* Rico Tice, Christianity Explored
* Jonathan Pryke, Jesmond Parish Church, Newcastle upon Tyne
* Trevor Johnson, Tim Anderson, Ireland

Photo: William Taylor and Vaughan Roberts speak of their great encouragement at the release of the Kigali Commitment – as well as their sadness and grief that this is needed.

60 Days of Prayer for the Church

Church Society in the UK has been promoting “Sixty Days of Prayer for the Church“.

“Church Society is calling us to 60 days of prayer for the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion. The Church of England is teetering on the precipice of grave doctrinal error and pastoral disaster. The potential implications will be felt across the Anglican Communion, with many provinces having already made it clear that they cannot continue in fellowship with the Church of England. The situation is extremely serious, and what we most need is to call on the Lord.

For several years, at Church Society, we have made weekday posts throughout Lent on a number of theological, biblical and pastoral themes.

This year, however, it seemed appropriate to use this time to call the church to prayer. The collects of the Anglican church are intended to gather up the thoughts of the people into short, clear prayers, and so we will be using these as the basis for our prayers.

Each day we will be posting a selected collect along with some thoughts about its significance for the contemporary church, and we hope that these will prompt your own prayers.

The sixty days begin on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd, and finish at the end of the GAFCON meeting in Kigali, on April 21st.

Please join us for this important season of prayer.”

It’s not too late to join in prayer. You can see each of the daily posts at the Church Society website.

Today’s post: Withstand the world, the flesh and the devil, by Sandy Grant, is a reflection on the collect for the eighteenth Sunday after Trinity –

“Almighty God,
grant your people grace
to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.”

and Stephen Tong wrote this post on the collect for the fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.

CofE & King Charles at odds over ‘other’ faiths at Coronation

“In an article printed [in] Daily Mail, King Charles has reportedly been in a dispute with Church leaders over the extent to which non-Christian faiths should participate in his upcoming Coronation ceremony. …”

– Kevin Kallsen reports at Anglican.Ink.

New Principal for Oak Hill College

The Rev. Dr James Robson has been announced as the next Principal of Oak Hill College in London after the news, last month, that Johnny Juckes had decided to step down from the position.

Announcement from Oak Hill College – photo from Keswick Ministries.

A new deanery chapter for the City of London

As foreshadowed by William Taylor and others, the abandonment of the authority of Scripture by the Church of England’s House of Bishops is having repercussions for relationships between Bible-believing churches and their heterodox bishops.

The latest from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate:

“After the House of Bishops’ recent departure from the Bible’s teaching on marriage and sexuality, new leadership structures are needed.

A new Church of England City deanery chapter has been formed and is taking 5 steps to promote ongoing healthy Church of England ministry.

Here’s an update from St Nick’s and St Botolph’s.”

Watch the four minute video here.

According to Christian Today, “The deanery chapter held its first meeting in the City of London on Monday, attended by 10 clergy.”

Members of the new deanery have decided to take five steps – here’s a rough transcript from the video:

First, to meet together regularly and to invite all clergy in the city of London who are all clergy … who are compelled to resist all episcopal leadership from the House of Bishops on the grounds that their proposed Prayers of Love and Faith undermine the Church of England’s doctrine of marriage such that we can no longer walk in Partnership together.

Second, the meeting elected an acting Area Dean.

Third, some training curates in our deanery have felt forced to pause their post-ordination training. We therefore decided as a chapter that we will aim to provide necessary and equivalent ongoing training for these individuals.

Fourth, we acknowledge that there is an urgent matter relating to the selection of candidates who want to pursue Church of England ministry but are unable to apply because of the House of Bishops’ recent departure from faithful Biblical teaching. Therefore senior leadership from the churches within this deanery chapter will nominate a group of people who can select new prospective ordinands.

Fifth, there is also an urgent matter relating to the deployment of current Church of England ordinands who are hoping to get ordained this summer. We know that many because of conscience are unable to be ordained by the diocesan bishop or any bishop acting on her behalf. Therefore senior leadership from the churches within this deanery chapter will commission these individuals so that they are enabled to work within Church of England churches until such a time that their ordinations can take place.

Do pray for all who seek to be faithful to God’s word in the Church of England.

“Not Just Us – Not Just Now” – Lessons from New Zealand

“As faithful Anglicans in the Church of England consider how best to respond to the proposed Prayers of Love and Faith, there is much to learn from brothers and sisters in New Zealand. Not least because it was the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (ACANZP) that was, according to the answer to Q177 at the February 2023 General Synod, “The example that [CofE] bishops considered in some more depth during their residential meetings.”

In a letter to his diocese, Bishop Jay Behan, of the Church of Confessing Anglicans, Aotearoa, New Zealand (CCAANZ), wrote recently …”

– Read the excerpts from Jay Behan’s letter, and his calls to prayer, at Anglican Futures.

Photo: Bishop Behan addresses the congregation at his service of consecration in Christchurch in October 2019.

Church of England Ordinands ask for Alternative Episcopal Oversight

Published by Anglican Mainstream:

“By A Group Of Ordinands Currently In Training.

During the debate on Living in Love and Faith at General Synod in February, the Archbishop of York spoke about the need for some settled way of ensuring that everyone has a place within the Church of England.

We agree wholeheartedly, and fully support the campaign by the Church of England Evangelical Council for a settlement that will enable those like us who cannot accept the recent proposals from the House of Bishops to remain in the Church of England by establishing necessary visible differentiation from those who support their use.

However, any such settlement is likely to take years of painstaking negotiation. Therefore, it offers no immediate solution for ordinands due to be ordained as deacons and priests in the near future. For this reason, we have written this short statement to raise awareness of our situation and to call on bishops to provide a temporary solution while we await a long-term one. …”

– Read it all here.

Motion putting pressure on Church of England passed by MPs

“Yesterday, Ben Bradshaw MP’s ‘ten minute rule motion’ aimed at forcing the Church of England to conduct same-sex marriages was passed by the House of Commons without a vote.

The motion does not change the law. But it sends a message that some politicians are becoming increasingly willing to compel acceptance of same-sex marriage on those who disagree. …”

– Report from Coalition for Marriage in the UK.

Why we are compelled to resist — CEEC

The Church of England Evangelical Council has released a declaration and invites members of the Church of England to signify their assent:

“The Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process and resources have enabled us, as the Church of England, to explore our different understandings of sex, marriage and relationships and, assisted by the Pastoral Principles, become better at the “good disagreement” that many have called for.  …

While we recognise and respect the desire of the bishops to find a way forward, which will hold the Church together, we believe that their proposed draft Prayers of Love and Faith cannot do this. This is because they – and further changes some are calling for in the bishops’ revised pastoral guidance to replace Issues in Human Sexuality – do not keep faith with our biblical inheritance and the doctrine of the Church of England on marriage shared with the wider Anglican Communion as expressed in Lambeth 1.10. …”

– Read it all here.

Bill to allow same-sex marriage in Church of England to be tabled

“An MP will seek to introduce a bill next week to permit same-sex marriages to be performed by willing Church of England clergy.

UK law currently prevents its clergy from carrying out same-sex marriages even if they wish to. …”

– More pressure on the Church of England. Story from The National Secular Society.

Key English churches take action as C of E ‘walks away’

“Some of the largest churches in London and Oxford have announced estrangement from the Church of England, including a pause on paying financial contributions.

St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, a large evangelical church with an outreach in London’s financial quarter, was the first to react to the decision by the General Synod to approve a report by the House of Bishops that introduces prayers of blessing for same-sex couples. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell summarises the response of key evangelical churches in the Church of England – including the news that St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford is also pausing financial contributions to their diocese.

See also:

A response from Vaughan Roberts – Anglican Ink.

Hold your horses

“A few days ago I was at Wycliffe Hall, speaking to some Anglican ordinands about why everyone should do rural ministry. Unsurprisingly the conversation soon turned to LLF, and that General Synod vote. Since I am a member of Synod, I was quizzed about what had happened. After a bit, one student asked me, “Given what’s happened, how can you be so upbeat”? …

I don’t think I have seen such a strong, broad and deep evangelical unity in the Church of England as I see now. It often takes an emergency to bring a group together, and that is precisely what has happened.”

– At Church Society’s blog, Church Society Regional Director the Rev Dr Chris Moore argues that ‘this is the time to stand up, not to walk away’.

Photo: Diocese of Hereford.

Related:

Thirty years ago, the Rev John Richardson travelled from the UK to study short-term at Moore College. (This was before the rejuvenation of Oak Hill College in London.)

While in Sydney, he wrote an article which was published in the ACL’s newsletter. (UK Evangelicalism: Optimistic? – PDF version)

At the time, he was not optimistic about the future of Evangelicalism in the Church of England, and argued that strong evangelical leadership was needed –

“You cannot head off a stampede by calling the cows to come back. If the present debacle in English Evangelicalism is to be arrested it will require people of courage and vision who are prepared to go out ahead of the herd, to kick, to shout and to make a noise, so that those who are genuinely Christian, but who are so much like sheep without a shepherd, may be brought back to the good pastures.”

Do continue to pray for evangelical clergy in the Church of England, that they would be given great wisdom by the Lord.

And do pray that the new evangelical unity of which Dr Moore speaks will be effective for the gospel.

Has the listening process of LLF now broken down?

In a letter to Church Times, The Rev James Paice (pictured) asks, “One wonders: has the listening process of LLF now broken down?”

He writes in response to a Church Times report (‘London conservatives look for support from breakaway Anglicans’), published on 1st March 2023, regarding the Bishop of London’s response to a large gathering with clergy –

“The Church Times understands that the London bishops held a two-hour meeting on Thursday evening of last week in St James Garlickhythe, which was attended by between 150 and 200 members of the clergy, many of whom were concerned about the Bishops’ proposals on same-sex blessings. …”

The report references a statement from the Diocese of London, effectively claiming that nothing has really changed.

Anglican Mainstream has published the letter by James Paice – read it here.

Earlier:

GAFCON press release 9th March 2023

Press release, 09 March 2023

“Many Anglicans across the world are deeply distressed by the Church of England’s recent decision to separate from the historic faith through the creation and implementation of prayers of blessing for same-sex marriages.

Several churches and Provinces within the Anglican Communion are considering their future with respect to the Church of England. The Primates of The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (who represent the majority of the world’s worshipping Anglicans) have already declared that they are in impaired communion with the Church of England and said that they do not recognise the present Archbishop of Canterbury as the “first among equals” leader of the global Anglican Communion.

The Gafcon Movement is a global family of authentic Anglicans standing together to proclaim the unchanging truth of the Bible in a changing world, and to support those who wish to remain Anglican but feel they are no longer able to sit under the authority of their Bishop or Diocese.

On 20 February 2023 the Gafcon Primates endorsed the statement released by the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans pointing to Paragraph 13 of the Jerusalem Declaration (2008) which says: ‘We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed’.

In a number of countries around the world (including Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, the United States, and Wales), Gafcon has supported the establishment of alternative episcopal oversight for those Anglicans who in good conscience cannot remain part of their provincial Anglican Church.

Presently, the Gafcon Primates are meeting regularly with the Primates of The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches and other Orthodox Primates across the world to discern the path forward. The outcome of these meetings will affect the majority of the 85 million Anglicans worldwide.

Gafcon will not be commenting on the content of these meetings while they are ongoing but will be releasing a statement at the end of the upcoming GAFCON IV Conference to be held from 17-21 April in Kigali, Rwanda.”

← Previous Page — Next Page →