Anglican Unscripted 755 – A New Diocese

In the very latest Anglican Unscripted video, David Ould speaks with GAFCON Australia Chairman Bishop Richard Condie and Dr Glenn Davies, today (Thursday 18 August) to be commissioned as the first Bishop of the new Diocese of the Southern Cross.

Bishop Davies:

“So this diocese is like a lifeboat – a safe refuge a safe haven – for people who want to remain Anglican but not under the current Anglican structure in the Anglican Church of Australia.

I love the Anglican Church of Australia. I’ve been a member of that all my life. But to see it in this disarray is very sad.

So, it’s not a triumphalist feeling I have with regard to this. Rather, it is a sense of sadness – but joy for those who want to remain Anglican – that I may, with the gifts that God’s given me, maintain that relationship for these congregations.”

He also asks us to pray that the evil one will be restrained.

“But let our focus be on spreading the good news of the gospel to all Australia. That’s what we’re all about. We want to be faithful disciples of Jesus and proclaim Christ faithfully to our nation.”

Watch it all. 9 minutes.

Southern Cross: The New Anglican Diocese

“This week over 350 Anglicans from around Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu, are gathering in Canberra for the Gafcon Australasia Conference. The conference had been postponed from previous years due to COVID but, in God’s wisdom and providence, it has come at just the right time.

The conference opened with the announcement of the establishment of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, an extra-provincial Anglican diocese in fellowship with the majority of the world’s Anglicans through the Primates’ Council of the global Gafcon network. The conference will close with the commissioning of former Sydney Archbishop, Dr Glenn Davies as the Initial Bishop for the diocese. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Dr Claire Smith explains the reasons behind the formation of the new diocese.

Diocese of The Southern Cross

Here’s the website for the just-launched Diocese of the Southern Cross.

“We’re a new Anglican diocese made up of churches all across Australia dedicated to faithfully proclaiming the gospel. Sometimes, that can feel a little isolating – but we’re here as a network to provide fellowship, assistance and recognition to you and your church. As part of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, you’ll find home.”

An Anglican lifeboat for faithful Christians

An announcement from GAFCON Australia:

We are at an important moment in the history of the Anglican Church in Australia,” says Richard Condie, Chair of Gafcon Australia.

This week, over 350 Anglicans from around Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu are gathering in Canberra for the inaugural Gafcon Australasia Conference to encourage one another to continue proclaiming Christ faithfully.

As part of the conference proceedings, the Diocese of the Southern Cross will be formally announced. “The Diocese of the Southern Cross is a new structure for Anglicans in Australia who can no longer sit under the authority of their bishop,” says Richard Condie.

Bishop Glenn Davies will be the first Bishop of the Diocese. Already, its first church, Southern Cross Anglican Beenleigh and Logan, has met under the leadership of the Rev Peter Palmer.

At the recent General Synod, a majority of bishops were unable to uphold the Bible’s ancient teaching on marriage and sexual ethics. Many Anglicans in Australia are distressed by their failure and the moves in their own dioceses to lower the standards of sexual ethics for leaders.

At the recent Lambeth conference, The Bishops of the Global South said,

“To us in our provinces, this is not primarily about gay sexual practices and unions, but rather that Anglicans look first and foremost to be guided in their faith and order by Scripture, and not by the passing cultural waves of Western society … as disciples, we are not told in Scripture to mould Jesus into ‘our’ image, but to be continually transformed by the Spirit into ‘His’ image.” 

“The issue for us is the authority of the Bible,” says Richard Condie. “The decisions at the recent General Synod, the 2020 Appellate Tribunal opinion that opens the way to blessings for same-sex marriages, and the watering down of standards of behaviour in changes to Faithfulness in Service are examples of this. The Diocese of the Southern Cross provides an Anglican home for those who feel they need to leave their current Dioceses.”

We long to see all Australians come to know the love of Christ. This love of Christ cannot be known unless our witness is faithful and clear.

This Diocese is connected to the Gafcon movement internationally. Gafcon stands for the renewal and reform of the Anglican church by recovering its biblical foundations. It embraces the majority of the world’s worshipping Anglicans.

– Source: GAFCON Australia.

See also:

New Mission initiative for the Global Anglican future – SydneyAnglicans.net.

Sydney Archbishop Kanishka Raffel was among the first leaders that support the new diocese. “I’m happy to extend the hand of fellowship to the Diocese of the Southern Cross and may God bless Bishop Davies and his work.”

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