Archbishop Ben Kwashi GAFCON IV

Archbishop Ben Kwashi has this brief message of encouragement for all who are going to GAFCON IV – a great reminder for us all to pray for the gathering.

A Celtic Blessing — Bishop Stuart Bell consecrated for Anglican Convocation in Europe

In a service with a distinctive Welsh flavour, including harpists, songs, prayers and Bible readings in Welsh, Stuart Bell was consecrated on Saturday 18 March as bishop to serve within the Anglican Convocation in Europe (ACE).

Led by Archbishop Foley Beach representing the Gafcon Primates, and Bishop Andy Lines, the Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Network in Europe, the service marked a significant moment in the history of the Principality.

Stuart will assist Bishop Andy Lines in providing support and encouragement, oversight and accountability for ACE clergy and congregations within Wales. His consecration represents the continuing provision by the global Anglican family of a home for those seeking to remain faithful to the Biblical gospel of Jesus Christ and uphold historic, orthodox, biblical, confessional Anglicanism.

In his sermon, Archbishop Foley emphasised that the ministry of a bishop is to ensure the message of the church remains the message of Jesus, by teaching the Word of God, defending the faith and proclaiming Jesus boldly and unashamedly.

Asked about Stuart’s consecration, Archbishop Foley said, “It will now give the people of Wales a godly and faithful bishop who upholds the theology and moral teaching of the Bible and our Anglican tradition.”

Stuart himself reflected, “It seems to me that this a twofold testimony. A testimony as orthodox Anglicans in Wales to the Biblical gospel of Jesus Christ which is our responsibility to faithfully present to all who will receive it; and, sadly, a testimony specifically against the Church in Wales which has stepped away from that Biblical gospel.”

In his greeting to the congregation Stuart publicly re-affirmed three life-time commitments: “Firstly to Jesus Christ as my Lord and myself as his disciple. Secondly to the Scriptures as recorded in the Bible, to believe them, to trust them, to seek to live them, and to preach them faithfully. Thirdly, I re-affirm my commitment to Wales, to commend Christ to Wales and to seek to bring Wales to Christ… until my last breath.”

– Spurce: The Anglican Convocation in Europe.

Praying for GAFCON IV preparations

Today’s prayer request from GAFCON:

“GAFCON IV, April 17-21, Kigali, Rwanda is taking place at a very significant moment in the Anglican Communion.

Pray for all the contributors to be able to prepare well in their area of the programme.”

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.

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.”

Would John Stott have continued on as an Anglican?

“One of the largest evangelical Anglican churches in the UK, St Helen’s Bishopsgate, recently announced that it will no longer accept episcopal oversight from the Church of England’s House of Bishops.

This comes as a result of the General Synod’s decision to bless couples who are in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership. …

The current context raises the question of whether the late John Stott, the famous Anglican evangelical stalwart, would have himself continued to remained.

In 1966 Stott and Martyn Lloyd-Jones had a confrontation which many regarded as a dispute over whether it was time for evangelicals to withdraw from the Anglican communion. For Lloyd-Jones the time was now, but for the Stott the response was not yet. …”

– Presbyterian Mark Powell asks the question. We suspect the answer to the hypothetical question in the title would be, “Yes. And aligned with GAFCON.”

William Taylor: The Bishops have chosen to walk apart – but others stand with us

William Taylor, Rector of St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, has made an important announcement – and he speaks with the support of Anglican bishops worldwide including

Kanishka Raffel, Archbishop of Sydney;
Foley Beach, Primate of North America and GAFCON Primates Council Chairman;
Jay Behan, Bishop of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand;
Glenn Lyons, Presiding Bishop of REACH South Africa.

– See William Taylor’s announcement and the messages of support from these Anglican leaders.

Praying for Nigeria

GAFCON’s prayer focus for today –

“Let us join with Christians in Nigeria praying for the elections on February 25.

These elections are for the President and Vice-President, and to the National Assembly.

Pray for peaceful balloting and for the election of a leader who can work effectively for the good of the whole country.”

Related:

What the Church of Nigeria expects of political parties and candidates.

Source: Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion.

Church of England departs historic Christian faith – with Archbishop Justin Badi

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“12 Primates of the Global South Provinces have issued a statement saying ‘The Church of England has departed from the historic faith, passed down from the Apostles.’

The Primates – who are all national leaders within the denomination – say that the Church of England has disqualified herself from leading the Anglican Communion.

They say the Church of England has chosen to break communion with those provinces who remain faithful to the historic biblical faith.

The Chair of Global South, Archbishop Justin Badi of South Sudan, says they are withdrawing support for Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who has led his House of Bishops to make recommendations that run contrary to the faith & order of the orthodox provinces in the communion.”

– Watch or listen here.

Bishop Alfred Olwa on what the Anglican Communion needs

From The American Anglican Council:

“During his trip to Uganda to be with the leaders of the Church of Uganda, Canon Phil [Ashey] got to sit down with Bishop Alfred Olwa about the work of Gospel ministry in Uganda, the Global Communion and the fighting against false teaching, and how to move forward in faith for the sake of the world.”

– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey speaks with Bishop Alfred Olwa.

He expresses hopes for closer fellowship between GAFCON and the Global South and is looking forward to GAFCON IV in Kigali. (Bishop Olwa is well-known by many in Sydney after his time at Moore Theological College.)

Image: Bishop Olwa speaking at GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem.

What next for the Anglican Communion & Church of England – with Dr Peter Jensen

In this week’s The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele speaks with Dr Peter Jensen, former General Secretary of the GAFCON movement and former Archbishop of Sydney.

There is deep sadness over what has happened.

“This has been, and is, the decisive moment,” he says.

Watch or listen here.

Mentioned in the conversation is the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Acra, Ghana. Here are videos of

  1. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Presidential Address.
  2. The opening Press Conference.

Sydney Diocese response to the Church of England General Synod’s decision

Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney
Media Statement
UK Synod rejects the clear teaching of the Bible

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, has described the decision of the Church of England General Synod to offer prayers of blessing to couples in same-sex marriages and civil partnerships as a rejection of biblical teaching.

“In adopting these proposals, the UK General Synod has rejected the clear teaching of Scripture that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and that sexual activity outside the context of marriage is sin.” the Archbishop said.

Archbishop Raffel cited the Global Anglican Fellowship (Gafcon) and the Global South Fellowship, two international groups which he said, “not only represent the vast majority of the world’s Anglicans, but also the historic, universal and apostolic teaching of the bible.”

“Last year, when the 24 diocesan bishops of the Australian General Synod failed to affirm the bible’s teaching on marriage and sexuality, I said that they had left the Australian Anglican Church in a ‘perilous’ state. Today, statements from both Gafcon and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans have made the same assessment of the impact of the Church of England’s decision on the Anglican Communion. I agree with that assessment.”

“Nevertheless, it is reason for thanksgiving that where some Anglican provinces have departed from Scripture’s teaching in these matters, faithful brothers and sisters have stood for the trustworthiness, goodness and authority of Scripture. This was certainly true in the UK General Synod debate.”

“It is the opposite of loving care for people to deny, distort or downplay the life-giving truth of Scripture on matters of vital importance to understanding ourselves and God’s good plans for our lives, including matters of human sexuality and marriage. We must lament the decision of the Church of England General Synod.”

“God’s people are called to honour all people, and humbly, prayerfully and faithfully to hold out to all, the teaching of Jesus as words of eternal life. With God’s help, we will continue to do so.”

Kanishka Raffel
Archbishop of Sydney
February 10, 2023

Source: Diocese of Sydney.

Gafcon Press Release in response to Church of England General Synod Vote

Archbishop Foley Beach, Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council, has strong words about the leadership of the Church of England:

“It is time for the Primate of All England to step down from his role as ‘first among equals’ in leading the Anglican Communion. It is now time for the Primates of the Anglican Communion to choose for themselves their “first among equals” rather than having a secular government of only one nation appoint our leader. We are no longer colonies of Great Britain.”

Full statement below:

10 February 2023

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the Name of God our Father and His Son our Lord Jesus Christ!

Blessings to you as you behold the beauty of the Lord and his immense truth and grace on display through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul so eloquently writes, ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”’ (Rom 1:16-17).

The decision taken today by the General Synod of the Church of England and the explanations given are clear indications that the Church of England is moving a step at a time to fully accept the practice of homosexuality as part of the life and practice of the English Church. To some of us who have been hoping that the Church would remain with her distinctive identity from those who don’t believe the teaching of Scripture, this hope is diminishing.

We have lived through this with other Western Anglican Provinces that continually wavered on the ‘faith once delivered’ (Jude 3) and now outright deny the doctrine of biblical anthropology regarding gender identity and moral behavior. Those in the secular press and culture will argue that these are matters of justice, but God’s justice can never contradict God’s righteousness, and we know these changes attack the very core of biblical authority. Have the Scriptures been clear on human sexuality through the centuries? Yes, they have. The majority of Anglicans around the world have concluded the same. And yet, now, the Church of England has authorized the blessing of sin and declared that sin is no longer sin.

From Lambeth Conference 1998 (and its overwhelming endorsement of Resolution I:10), following the Kuala Lumpur Statement in 1997, to Dar Es Salaam in 2007, to the Jerusalem Declaration at GAFCON 2008, to the Nairobi Communique at GAFCON II 2013, and the Letter to the Churches at GAFCON III 2018, we have remained resolute in speaking both the truth of Christian witness on matters of practice and ethics and calling the Anglican Communion Establishment to repent and return to the teaching of Scripture and the historical teaching of the Church.

This decision by the Church of England raises questions regarding the relationship of Anglican Provinces around the world with the Church of England and the continued role of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Gafcon provinces and other Global South provinces are already in impaired Communion with The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Episcopal Church of Brazil, The Scottish Episcopal Church, The Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, and the Church in Wales. We shall now have to make a decision about the Church of England.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has abrogated his fiduciary responsibility and violated his consecration vows to “banish and drive away from the Church all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to God’s Word” with his advocating this change in the Church of England. He is shredding the last remaining fragile fabric of the Anglican Communion. It is time for the Primate of All England to step down from his role as “first among equals” in leading the Anglican Communion. It is now time for the Primates of the Anglican Communion to choose for themselves their “first among equals” rather than having a secular government of only one nation appoint our leader. We are no longer colonies of Great Britain.

In 2017 the Gafcon Primates (representing more than 60 Million Anglicans worldwide) authorized the creation of a new mission into England because unbiblical practices had already been occurring in many dioceses of the Church of England. Many faithful Anglicans could no longer serve under bishops who had departed from the teaching of Scripture. We consecrated the Rev. Andy Lines to be its first Missionary Bishop, and have since constituted the Anglican Network in Europe. Last year the GAFCON Primates consecrated the Rev. Lee McMunn, the Rev. Tim Davies and the Rev. Ian Ferguson, to assist in the growing work in the United Kingdom. The Rev. Stuart Bell will be consecrated in March. We believe the Lord is raising up a biblical alternative for the Christian faithful in Great Britain.

Many in the Church of England have made faithful and courageous speeches upholding biblical teaching. We thank God for them and acknowledge their faithfulness to the Gospel, and our ongoing fellowship with and support for them. For those who are feeling alone and vulnerable during this time, please be assured of the fervent prayers of your brothers and sisters around the world. You are not alone. And you do not have to endure this alone. The Lord will guide you as you honor him and seek to follow His will.

In April the Gafcon Primates will be hosting over 1,100 participants in GAFCON IV in Kigali, Rwanda. In collaboration with the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA), we shall have more to say and do about these matters. Please come, and we’ll make room at the table for you.

On behalf of the Gafcon Primates, I am
Yours in Christ,

The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach
Chair of the Gafcon Primates Council

Download PDF version here.

A lamentable departure

Here is a Press Release from Bishop Andy Lines and his colleagues:

It is with great sadness and heaviness of heart we note the lamentable decision of the General Synod of the Church of England to depart the teaching of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church throughout history and across the world by accepting the House of Bishops’ proposals arising from the Living in Love and Faith process.

We grieve with those who have been dismayed and heartbroken by this betrayal in the abandonment of the sufficiency and supremacy of scripture which has until now been the bedrock and rule of the Church of England. We honour those who have courageously contended for orthodoxy and those who continue to hold out the biblical life-giving teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. We especially feel the pain of those who continue to make costly stands for godliness and have been abandoned by those who were meant to shepherd and protect them.

Whilst individuals will need time to prayerfully process the implications of this apostasy and to seek the Lord’s leading for their own positions and ministry, they should know ‘they are not alone and they have a home’ within the global Gafcon family; that continuing a faithful Anglican is possible and remains a good and godly expression of the gospel; and further, that the Gafcon Primates’ Council have made provision for them of faithful (alternative) episcopal oversight through the Anglican Network in Europe.

“Time will tell if this is a lampstand removing moment.”

Bishop Andy Lines (presiding Bishop of ANiE) Lee McMunn (Bishop of AMiE)
Tim Davies (Bishop of AMiE)
Ian Ferguson (Bishop of ACE)
Stuart Bell (Bishop-elect of ACE)

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