Archbishop Stanley Ntagali’s update for the Church of Uganda
Primate of Uganda, Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, posted this statement on the Church of Uganda’s website –
“I have left the meeting in Canterbury, but I want to make it clear that we are not leaving the Anglican Communion.”
Full text below:
13th January 2016
Dear Bishops, Clergy, and Lay Leaders in the Church of Uganda,
Praise the Lord! Thank you so much for your prayers for me as I traveled to Canterbury, England, for the gathering of Primates called by the Archbishop of Canterbury to address the events that caused the fabric of the Anglican Communion to be torn at its deepest level. We traveled well, and I’m writing to give you a brief update. Read more
Statement from Primates 2016 — 14 January 2016
This statement has been released via the Primates 2016 website.
“we formally acknowledge this distance by requiring that for a period of three years The Episcopal Church no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, should not be appointed or elected to an internal standing committee and that while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity.”
Full text below. Emphasis added.
________________
14 Jan 2016
Today the Primates agreed how they would walk together in the grace and love of Christ. This agreement acknowledges the significant distance that remains but confirms their unanimous commitment to walk together.
The Primates regret that it appears that this document has been leaked in advance of their communiqué tomorrow. In order to avoid speculation the document is being released in full. This agreement demonstrates the commitment of all the Primates to continue the life of the Communion with neither victor nor vanquished.
Questions and further comments will be responded to at a press conference tomorrow at 1500. Full details are available here.
The full text is as follows: Read more
GAFCON Media Release — 14 January 2016
Statement by the GAFCON Chairman, The Most Rev. Dr. Eliud Wabukala and The GAFCON General Secretary, The Most Rev. Dr. Peter Jensen
Read more
Michael Nazir-Ali on the real issue at the Primates’ Gathering in Canterbury
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight on Monday evening, UK time.
He speaks clearly about the issue being Biblical authority – on which the Anglican Communion has already agreed.
Listen via the GAFCON website. Runs for 4 minutes 15 seconds.
Continued prayer requested for Primates’ meeting
Please continue to pray for the Primates’ gathering in Canterbury.
Peter Ould, who was present in Canterbury Cathedral for Wednesday evening’s Evensong, writes,
“With barely a minute to go there were the same number of Primates as yesterday and then suddenly Foley Beach joined them and sat down. The number of Primates in the Quire then doubled as in the remaining leaders processed in full choir robes, liberals and conservatives alike.”
Here’s a prayer you could use.
George Conger, at Anglican Ink, gives his commentary:
“Gathered inside the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral the archbishops and moderators of the Anglican Communion, accompanied by translators, and a few aides, have weathered three days of intense conversation about the shape and future of the church. As of the lunch break on the third day, no one has left and no one has been ejected…”
And John Bingham at The Telegraph writes:
“The Archbishop of Canterbury was last night accused [of] treating African archbishops ‘like children’ in an attempt to avoid a full public walkout during make-or-break talks on the future of the worldwide Anglican church…”
– however, bear in mind that he quotes unnamed ‘sources’.
‘Second day report — deadlock in Canterbury’
“The Archbishop of Canterbury could face a walk out Wednesday of conservative archbishops, whose call for him to honor past agreements of the primates meetings and to restore “godly order” to the Anglican Communion, appears not to have been met.
Though no walk out has happened so far, and ACNA Archbishop Foley Beach has been a full participant from the start, the tone of the meeting has changed, and the pace has quickened…”
– George Conger reports at Anglican Ink. (Image: from the primates2016.org website.)
‘Day 2 – The facade begins to crumble’
“As we reported yesterday, all the GAFCON and some Global South (GS) Primates declined to attend Communion in the morning.
We have little details of discussions during the day but the most dramatic moment was evensong at 5.30pm when it very quickly became apparent that a large number of Primates were missing, not even attending as they had done on Monday…”
– At StandFirm, David Ould has some reports on the Primates’ meeting, Day 2. Please be very much in prayer for all involved.
“Dear Prayer Supporters,
The discussions at Canterbury are at a crucial stage and we know that God is sovereign, hence we ask you to pray with us:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
We turn once more to you in faith,
Interceding for the Primates of the Anglican Communion as they meet in Canterbury.
Please use their endeavors to hallow your great name;
May your kingdom come;
May your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Uphold your word in the church we pray, so guiding us to live godly and obedient lives, not compromising with this world, but holding forth the gospel of salvation without fear,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AmenYours in Christ Service
Peter Jensen
GAFCON General Secretary.”
Update: Evening of Day 3 (Wednesday), UK time.
(Photo: Canterbury Cathedral via Primates2016.)
Message from Peter Jensen to GAFCON supporters after Day 1 of the Primates’ Gathering
from GAFCON.
Related:
- Primates Meeting – Little Progress and a Very Little Procession – David Ould.
- “Fears the first day would see a walkout did not come to pass — to the chagrin of the crew of a BBC video truck parked outside the cathedral in the rain awaiting the capture on film of the departure of the conservatives.” – George Conger.
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.
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.
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.”
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)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…