GAFCON Chairman responds to the statement by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York
A response to the statement by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York of 29th January 2014
This week, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York sought to remind the leadership of the Anglican Communion and the Presidents of Nigeria and Uganda of the importance of friendship and care for homosexual people.
Christians should always show particular care for those who are vulnerable, but this cannot be separated from the whole fabric of biblical moral teaching in which the nature of marriage and family occupy a central place.
The Dromantine Communiqué from which the Archbishops quote also affirmed (Clause 17) the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution 1.10 which states that ‘homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture’ and that the conference ‘cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions’.
Yet earlier this week, the English College of Bishops accepted the recommendation of the Pilling Report for two years of ‘facilitated conversation’ because at least some of the bishops could not accept the historic teaching of the Church as reaffirmed in the Lambeth resolution.
Indeed, in making the case for such a debate, the Pilling Report observes ‘In the House of Lords debate on same sex marriage, the Archbishop of York commended that the Church needed to think about the anomalies in a situation where it is willing to bless a tree or a sheep, but not a faithful human relationship.’ The anomaly only exists of course if it really is the case that a committed homosexual union can also be Christian.
The good advice of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York would carry much more weight if they were able to affirm that they hold, personally, as well as in virtue of their office, to the collegial mind of the Anglican Communion. At the moment I fear that we cannot be sure.
Regrettably, their intervention has served to encourage those who want to normalize homosexual lifestyles in Africa and has fuelled prejudice against African Anglicans. We are committed to biblical sexual morality and to biblical pastoral care, so we wholeheartedly stand by the assurance given in the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution that those who experience same sex attraction are ‘loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ.’
May God in his mercy grant that we may hold to the fullness of his truth and the fullness of his grace.
The Most Rev’d Dr Eliud Wabukala
Archbishop, Anglican Church of Kenya
and Chairman, GAFCON Primates Council.
30th January 2014
Re-posted from the GAFCON website.
There is urgency about the gospel
“There is urgency about the gospel and it must be proclaimed in word and deed, in season and out of season and it is the same gospel, whether in strife torn nations such as South Sudan or in the affluent but morally disorientated nations of the developed world.
We cannot therefore allow our time and energy to be sapped by debating that which God has already clearly revealed in the Scriptures…”
– Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council, has released a pastoral letter to members of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.
Condolences on the death of Archbishop Johnson of West Africa
Archbishop Dr Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop of Kenya and Chairman of GAFCON has released this statement after the unexpected death of the Primate of West Africa, Archbishop Dr Solomon Tilewa Johnson. Read more
A Canterbury Tale
“The archbishop of Canterbury means well and there is no doubt that his heart is with GAFCON in many ways. He told the delegates that he wants its aims to be those of the Communion as a whole and there is no reason not to believe him. But if he is going to occupy the place that the Anglican Communion assigns to him and exercise the kind of influence for good that he undoubtedly wants to, he will have to get with the programme, as the Americans say.
GAFCON is not just one more Anglican organisation, like the Mothers’ Union, that can be flattered and pacified by an occasional nod from the hierarchy. It is a renewal movement that wants to make its agenda that of the church as a whole, and it will expect Justin Welby to nail his colours to the mast. It is a wonderful opportunity for him to assume the leadership of the Communion and use the GAFCON base to bring about the kinds of changes that he wants to see, but will he take it?”
– In the Editorial of the latest issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray writes about GAFCON, the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. PDF file – direct link.
Archbishop Wabukala defends GAFCON
On Tuesday night, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans spoke at The Ridley Institute in South Carolina.
He spoke on “In Defense of GAFCON” with reference to The Thirty Nine Articles.
His address deserves wide distribution and is most encouraging. Archbishop Wabukala’s address begins 16 minutes into the video recording. (The address runs for about 45 minutes, followed by the question time which begins, after a break, at 1 hour 15 minutes into the recording. Also worth watching.)
Update: The text of his address is now available (PDF) on the GAFCON website as well as at The Ridley Institute.
Here’s a quote:
“I am so thankful to God that Christianity as moralism was not, on the whole, the gospel brought from England and the West to Africa and what we now call the Global South during the great missionary initiatives of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although the GAFCON movement coined the phrase ‘Confessing Anglicans,’ Provinces like mine which are the fruit of missionary endeavors have always been ‘confessing.’ For many of us the writings of John Stott and J.I. Packer simply were normal Anglicanism and too many of us assumed that the rest of the Communion thought the same way!
However, in the past thirty years it has become clear that the West has finally exhausted the capital of its Christian heritage. The combination of secularization and the growth of global media and communications has laid bare a fundamental theological divergence between Western secularized moralistic Anglicanism and confessional Anglicanism. The resulting strains have seriously damaged the Communion — many faithful orthodox Anglicans have been marginalized or even ejected from the formal structures of their Churches. Sexual immorality has not only been tolerated but held out to be holy and the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other formal instruments of Communion are no longer able to fulfill their basic purpose of gathering the Communion. …”
Another Reflection on GAFCON 2
“GAFCON was likened to ‘a taste of heaven’, with believers from many nations, races, colours and languages worshipping the one Lord together. The daily pattern was praise and prayer, a morning Bible exposition from the book of Ephesians, followed by plenary lectures and seminars.…”
– Andrew Atherstone gives his perspective on GAFCON 2013.
Church Society report on GAFCON
“Last week I had the privilege to attend the Global Anglican Futures Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. My experience of this conference of over 1300 bishops, clergy, and laity from around the Anglican world was moving, positive, and optimistic. …”
– Church Society Director Lee Gatiss shares his experience of GAFCON 2013 in Nairobi. GAFCON Media photo of the Bishops’ photo by Andrew Gross, ACNA.
GAFCON Final Day highlights
This video of GAFCON Final Day (Saturday) highlights has now been posted.
It includes the reading of The Nairobi Commitment.
Nairobi Communique and Commitment
The GAFCON 2013: Nairobi Communique has been released. It’s an important document.
Here’s the Conclusion –
“We are conscious of many pressures on faithful gospel witness within the church, but equally conscious of the great need the world has to hear the gospel. The need for the GFCA is greater now than when we first met in Jerusalem in 2008.
We believe the Holy Spirit is challenging us and the rest of the Anglican Communion to remain faithful to our biblical heritage; to support those who suffer as a result of obedience to Christ; to deepen the spiritual life of our churches; and to respond to anti-Christian pressures with a renewed determination to spread the gospel.
The seriousness with which we take our mission and our fellowship will be reflected in the way individual churches make the GAFCON vision their own, and in how we resource the work the GFCA seeks to initiate.
We invite all faithful Anglicans to join the GFCA.”
Read the Nairobi Communique and Commitment on the GAFCON website – or download it as a PDF document.
See also the highlights video for Friday.
And see the GAFCON Nairobi Photo Album.
(Photo: Delegates celebrate the adoption of the Communique and Commitment on the final day of GAFCON 2013. Photographer: Russell Powell.)
Phil Ashey reports from GAFCON
In his latest “Anglican Perspective”, the American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey speaks with great hope about the future of GAFCON and its part in the Great Commission.
GAFCON Friday Press Conference
GAFCON has released a brief highlights video of the Friday press conference.
Archbishop Ben Kwashi reaffirmed the commitments of GAFCON I – to trusting in Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world, and in the Scriptures as our authority, with a focus on Mission.
Dr Ruth Senyonyi of Uganda spoke of the foundation of the Biblical view of marriage.
GAFCON General Secretary Dr Peter Jensen praised the organisers and the people of Kenya for their welcome.
GAFCON votes to expand
GAFCON is continuing to build for the future:
“To affirm and endorse the position of the Primates Council in providing oversight in cases where Provinces and Dioceses compromise biblical faith, including the affirmation of a duly discerned call to ministry. This may involve ordination and consecration if the situation requires.”
GAFCON News Release, Friday 25th October 2013 –
The second Global Anglican Future Conference, which concludes this weekend in Nairobi, resolved to expand its leadership role in supporting and recognising Anglicans in places where Biblical faith has been compromised.
A meeting of bishops within the conference this week voted without dissent to affirm the Primates Council in recognizing and overseeing theologically isolated Anglicans. This includes the expansion of the Anglican Mission in England and similar bodies around the Communion.
The text of the GAFCON Bishops’ resolution follows:
To affirm and endorse the position of the Primates Council in providing oversight in cases where Provinces and Dioceses compromise biblical faith, including the affirmation of a duly discerned call to ministry. This may involve ordination and consecration if the situation requires.
The 331 Bishops and Archbishops attending GAFCON 2013 met at All Saints Cathedral, a greater number than in the first GAFCON in Jerusalem in 2008.
“We came to Nairobi seeking God’s guidance for the future. Should we stop? Should we slow down? The Bishops told us we must go on.” said Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of GAFCON.
The General Secretary of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, Dr Peter Jensen, said “The problems of the communion in the 21st Century were aired last weekend. But this conference, this movement, is not just calling attention to the dysfunction, it’s about building for the future.”
The General Secretary described GAFCON as unique – gathering Archbishops, Bishops and clergy as well as lay men and women.
Those attending also took part in smaller groups discussing issues such as marriage and family, women, Gospel and culture, theological education and Islam.
The conference attracted 1,358 delegates – 871 Clergy, 487 laity.
There will be a final conference communiqué released tomorrow with more detail and further announcements about the future of the movement.
– from GAFCON. Photo: Andrew Gross, ACNA. (Emphasis added.)
Women’s mini-conference
The Women’s mini-conference is the focus of this highlights video from GAFCON.
Bishop Charlie Masters talks about the Diocese of Niagara
“At GAFCON 2, Bishop Charlie Masters discussed how ANiC [Anglican Network in Canada] priests were treated by their former church. …”
– Anglican TV via Anglican Samizdat.
(Context: earlier posts mentioning Charlie Masters and St. George’s Lowville.)
Global challenge – the UK situation
Paul Perkin, Vicar St Mark’s Battersea Rise in London gave GAFCON attendees an update on the situation in the UK –
“The largest Anglican church in England has 23 ordained ministers and thousands of young people being discipled to follow Christ. It is producing over 30 ordinands every year. …
So Jesus is the sovereign, risen Lord, miraculously active in the UK, prospering gospel evangelism, pouring out his Holy Spirit, growing the churches and planting new ones, and bringing glory to himself in it all.
However, the opposite to the dream of the church penetrating the nation is the nightmare of a secular nation invading the church. This is the contrary scene and it is also happening in Britain.”
– Read his remarks via the GAFCON website
or watch them via Anglican TV (19 minutes).
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…