The goal is that orthodox Anglicans worldwide will have a clear identity, a global spiritual home of which they can be proud, and a strong leadership structure that gives them stability and direction as Global Anglicans, the Kigali Commitment states. GAFCON: The prophetic indictment: Thesis 8 - Anglican Ink This is especially so when its proponents, warning against delay, call on people and congregations to take a stand and make what they describe as fundamental choices in the face of what they portray as a false gospel. The Episcopal Church in the U.S., part of the Anglican communion and the Church of England, is too liberal on issues like same-sex marriage for many expats from Africa and the Global South. Miguel Uchoa is the Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in Brazil, Bishop of the Diocese of Recife, and is founder and rector of Holy Spirit Church, Great Recife, a thriving congregation and the largest Anglican Church in Latin America. In relation to the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the key issue is the significance of the word necessarily in this crucial sentence of the statement. ], As has been widely reported, the Kigali Commitment released at the conclusion of the Global Anglican Future Conference meeting April 17-21 in Rwanda seeks to re-order the Anglican Communion away from the See of Canterbury as the First Among Equals., Our Chairman [Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA)] in his opening address encouraged us to be a repenting church, a reconciling church, a reproducing church and a relentlessly compassionate church, the conference statement reads. In a press conference on the opening day of GAFCON, Beach responded to a question that he did not see a merger between GAFCON and GSFA soon. It grieves the Holy Spirit and us that the leadership of the Church of England is determined to bless sin.. Moment & Prayer 26 June 2023 | GAFCON Archbishop Laurent Mbanda was born in 1954. The agenda includes a decade of evangelism, discipleship, and mission (2023-2033), better theological education for leaders at every level of its member churches, and bishops training. He was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Shyiria in March 2010. Such a failure to hear and heed Gods Word undermines the mission of the church as a whole. It also represents an enormous and explicit recovery of our reformational Anglican formularies, the biblical and doctrinal foundations of Anglicanism rather than mere bonds of affection. These are included in both the Gafcon Jerusalem Declaration (2008) and the Global South Cairo Covenant (2019). The Instruments of Communion have failed to maintain true communion based on the Word of God and shared faith in Christ 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. Could GAFCON Spur a New Worldwide Anglican Structure? However this figure conceals more than it reveals, specifically regarding the Canterbury-aligned portion of the Communion. GSFA, on the other hand, is focused on establishing doctrinally based structures within the Communion," the statement reads. The fellowship is currently headed by the small number of Primates who initiated it and seeks to embrace everything from Anglican provinces to individual Anglican Christians as well as para-church organisations. Bishops gathered at the first GAFCON meeting in Jerusalem in 2008. The GAFCON Movement and the Anglican Communion Therefore, the crisis in the Anglican Communion is not about differences of opinion or secondary matters of human sexuality. And within the revised Anglican Communion, what will be the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury? The, Some will therefore undoubtedly conclude that what appear to be the means are in fact the end that the fellowship is a new proto-Communion ultimately designed to break away and form an alternative Communion and only those who join it will be recognised as genuine Anglicans. His passion is to share the Word of God in such a way as to help others discover the incredible living Jesus. He has been the Primate and Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Myanmar and Bishop of Yangon since 2008. they have experienced when the very gospel for which they are suffering is being undermined and denied in other parts of the Anglican Communion. GAFCON more and more sees itself as a missional body working to provide alternative structures where historic, Canterbury-recognized ones have abandoned scriptural orthodoxy. What Portion of the Anglican Communion does GAFCON and the GSFA These GAFCON structures, which are not recognized by Canterbury as part of the Anglican Communion, include the Anglican Church in North America ( ACNA ), the Anglican Network in Europe, and the newly launched Diocese of the Southern Cross in Australia. Here are some of the key takeaways. We therefore commit to pray that God will guide this process of resetting, and that Gafcon and GSFA will keep in step with the Spirit. Its important to note: Anglican identity is defined by doctrine and not by recognition from the See of Canterbury. Find out details of forthcoming meetings, For any inquiries, email us at: [emailprotected]. GAFCON longs for them to repent,but until they repent, our communion with them remains broken. Not impaired. We perhaps could do best at this stage to recall the cautionary words of a leading teacher of the law in response to one such strange movement of the first-century Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men Why? Archbishop Kwashi (Nigeria) will continue as General Secretary. But we must pray that they find Gods promise from Ecclesiastes 4:12 in resetting the Anglican Communion on its biblical foundations, as they stay together in step with the Holy Spirit: Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. He attended the GAFCON II meeting, in Nairobi, Kenya, at 2126 October 2013, and GAFCON III 18th - 22nd June 2018 in Jerusalem. The goal is that orthodox Anglicans worldwide will have a clear identity, a global spiritual home of which they can be proud, and a strong leadership structure that gives them stability and direction as Global Anglicans. In addition, since Australia includes Sydney (about 50k members), we must subtract that from the total Canterbury-led Communion and shift those numbers over to the GAFCON/GSFA group. Global co-ordination is achieved through Liaison Officers in Gafcon affiliated Provinces and elsewhere through a growing network of regional branches. Conservative Anglicans Reject Church of England and Archbi | News It also launches a reforming renewal movement through the formation of a fellowship of confessing Anglicans based on the Jerusalem Declaration and headed by a Primates Council. The Kigali Commitment (2023) expresses the hope that such leaders and churches may repent: We long for this repentance but until they repent, our communion with them remains broken. As other Anglican leaders in Gafcon and Global South have observed from Jesus parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9), the owner gave the vinedresser a year for the tree to bear fruit before cutting it down. Although many in the Communion have resisted this, leading to an unfolding realignment in North America, the Instruments of Communion have failed to act and new relationships have developed apart from them. His enthronement took place on 10 June 2018. But let me offer the following eight take-aways and commentary on the GAFCON Kigali Commitment. In 2022 he was named Bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, a GAFCON entity that currently has only a handful of churches, but which is envisioned as an alternative province for conservatives who leave the fracturing Anglican Church of Australia. Stephen Than Myint Oo was born in 1958. The Kigali Statement goes on to say of the Bible: It grounds, energises and directs our mission in the world. There are already positive results and hopeful signs in terms of GAFCONs commitment to the Anglican Communion and its reform, its desire to work together with others committed to traditional Anglican doctrine, and its passion for holistic global mission. GAFCON Meeting Could Reshape the Anglican Communion In one of their dioceses over the last few years, there has been a sexual abuse investigation where a lay pastor was convicted of several young people and the failure of the Church of the Resurrection of IL to share with the congregation is irresponsible ( It took them 22 months to tell the congregation) and failure to report to the state agency is irresponsible but that is exactly what they did. The language could not be clearer. Inevitably, therefore, responses to these earlier initiatives will shape each persons initial reactions to the GAFCON statement. The name "Anglican Communion" has enough brand equity that it will survive. In 2010 he was consecrated as the first Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the South. As Anglicans Aspire to 'Re-order' Communion, Structures Take Backseat He has served for a number of years on the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) and was on the Co-Ordinating Group of the Living in Love and Faith project. Gafcon Kigali has Begun. In the state of IL Convicted sex offenders are not allowed within 500 feet of children. I am not sure how they can get away with this. . One does not repent of what one believes is an important advancement of social justice and civil rights. You have the words of eternal life. (6:68-69). However, as in any relatively short statement from a large gathering (especially one including and directed by many of the most disenchanted and distressed among orthodox Anglicans) some elements are problematic and need to be critiqued and counter-balanced: Nevertheless, there is widespread concern over growing heterodoxy in the Western church (particularly in North America) and the inability (institutional as much as volitional) of the Communion as a whole through its Instruments either to discipline the heterodox or provide adequate support to the orthodox. Nevertheless, continued conversations between GAFCON and the wider Communion are vital. GAFCON is incorporated in the UK as 'The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans' (company number 07759253) Registered Address: Unit 42-43 Kingspark Business Centre, 152-178 Kingston Road, New Malden, Surrey KT3 3ST United Kingdom From the perspective of the dominant ethos in the Episcopal Church, the very idea of repentance in this context is a non-starter. Copyright 2023 by American Anglican Council. This is, unsurprisingly given the history of the prime movers and shakers of GAFCON, where there is likely to be most tension with many who would otherwise embrace the statement. There is an analagous disparity throughout the Western nations. GAFCON describes itself as "a global family of authentic Anglicans standing together to retain and restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion." GAFCON does not have authority to speak for the Anglican Communion as a whole, but it does include primates and other leaders from some of the Communion's most rapidly growing . As a bishop, he was particularly concerned for youth outreach while his development interests led to him becoming Chairman of the Anglican Church of Kenyans development arm, Anglican Development Services in 2012. Appropriate pastoral care includes affirming all those who seek to live a life of faithfulness to Gods Word in the face of all forms of sexual temptation. In other words, appropriate pastoral care is always an expression of authentic biblical discipleship within the fellowship of the local church: We pledge ourselves afresh to support and care for one another in a loving and pastorally sensitive way as members of Christs body, building one another up in the Word and in the Spirit, and encouraging each other to experience Gods transforming power as we walk by faith in the path of repentance and obedience that leads to fullness of life.. We rejoice in the declaration of their unity in the Kigali Statement (2023): We rejoice in the united commitment of both groups on three fundamentals: the lordship of Jesus Christ; the authority and clarity of the Word of God; and the priority of the churchs mission to the world. He wasin office until his election as the 6th Archbishop of Myanmar, at the general synod held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Yangonon 15 January 2008. Gafcon Australia is part of a global family of Anglicans standing together to retain and restore the Bible to the heart of Anglican Churches. The political discussion resumed in earnest the following morning, in the first plenary business session. Rico Tice, Church of England . no reference to infallibility or inerrancy of Scripture, no explicit insistence on a particular, penal substitutionary, doctrine of atonement). We are also a point of movement, view, controversy, and influence. Central to the statement is the call to re-order the Anglican Communion in cooperation with the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA). The Primates Council is served by a Secretariat led by the General Secretary, Archbishop Ben Kwashi and includes the Global Operations Manager, and the Director of the GafconBishops Training Institute. First, there have been 25 years of some Anglican leaders and churches, principally in the West, blatantly ignoring both the clear teaching of the Bible in the Lambeth Conference of Bishops Resolution 1.10 (1998) as the Anglican Communion teaching on human sexuality, marriage, and leadership in the Church. Throughout Gafcon churches worldwide we are looking to build up the faithful global Communion by sharing these bulletin updates in Gafcon churches' media announcements. The Anglican Diocese of Sydney is also officially listed as a member. We wanted to add a note that here we are only citing provinces that are on the existing ACC Schedule C list of Anglican churches, so we are not counting either ACNA (with an ASA of about 120k) or the Anglican Church of Brazil. We encourage the Gafcon Primates to continue to provide such safe harbour for faithful Anglicans.. But the Kigali Commitment (2023) proves this accusation empty because there is much more to the crisis of false teaching in the Anglican Communion: Since those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1), we call upon those provinces, dioceses and leaders who have departed from biblical orthodoxy to repent of their failure to uphold the Bibles teaching.

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