On October 16, 1555, the Protestant Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake under the reign of Queen Mary for their commitment to the Bible’s teaching regarding, of all things, their understanding the Lord’s Supper. Almost 500 years later to the day, The Global Anglicans (GAFCON) have formally resolved to withdraw from the Anglican Communion.
This truly is a day for the history books. As the Most Revd Dr Laurent Mbanda wrote in an official communique on behalf of the GAFCON, ‘As has been the case from the very beginning, we have not left the Anglican Communion; we are the Anglican Communion.’
What this means in practice is clearly spelt out under eight points in the communique with GAFCON resolving to reorder the Anglican Communion as follows:
1. We declare that the Anglican Communion will be reordered, with only one foundation of communion, namely the Holy Bible, ‘translated, read, preached, taught, and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading’ (Jerusalem Declaration, Article II), which reflects Article VI of the 39 Articles of Religion.
2. We reject the so-called Instruments of Communion, namely the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), and the Primates Meeting, which have failed to uphold the doctrine and discipline of the Anglican Communion.
3. We cannot continue to have communion with those who advocate the revisionist agenda, which has abandoned the inerrant word of God as the final authority and overturned Resolution I.10, of the 1998 Lambeth Conference.
4. Therefore, Gafcon has re-ordered the Anglican Communion by restoring its original structure as a fellowship of autonomous provinces bound together by the Formularies of the Reformation, as reflected at the first Lambeth Conference in 1867, and we are now the Global Anglican Communion.
5. Provinces of the Global Anglican Communion shall not participate in meetings called by the Archbishop of Canterbury, including the ACC, and shall not make any monetary contribution to the ACC, nor receive any monetary contribution from the ACC or its networks.
6. Provinces, which have yet to do so, are encouraged to amend their constitution to remove any reference to being in communion with the See of Canterbury and the Church of England.
7. To be a member of the Global Anglican Communion, a province or a diocese must assent to the Jerusalem Declaration of 2008, the contemporary standard for Anglican identity.
8. We shall form a Council of Primates of all member provinces to elect a Chairman, as primus inter pares (‘first amongst equals’), to preside over the Council as it continues ‘to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3).
This kind of convictional religious leadership is unfortunately rare in the world today. And as such, the leadership of GAFCON is to be congratulated for their courageous stand. As the Bible itself says, it’s crucial that Christian leaders not acquiesce to the views of the unbelieving surrounding culture but ‘contend for the faith that was once and for all entrusted to the saints’ (Jude 3).
I have greatly benefited myself from studying at Moore Theological College in Sydney, which is without doubt the best Anglican ministry training college not only in Australia, but also the world. The reason why it stands out as being so unique and beneficial is because of its fidelity to Christianity’s core teachings.
When the leadership in any denomination though cares more about the world’s approval than it does about God’s then it’s time to separate. For as the apostle Paul says, ‘…what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?’ (2 Cor 6:14)
This is a pivotal, and indeed historic, moment for Christians who are committed to following the teachings of Christ and is a model for all other denominations to follow. As the GAFCON communique states, ‘The Future Has Arrived.’
