Speaking on behalf of the GAFCON Primates of Uganda, Rwanda, West Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, and the Southern Cone ”” none of whom went to Dublin ”” Bishop Venables said that the meeting “had ignored the difficult issues that divide us.
“There was a denial of the seriousÂness of the crisis facing the Communion which led to the absence of Primates representing two-thirds of the Anglican ComÂmunion, and there remains a comÂplete lack of trust, which every day is getting worse.
“The Dublin meeting has just made things worse, as they did not deal with the reasons why people stayed away, or the causes of the divisions in the Anglican Church.”
Forget Dublin, forget the Archbishop of Canterbury, forget the Presiding Bishop, forget the Canadian Primate, forget the talking stick–what is our plan?
“…and there remains a comÂplete lack of trust, which every day is getting worse.”
And that ‘in a nut shell’ is the problem.
“Trust” among prospective communicants that they share the same Faith is an essential prerequisite to being in Communion.
The revisionists within the Anglican Communion have earned the distrust of the non-revisionists.
Unfortunately, I see no plan arising out of the Global South either. I hope someone else is doing shuttle diplomacy.
I wonder how much more the Global South primates will take before they say “Look……enough is enough! We demand change from the ACC, and if we don’t get it, we will take action to force it from them!” Providing that they really do want to remain in the Communion, of course! It wouldn’t make me feel at all bad if they don’t.
There is a very clear plan that has been clearly set out by the Global South. Unfortunately, many in the west are so poorly read that they are not even aware of it.
I found it interesting that the on-line poll conducted by the Church Record (there is a link to in the article) shows that 62% of respondents voted “No” to the question “Is there any point in the primates meeting”. That in itself is a victory for those that did not attend – it is obvious to all that a meeting attended by primates representing only about 1/3 of the Communion is a waste of time.
For those who think that the Global South doesn’t have a plan, I urge them to study the documents of the Global South, in particular the communiques and statements issued. By contrast, this Dublin “primates meeting” was a boring and inconsequential interlude.
In April 2010, primates and bishops from 23 Anglican Provinces met in Singapore (known as the “Global South to South Encounter”). At the end they subscribed to a Communique, of which I set out the relevant text below. None of the provinces have ever resiled from this statement.
It puts the non-attendance of the 15 primates at Dublin into perspective. This is the more so as the Primate of Burundi (who did attend) specifically made the point at Dublin that a decision by a Global south province to attend the Dublin meeting did not mean derogation from the position they had already publicly adopted.
It should therefore be clear that a great deal more than 15 primates consider TEC to be apostate, and do not intend to co-operate with the ABC’s open tolerance of liberalism.
[blockquote] Extract from Global South to South Encounter communique, April 2010
“16. In contrast, we continue to grieve over the life of The Episcopal Church USA (TEC) and the Anglican Church of Canada and all those churches that have rejected the Way of the Lord as expressed in Holy Scripture. The recent action of TEC in the election and intended consecration of Mary Glasspool, a partnered lesbian, as a bishop in Los Angeles, has demonstrated, yet again, a total disregard for the mind of the Communion. These churches continue in their defiance as they set themselves on a course that contradicts the plain teaching of the Holy Scriptures on matters so fundamental that they affect the very salvation of those involved. Such actions violate the integrity of the Gospel, the Communion and our Christian witness to the rest of the world. In the face of this we dare not remain silent and must respond with appropriate action.
17. We uphold the courageous actions taken by Archbishops Mouneer Anis (Jerusalem and the Middle East), Henry Orombi (Uganda) and Ian Ernest (Indian Ocean) and are encouraged by their decision not to participate in meetings of the various Instruments of Communion at which representatives of The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada are present. We understand their actions to be in protest of the failure to correct the ongoing crisis situation.
18. Some of our Provinces are already in a state of broken and impaired Communion with The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada. Their continued refusal to honor the many requests1 made of them by the various meetings of the Primates throughout the Windsor Process have brought discredit to our witness and we urge the Archbishop of Canterbury to implement the recommended actions. In light of the above, this Fourth South-to-South Encounter encourages our various Provinces to reconsider their communion relationships with The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada until it becomes clear that there is genuine repentance.
19. We were pleased to welcome two Communion Partner bishops from The Episcopal Church USA (TEC) and acknowledge that with them there are many within TEC who do not accept their church’s innovations. We assure them of our loving and prayerful support. We are grateful that the recently formed Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a faithful expression of Anglicanism. We welcomed them as partners in the Gospel and our hope is that all provinces will be in full communion with the clergy and people of the ACNA and the Communion Partners.
20. For many generations Anglicans have lived together with a shared understanding of our common faith; indeed among our great gifts has been the Book of Common Prayer that has provided a foundation for our common life. In recent years the peace of our Communion has been deeply wounded by those who continue to claim the name Anglican but who pursue an agenda of their own desire in opposition to historic norms of faith, teaching and practice. This has led to a number of developments including the GAFCON meeting that took place in Jerusalem in June 2008.
21. Global South leaders have been in the forefront of the development of the ‘Anglican Covenant’ that seeks to articulate the essential elements of our faith together with means by which we might exercise meaningful and loving discipline for those who depart from the ‘faith once for all delivered to the saints.’ We are currently reviewing the proposed Covenant to find ways to strengthen it in order for it to fulfill its purpose. For example, we believe that all those who adopt the Covenant must be in compliance with Lambeth 1.10. Meanwhile we recognize that the Primates Meeting, being responsible for Faith and Order, should be the body to oversee the Covenant in its implementation, not the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.
22. Over the last 20 years we have been distracted by conflicts and controversies that have kept us from effectively fulfilling the Great Commission. While we have been so distracted, Christian heritage, identity and influence has continued to decline in the West. We believe that there is a need to review the entire Anglican Communion structure; especially the Instruments of Communion and the Anglican Communion office; in order to achieve an authentic expression of the current reality of our Anglican Communion.” [/blockquote]