The GAFCON leadership is calling a conference (G26) for all orthodox Anglican bishops, who can sign the Jerusalem Declaration, in Abuja Nigeria in March of next year. All are welcome. This coincidently will be about the same time as the new Archbishop of Canterbury takes up her office. Her appointment was made without adequate consideration of the wishes of the majority of Anglican churches and her apparent liberal direction of travel means they have been presented with more of the same leadership that has failed to discipline wayward Provinces and restore any semblance of unity to the Communion post the widespread agreement after the Lambeth Conference in 1998. The Chairman of GAFCON said on the news of the appointment of the new Archbishop of Canterbury — “Due to the failure of successive Archbishops of Canterbury to guard the faith, the office can no longer function as a credible leader of Anglicans, let alone a focus of unity”. It would appear that Dame Sarah will find herself relating to a very different world-wide Communion. 

Again, coincidently and perhaps ironically, on the same day this week it was announced that the English House of Bishops has postponed any further implementation of the “Living in Love and Faith” process, which has been causing agony and division in the church for more than a decade. This has been abandoned because of legal and theological advice that has shown the bishops what they should have known already, that their proposals change the doctrine of marriage held by the Church of England. Such a change, though possible, must follow due synodical processes and decisions, and requires a two thirds majority to alter doctrine. As the current process has been shambolic and lacking integrity, it is good to see the bishops at last consenting to adhere to proper processes. However, this looks more like a press of the pause button rather than the delete one, and means that discontent will rumble on in the church.

It is no wonder then that GAFCON, which continues to support orthodox believers in the Church of England, has lost patience with its leadership, as it sees no real evidence of repentance or a change of heart about the liberal direction of travel. It wishes to stop wasting time in pointless squabbles and to bring together those who are firm in faith to get on with the task of bringing the Good News of the Gospel to a lost and suffering world. Compassion and clarity of doctrine are not enemies but ought to go together — the grace and truth only ever perfectly shown in the person of the Lord Jesus needs to be followed as far as possible by his followers.

Bishops in the early Church were noted and respected for their courage and adherence to the Apostolic Faith. Bishops today in the West, with thankfully a number of notable exceptions, have too often become uncertain trumpets, driven by expediency, who seem to want to sanctify current fashionable opinions more than to be faithful to their ordination vows to uphold the Christian Faith as revealed in the Scriptures. This is a sad and tragic state of affairs. To quote the Dutch/American theologian R.B.Kuiper — “The church that has grown indifferent to the truth is, to put it mildly, on its way out”. GAFCON shines a light of hope to a generation looking for an alternative to the faithless, materialistic, self-absorbed answers of the current western world. 

Read it all.

Bible believing Anglicans should be pleased that the new Archbishop has been ejected from the Anglican Communion, argues W. Gilchrist https://t.co/JSVc08XHj8

— The Critic (@TheCriticMag) October 22, 2025

A group of leading Anglican traditionalists this month announced a reordering of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Top bishops (primates) of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), a renewal movement composed of both historic Anglican provinces and newly inaugurated Anglican churches, are seeking to bind the Anglican family not around a common tie to the See of Canterbury but around shared theological commitments. Among them the centrality of holy scripture. This is an outworking of what was called for at the group’s 2023 conference in Kigali, Rwanda. More on that from Bishop Paul Donison at The Gospel Coalition here.

GAFCON provinces already comprise the majority of adherents within the Anglican Communion member churches, which are functionally self-governing and autonomous while operating in relationship with one another. Both GAFCON and Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA), which have significantly overlapping membership, represent the vast majority of people within Anglican Communion, although each group has a different sensibility and strategy.

This is why recent headlines about schism are ill informed. No one is going anywhere, but neither is everyone looking to Canterbury as a central focal point of unity.

But will most provinces cease to look to the institutions, historic role, and financial resources of the Canterbury-led order? That remains to be seen.

Read it all.

Historic news for global Anglicanism today!

– The majority of Anglicans worldwide are, as of today, officially disaffiliated from the Church of England.
– GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) has declared itself the Global Anglican Communion.
– The Global Anglican… pic.twitter.com/4q4t57BAAj

— Larry Sanger (@lsanger) October 16, 2025

This is a dramatic announcement.

Since 2008, there have been those who have warmed to the orthodox position Gafcon has taken but struggled with what paragraph 13 of the Jerusalem Declaration meant in practice:

“13. We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.”

Today the Gafcon Primates appear to have set out the cost of rejecting that authority. How other provinces respond and what the implications are for those who themselves are part of the Church of England will remain to be seen.

Read it all.

A significant development for global Anglicanism. https://t.co/oRVFOVjQtO

— Gafcon (@GafconGBE) October 16, 2025

As the GAFCON statement affirms: that future has now arrived.

Reordering of the Communion

What is this future for Anglicanism? Three points stand out.

1. New Foundation of Communion

The statement says the Anglican Communion will now rest on a single foundation: the Holy Bible, “translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense.” This is a deliberate echo of the Reformation principle of sola Scriptura. In other words, unity is no longer defined by loyalty to Canterbury or participation in Anglican institutions but by submission to Scripture as God’s Word.

2. Rejection of Failed Instruments

The statement names and rejects the so-called “Instruments of Communion”—the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council, and the Primates’ Meeting. Why? Because they have consistently failed to uphold biblical truth, especially following the 1998 Lambeth Resolution I.10 which affirmed that Christian marriage is between a man and a woman. These “Instruments,” while once helpful, have fallen into revisionism.

3. Return to the Original Model

The statement emphasizes that GAFCON has not left the Anglican Communion. Instead, it claims the original vision: a fellowship of autonomous provinces united by the gospel and the Reformation formularies. This was how the first Lambeth Conference in 1867 understood Anglicanism and what held member provinces together in unity—before the so-called “Instruments” turned Canterbury into the sine qua non of what it means to be Anglican. Now, GAFCON says, the center of the Communion is not a person or an office, but the Word of God.

In place of the old “Instruments,” Gafcon proposes a Council of Primates (archbishops) from all provinces that affirm the Jerusalem Declaration of 2008, with a primus inter pares (“first among equals”) serving as chair.

Read it all.

Despite 25 years of warnings by most Anglican primates, repeated departures from the authority of God’s word have torn the fabric of the Communion.

—The Kigali Commitment https://t.co/eESYLlpxWM

— The Gospel Coalition (@TGC) April 25, 2023

From here:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.I write to share with you a statement released today by our GAFCON Chairman on behalf of the GAFCON Primates.It is an important statement. It is an historic statement.The future has arrived. What began with the first GAFCON gathering in Jerusalem in 2008 has now reached fruition. We have reordered the Anglican Communion.I commend to you a prayerful reading of this statement. It is especially notable that its release coincides with the commemoration of Bishops Latimer and Ridley. The flame they lit in England continues to burn brightly throughout our Communion today.There will be more to say in due course. For now, this statement is enough.COLLECT OF THE DAYHugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, Bishops and Martyrs, 1555Almighty God, you gave your servants Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.In the peace and hope of Christ Jesus,Archbp Steve Wood

Today, that future has arrived.

Our Gafcon Primates gathered this hour to fulfil our mandate to reform the Anglican Communion, as expressed in the Jerusalem Statement of 2008.

We resolved 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).

As I declared in my statement two weeks ago,“the reset of our beloved Communion is now uniquely in the hands of Gafcon, and we are ready to take the lead.”

Read it all.

"We are now the Communion." https://t.co/iSRqCmX1pj via @gafconference

— wyclif ⚓ (@wyclif) October 16, 2025

The Most Reverend Dr Laurent Mbanda, Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, has called on all “orthodox” bishops within the Anglican Communion to join a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria in early March next year.

Gafcon is a global alliance of orthodox Anglicans who are opposed to the promotion and acceptance of homosexuality, particularly within the leadership of the church. It was founded in 2008, in part as a response to the consecration of the openly gay Gene Robinson as a bishop in the US Episcopal Church in 2003.

Archbishop Mbanda said that the next six months represent a “crucial” period for the Anglican Communion, and that the Gafcon meeting, to be held from 3 to 6 March, “may be the most important assembly of authentic Anglicans since Gafcon reset the Communion at Jerusalem in 2008”.

He warned, “Revisionists deliberately divide the Communion with schismatic actions that celebrate sin, as they appoint false shepherds to lead their flock away from God’s good word. But Jesus is building his church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail!”

Read it all.

We must confront serious error that compromises God’s glorious and authoritative word on human sexuality.

We must speak up and take a stand.

As we met to reform and renew the Anglican Communion in 2008, Gafcon delivered the Jerusalem Statement which outlined the true heart of Anglican orthodoxy.

We took a stand about the truth of God’s word, and we continue to stand in fellowship with the majority of the world’s Anglicans who grieve this rejection of God’s voice.

We must stand again against the relentless pressure of Anglican revisionists who blatantly impose their immorality upon Christ’s precious church.

Read it all.

Theologically orthodox groups within the Anglican Communion are lamenting the election of a bishop in a same-sex civil partnership as the new Archbishop of the Church in Wales. https://t.co/e039mqRoh2

— IRD (@TheIRD) July 31, 2025

Last week the most important Anglican conference that you have probably never heard of took place in Plano, Texas. G25 was a mini-conference organised by Gafcon, a movement which begin in 2008, when the Global Anglican Conference (Gafcon) was organised in Jersusalem.

In 2008, over 1,000 archbishops, bishops, clergy and lay people gathered to discuss the future for faithful Anglicans in a Communion in crisis. A crisis caused by those Gafcon describe as having “led the flock of Christ astray, diluted the authority of Scripture and distorted the gospel, endangering many souls.” 

Archbishop Akinola, one of its founding members, described the original conference as representing “a new dawn, a new beginning”, a means of, “gathering authentic Anglicans”, to, “reform”, “renew” and “reorder” the Anglican Communion. The Communique from the G25 mini-conference acknowledges that some have, however, considered Gafcon to be more controversial, “a sectarian and schismatic movement that has sought to undermine the unity of the Anglican Communion”.

The focus of G25 was to equip the next generation, so Gafcon took time to revisit the history. There was archive footage from the first conference, a video presentation from Archbishop Peter Jensen (the first General Secretary), and a panel discussion from those who were in the room (room 1614 to be precise) when the idea for a global gathering was first suggested.  

Read it all.

If you're an Anglican this might be the year's most important conference you haven't heard of. Report from @AnglicanFutures https://t.co/42xdgT0BLp

— Dan Leafe (@DanLeafe1) March 23, 2025

The Gafcon Primates Council met in Plano, Texas on Tuesday, 12 March 2025 and during the rest of that week held G25, a conference for Gafcon leaders with a special focus on the next generation of global bishops. Over 170 leaders from 25 countries were present, including 10 primates and 83 other bishops and archbishops. Gafcon continues its commitment to reorder the Anglican Communion in joyful submission to Holy Scripture. The theme of the Conference was ‘Leading the Renewal.’

We were graciously hosted by Christ Church Plano (CCP), a cathedral church of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), whose Rector and Dean, Bishop Paul Donison, also serves as the General Secretary of Gafcon. The staff and many volunteers of CCP and surrounding churches provided generous hospitality and gladly served our needs.

The Conference began with an uplifting and inspiring service of Holy Communion, with a sermon by the Primate of the ACNA, Archbishop Steve Wood. Each day began with Morning Prayer led by bishops from Nigeria, Rwanda and Myanmar, with clear and stimulating Bible teaching from the early chapters of Joshua by the General Secretary that encouraged us in our personal walk with Christ. We ended our time together with another service of Holy Communion, where the Primate of All Nigeria, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, encouraged us from the word.

The first session provided an insight into how the Gafcon movement began, as a panel of founding fathers were interviewed. The Conference was reminded as to why and how the first GAFCON was held in 2008, under the leadership of Archbishop Peter Akinola, producing the Jerusalem Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration, our foundational documents which continue to guide our movement.

Gafcon has sometimes been criticised, even vilified, as a sectarian and schismatic movement that has sought to undermine the unity of the Anglican Communion. But that is simply untrue. We cherish the worldwide fellowship that we enjoy through the Anglican Communion. We have not left it, but have sought to renew it, as it was in 1998, when the Bible was at the centre of our life and we submitted to its authority. We represent the Anglican Communion as we stand for the orthodox Anglican theology that is upheld by a vast majority of the Communion. It is those who have promoted unbiblical teachings who have torn the fabric of our Communion and shown themselves to be out of step with the apostolic faith.

Revisiting our history is essential to understand the ongoing challenges facing the Anglican Communion today, especially as many of our conference participants were bishops who have been consecrated within the past five years. Gafcon continues to stand firm against error, re-stating and celebrating the truth of the gospel, recognizing authentic Anglican provinces and dioceses, and renewing the Anglican Communion for mission to the nations.

Through a mixture of presentations and small group consultations, the participants considered four defining features of Gafcon.

Gathering Authentic Anglicans

‘Do not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching’ (Hebrews 10:25). Gafcon began as a gathering of bishops, clergy, and laity, united in their commitment to affirm true Anglican identity around a shared understanding of the gospel and a commitment to the authority of Holy Scripture, rather than through communion with the failing office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Gafcon is a confessional fellowship of Anglicans held together by the theology, liturgy and vision of the Reformation Formularies. We rejoice in our theological unity and cultural diversity as we all ‘work and pray together in the common mission of Christ’ (Jerusalem Statement 2008).

Guarding God’s Gospel

‘Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you’ (2 Timothy 1:14). The gospel of Christ is precious as the good news of salvation, but it can easily be obscured or corrupted. Sadly, the Canterbury-based ‘Instruments of Communion’ have failed to guard this gospel against such corruption, or to exercise needed discipline within the church. Gafcon has taken up this responsibility by reaffirming the gospel of Christ, rebuking false teaching that undermines it, and providing theological resources. Where Anglican leaders in some regions have departed from the truth of the gospel, Gafcon has rejected their spiritual authority, and recognised new expressions of faithful Anglicans, in order to guard and boldly proclaim the life-giving gospel of Christ throughout the world.

Growing Orthodox Leaders

‘What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful persons, who will be able to teach others also’ (2 Timothy 2:2). Our conference speakers reminded us of the urgent need not only to equip current bishops and leaders, but also to continually raise up new leaders who will be faithful to guard and proclaim the gospel. Gafcon has sought to do this through the work of its conferences, its Bishops Training Institute (BTI), and, where necessary, its willingness to consecrate duly elected bishops in new and challenging areas of ministry. We were grateful to hear suggestions from both speakers and participants as to how we can further strengthen theological education around the Communion for the equipping of all God’s people for the work of ministry.

Generating Missional Resources

‘Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully’ (2 Corinthians 9:6). The mission of the church is hindered by a ‘poverty mindset,’ which proceeds from a fear of scarcity and an ingratitude for God’s gifts. This often results in a lack of available resources for ministry. Our speakers shared their own stories of God’s miraculous provision, as well as practical wisdom for how to partner together across provinces and utilise what God has given us to promote sustainable development and generate resources in our churches. Recognising that we have been gifted in distinct ways by God, we commit to use the resources that we have received in service of one another and of the kingdom of God.

We give thanks to God for the work of Gafcon and for our time together. We have prayed together, worshipped together, studied Scripture together, and been encouraged and edified by the faith that unites us across our differing languages and cultures.

Seventeen years ago, more than 1100 Anglicans from around the world came together in Jerusalem for the first GAFCON Assembly. That meeting could have been a one-time occurrence, but it was not. The Gafcon movement continues to grow, continues to gather, and continues to stand firm for the faith once delivered to the saints. We also continue to grieve over how some leaders in the Anglican Communion have led the flock of Christ astray, diluted the authority of Scripture and distorted the gospel, endangering many souls. We once again call them to repentance.

Our fellowship has not diminished but expanded. Our resolve to proclaim the gospel has not been weakened but strengthened. Our commitment to reform and renew the Anglican Communion has not wavered or faltered.

As we look forward to the future, we were inspired by the vision presented to us by our Gafcon Primates Council Chairman in his final address. He reminded us of who we are—a gospel people, a rooted people, an orthodox people, and a Bible people. He encouraged us to recommit ourselves to prayer, to self-sustainability within our churches, and to some of Gafcon’s key areas of ministry, including BTI, women’s ministry, and our conferences. He also outlined some new initiatives for Gafcon, including the development of a theological writing group and a theological commission, and the intentional deepening of relationships through inter-provincial visits.

G25 inaugurates a series of annual mini-conferences that will be taking place throughout the Gafcon world. Next year, G26 will be meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, and will have a special focus on the more senior leaders of our global movement.

As we conclude our time together, we rejoice in hope because we know that, despite all the threats and obstacles we may face as a global church, the one who has called us is faithful. He has begun a good work in us, and he will carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

To God be the glory!

Plano, Texas, USA
Friday 14th March, 2025

Bishop Julian Dobbs and Rev. Canon Marc Steele were in Plano, TX, this week for G25, a conference for GAFCON leaders. Read the Plano Statement from the conference here: https://t.co/WuW6ivsPYm

— The Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (@The_ADLW) March 15, 2025

From there:

To my brothers and sisters in the Gafcon family,

The recommendations of the December 2024 Report of IASCUFO (the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order) will fail to bring about renewal in the Anglican Communion.

There is merit in the leadership of the Primates’ Council and the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) being handed over from the Archbishop of Canterbury to a rotating, international chair.

But their proposed restructure of the ‘Instruments of Communion’ fails to bring genuine renewal to our Anglican Church.

The IASCUFO recommendations weaken the foundations of our common doctrine by sanctifying the revisionist theologies of provinces and dioceses that have wandered from the truth.

They call on us to embrace the diverse theology of locally-authorised prayer books throughout the Anglican world, including those that have departed from the biblical doctrine of human sexuality expressed in our foundational 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

This only repeats and reaffirms the errors of successive Archbishops of Canterbury who failed to prevent the tearing of the fabric of the Anglican Communion by continuing to endorse those bishops and dioceses who had wandered from the truth.

To renew our Communion, we must submit to Holy Scripture.

The Bible is very clear: those who embrace immoral behaviour will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9), and if we will not trust the Bible’s teaching about sin, we cannot trust the Bible’s teaching about salvation.

Gafcon represents 85% of the world’s 85 million Anglicans, and we believe that the only ‘Instrument of Communion’ that ultimately matters is the word of God.

In two weeks’ time at our Gafcon G25 conference in Plano, Texas, we are gathering our senior leadership from around the world, along with some of our newest bishops, to consult together about how we will continue to lead the renewal of the Anglican Communion.

True unity can only be found in the faith once for all delivered to the saints, which alone can bring order to our beloved Anglican Communion, within which we steadfastly remain.

We give thanks for our brothers and sisters within the GSFA who desire that Anglicans everywhere would speak the truth in love, so that the people of all nations might believe in the Lord Jesus and be assured of their salvation.

The Most Rev’d Dr Laurent Mbanda
Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council
27th February 2025

Bell then comments:

‘Such a vision of unity is surely what must lie at the heart of any theological vision for the Anglican Communion. The gift of unity, intertwined with truth and holiness, empowered and initiated through and by love, flowing from its Trinitarian source, and finding its visibility not only in our structures and institutions but in our relationships and lives of Christian service, witness mission. Unity as gift and imperative sits above our disagreements requiring us not to contort ourselves into pseudo- agreement, but instead to recognise that metaphysical unity precedes our disagreements and will be revealed in different visible ways as we journey on together.’ (p.191)

What conservative Anglicans would want to say in response to these paragraphs is that Archbishop Rowan is right to say that the unity that all true Christians possess is the ‘pure gift’ of  ‘being summoned and drawn into the same place before the Father’s throne.’ However, they would want to add that this pure gift also includes a summons to ‘bear much fruit’ (John 15:8) or in other words to begin to live a new life enabled by the Holy Spirit which fulfils God’s intentions for his human creatures. In addition they would want to say that according to the witness of Scripture, and the uniform tradition of the Christian Church based on Scripture, living this new life involves living as the men and women God created us to be and observing a strict sexual ethic involving sexual faithfulness within (heterosexual) marriage and sexual abstinence outside it.  

Because they would want to say this, they would also want to say that unity is broken not only when Christians are not ‘able to see in each other the same kind of conviction of being called by authoritative voice into a place where none of us has an automatic right to stand,’ but also when they are not able to see in each other a recognition of God’s call to bear fruit in the ways just described. They would also add that this is what is currently the case in the Anglican Communion and in the Church of England.

In response to Bell’s comments conservative Anglicans  would agree that unity is both a gift and an imperative and would also agree that it is ‘revealed in different visible ways.’ However, they would say that these ways have to include Christians living as the men and women God created them to be and observing the Christian sexual ethic as outlined above.

Read it all.

We may subjectively dislike what God has said, but true Christian humility lies in accepting what God has said and acting upon it anyway' Martin Davie https://t.co/EUCULJ0Bk1 #anglican #marriage #theology #sexualethics #anthropology #scripture #religion #uk pic.twitter.com/WyjgnobT0k

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 10, 2023

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3)

We, the Gafcon Primates, meeting in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, to celebrate the investiture of Archbishop Steve Wood as the third Primate of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and to welcome him as a Primate of the Anglican Communion, send greetings to the faithful.

We wish we could write to you about our great joy for mission, evangelism, and church planting, but recent statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury require us to yet again address an urgent matter surrounding biblical ethics confronting our beloved Anglican church.

The recent actions of the General Synod of the Church of England, where Archbishop Justin Welby has championed the introduction of same-sex blessings into the life of the Church of England, has galvanised the Gafcon movement in the ongoing reset of the Anglican Communion. However, Archbishop Welby’s recent explicit repudiation of Christian doctrine in his interview on Britain’s podcast, ‘The Rest is Politics,’ has brought us to repeat our serious call for his personal repentance.

In this interview, he publicly states that:

“all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship and whether it’s straight or gay. In other words, we’re not giving up on the idea that sex is within marriage or civil partnership. We’ve put forward a proposal that where people have been through a civil partnership or a same-sex marriage, equal marriage under the 2014 Act, they should be able to come along to their local, to a church, and have a service of prayer and blessing for them in their lives together.”

While he may claim not to have changed the doctrine of marriage, the Archbishop of Canterbury has demonstrably changed the doctrine of sin, by promoting the sanctification of sin by means of a divine blessing.

This is in clear breach of Holy Scripture, which unequivocally teaches that the only proper context for sexual intimacy is in the relationship of a man and woman who have been joined together in marriage. All forms of sexual intimacy outside of this context are condemned as immorality and are behaviors from which the people of God are regularly called to repent (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

It is also in clear breach of Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, which rejected, “homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture,” and which the Archbishop as recently as 2022 declared to be the teaching of the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England.

We are guided by Jesus’ solemn words of warning to the Church of Thyatira, because, “they tolerate the teaching of Jezebel,” which endorses sexual immorality. Only judgment awaits Jezebel and all who follow her, unless they repent (Revelation 2:21-22; 22:15). Any toleration, let alone endorsement, of immorality is liable to God’s judgment.

For this reason, in response to his public comments, we solemnly repeat our call for Archbishop Justin Welby to personally and publicly repent of this denial of his ordination and consecration vows, where he promised to, “teach the doctrine of Christ as the Church of England has received it.”

Gafcon supports all faithful Anglicans, both those who have chosen to leave established provinces where the authority of Scripture has been compromised, as well as those who choose to remain as they seek to reform their province from within.

Therefore, we continue to champion The Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE) as Gafcon’s authentically-Anglican structural provision for those who cannot by conscience remain within the historic, revisionist structures.

Additionally, we express our support for The Alliance as they seek to stand firm in defense of biblical marriage within the Church of England, and we stand ready to defend, authenticate, and support them.

Finally, we declare afresh to all those in England who, “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to all the saints,” that you are not alone.

Gafcon Primates’ Council.
Reformation Day,
31 October 2024.

Gafcon rebukes Archbishop Welby and affirms orthodox Anglicans in England: “Archbishop Welby’s recent explicit repudiation of Christian doctrine … has brought us to repeat our serious call for his personal repentance.” #anglican https://t.co/jdxcicstUL

— Jeff Walton (@jeffreyhwalton) November 1, 2024

Then, as now, the majority of global Anglicans believed that apostolic teaching calls for those engaging in sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage to be loved by the church and called to repent. Without repentance, such a person cannot be considered a “true shepherd” and therefore should be precluded from ordination or consecration. It was, therefore, TEC’s willingness to consecrate a man in a same-sex relationship which tore “the fabric of [the] communion at its deepest level.”

Returning to the events of Saturday 11th May 2024, Bishop Jill Duff told Anglican Futures that she was asked to attend the consecration of Bishop David Morris as a representative of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York…. She was very clear that it was in that capacity, rather than as an honorary assistant bishop in the Church in Wales, that she did so .

This raises a number of issues of national and international significance:

First, this means a bishop of the Church of England was involved in the consecration of a man whose conduct would prevent him from being consecrated as a bishop in the Church of England.

Read it all.

When @AnglicanFutures publishes a piece like this it quickly becomes obvious that the only real sin for @churchofengland bishops is to dissent from the idea that truth is best regarded as being plural. Nearly 3,000 reads shows how wrong that is. https://t.co/Z5hLAuYA8D

— Dan Leafe (@DanLeafe1) May 19, 2024

A Response to the Primates Meeting in Rome

Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council pic.twitter.com/6RodpHUpkd

— Gafcon (@GafconGBE) May 6, 2024

You may find the link to the text of the full letter there.

This week marks a tragic moment in the history of the Church of England. On Wednesday, November 15, its General Synod approved a proposal to encourage its bishops to continue their work in creating and implementing liturgical prayers of blessing for same-sex unions. The Synod additionally voted to approve an amendment that will allow clergy to go ahead and conduct standalone services of blessing on a trial basis. This means that, beginning next month, Anglican clergy in Church of England churches will be able to do what the prophet Balaam could not and would not do by going against the Word of God and blessing that which God has condemned (Num 24:12-14).

Holy Scripture is clear and unequivocal in its affirmation that the only proper context for sexual intimacy is the relationship of a man and woman who have been joined together in marriage. All forms of sexual intimacy outside of this context are condemned as immorality and are behaviors from which the people of God are regularly called to repent. In I Corinthians 6:9-10, the apostle Paul tells us “not to be deceived” on the seriousness of such immorality and warns us that those who fail to repent of it will not inherit the kingdom of God. And one of the behaviors he specifically names is that of homosexual activity. Elsewhere the New Testament specifically warns against false teachers who promote sexual immorality within the church (2 Peter 2:1-3, Jude 3-4, Rev. 2:19-24) and instructs us not to listen to or heed their words.

This week, the Church of England has made it clear that they disagree with Holy Scripture. They have decided that they can bless that from which the Bible calls us to repent. What is more, although these motions were passed by very narrow votes among the clergy and laity, the bishops gave their support and approval by a very clear majority. This is a tragedy for Anglicans, for not only has the Church of England done what its own Thirty-Nine Articles forbid by approving ceremonies that are “contrary to God’s Word written” (Articles XX, XXXIV), but a majority of its bishops have broken the vows which they swore at their consecration, to “banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to God’s Word” (BCP Ordinal).

Read it all.

St. Patrick’s Day – preaching in Down Cathedral, N. Ireland on the theme of reconciliation. Grateful for the opportunity! pic.twitter.com/Vxs4XAlPtd

— Laurent Mbanda (@MbandaLaurent) March 17, 2023

Conscious of the forthcoming meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England, the Primates reaffirmed their commitment to the Jerusalem Statement of 2008, which describes Gafcon as ‘a spiritual movement to preserve and promote the truth and power of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as we Anglicans have received it.’ The Jerusalem Statement rejects the proposition that authentic Anglicans are only those recognised by the Archbishop of Canterbury. On the contrary, the criteria of Anglican identity are outlined in the fourteen points of the Jerusalem Declaration which continue to define authentic Anglicanism, despite the abandonment of many of these features by those who purport to be Anglicans. We have witnessed over the past twenty-five years the slow, but relentless, moral decay in parts of the Anglican Communion where the world’s values have been endorsed and embraced, replacing the clear teaching of God’s word written.

We continue to affirm that we are not leaving the Anglican Communion. We are delighted to work with the Global South (GSFA) in the task of resetting the Communion, which was foreshadowed in the 2008 Jerusalem Statement, and explicitly declared in the Kigali Commitment of 2023. Given the failure of the so-called Instruments of Communion, we shall not be attending the 2024 Primates Meeting in Rome, convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and encourage all orthodox Primates to join us in this stand against those who support a revisionist agenda.

Furthermore, we encourage Gafcon Provinces to consider withdrawing all links with any English diocese whose bishop supports the proposals, currently before the General Synod,to sanction the blessing of same-sex couples. We also extend the right hand of fellowship to and support all bishops, clergy and laity who oppose these revisionist doctrines and courageously uphold the teaching of Christ on the sanctity of marriage as God has ordained it (Matthew 19:4-6). We especially commend those English bishops who have distanced themselves from the egregious recommendations of the House of Bishops.

Read it all.

The November 20023 Statement From The #Gafcon Primates Council–'Furthermore, we encourage Gafcon Provinces to consider withdrawing all links with any English diocese whose bishop supports the proposals, currently before the General Synod,to sanction the blessing of same-sex…

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) November 15, 2023

We, in Gafcon and GSFA had earlier declared unequivocally that we no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as the head, leader or spokesperson of the Anglican Communion. He has lost every power and authority to dictate to or advise other Primates and Provinces of the Communion who oversee 85% of the Global Communion. It is pertinent to remind Archbishop Welby that Africa is no longer a colony of the ‘British Empire,’ and the Church of England has no jurisdiction over the Anglican Provinces on the continent of Africa. As such, he should stop meddling with the internal affairs of the Anglicans on the continent of Africa.

We stand together in our commitment to the Bible and the essence of the Christian faith. We will stand together with Christ and shall resist all attempts to pollute our faith. The part of Lambeth Resolution I.10 which enjoins non-discrimination against persons who experience or practice homosexuality is not an endorsement of the sinful act, but a call for a normal pastoral approach and the responsibility of Church ministers to offer care and counsel to sinners of all categories.

Therefore, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV).

Read it all.

https://t.co/V4K8FFW9l7

— Gafcon (@GafconGBE) June 14, 2023

A Sudanese convert from Islam to Christianity reminded me that local churches aren’t for entertainment but are meant to be family. This brother shared how his Muslim family held his funeral when he converted, going so far as to bury an empty casket in a tomb that bore his name. Our local churches must be family, especially for those who will lose their families to follow Jesus in an increasingly hostile culture.

Anglicanism is a historic branch of Christianity. For it to thrive in the future as a global movement will mean cultivating godly leaders who are faithful to God’s Word. During a memorable testimony at GAFCON IV, one Sudanese Anglican reminded us that will be costly: “A Christianity that costs us nothing is not biblical.” As I reflect on my time at GAFCON IV, I’d add, “A church that costs its members nothing is not the church for which Christ died.”

Though it’s costly, I pray faithful Anglicans will continue to do the hard work of humble gospel reform, ongoing repentance, and structural resetting that our Communion so desperately needs.

Read it all.

Despite 25 years of warnings by most Anglican primates, repeated departures from the authority of God’s word have torn the fabric of the Communion.

—The Kigali Commitment https://t.co/eESYLlpxWM

— The Gospel Coalition (@TGC) April 25, 2023

What is now clear is that, in the event of the General Synod endorsing blessings for people in sexually active relationships outside of heterosexual marriage, the Church of England will confirm she has “chosen to impair her relationship with the orthodox provinces in the Communion”. She will thereby ensure that the Anglican Communion will cease to exist in anything like its current form.

CEEC therefore urges the House and College of Bishops to step back from the brink in order urgently to explore a “settlement” in England that might avoid the Church of England suffering the same internal division as the Communion has experienced in the last two decades.

Given that about 45% of the General Synod has clearly articulated the conviction that the proposals of the bishops are unacceptable, urgent consideration needs to be given to a form of good differentiation involving structural re-organisation without theological compromise. Following this path could prevent the unity of the Church of England being torn apart in the same way that the Communion has been.

Read it all.

The conference as a whole has been marked by humility and repentance. Every day, in response to expositions of the book of Colossians in the Bible, the conference has set aside time for delegates themselves to reflect and repent of their own sins first. Only with that firm basic Christian foundation in place have they felt able to say that “Recognising our own sins, and in humility as forgiven sinners, we pray that those who have denied the orthodox Christian faith in word or deed would repent and return to the Lord… 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 Bible’s teaching. This includes matters such as human sexuality and marriage, the uniqueness and divinity of Christ, his bodily resurrection, his promised return, the summons to faith and repentance and the final judgment.” It is noteworthy here that they do not focus solely on matters of sex, but on all departures for the orthodox biblical faith as it has been revealed to us in scripture and held by the church in all ages and in all places. GAFCON is by no means a single-issue group, but is seeking to uphold “the true profession of the gospel, the Protestant Reformed religion.”

For now then, the Anglican Communion is broken. Only a change of direction by senior leaders in revisionist provinces can alter this. “We long for this repentance,” says GAFCON, “but until they repent, our communion with them remains broken”. This gathering, which represents the vast majority of global Anglicans, makes it crystal clear that “We consider that those who refuse to repent have abdicated their right to leadership within the Anglican Communion, and we commit ourselves to working with orthodox Primates and other leaders to reset the Communion on its biblical foundations.”

GAFCON has rightly supported those who in good conscience feel they cannot remain in the Church of England. They do not however call on everyone in England to do the same and follow that path out of the national church. They reaffirm their active support for those of us who wish to continue fighting valiantly within the Church of England and are compelled to resist the changes proposed by the majority of the House of Bishops. So, the statement says, “We also continue to stand with and pray for those faithful Anglicans who remain within the Church of England. We support their efforts to uphold biblical orthodoxy and to resist breaches of Resolution I.10.”

Turning to pastoral matters, GAFCON restates the classic Christian approach on matters of sexuality. “Appropriate pastoral care affirms faithfulness in marriage and abstinence in singleness. It is not appropriate pastoral care to mislead people, by pretending that God blesses sexually active relationships between two people of the same sex. This is unloving as it leads them into error and places a stumbling block in the way of their inheriting the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).” This shows that GAFCON is more interested in people’s eternal salvation and true flourishing than those who want to affirm recent revisionist approaches that are more worldly and supposedly “progressive” in nature.

Read it all.

GAFCON IV – THE KIGALI COMMITMENT

INTRODUCTION [Download the entire commitment using the link below]

[Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:18… pic.twitter.com/wqYV1g0tTo

— GAFCON (@gafconference) April 21, 2023

Read it all.

It's been one of the privileges and joys of my life to be able to experience the deep gospel fellowship with so many wonderful Anglican servants of the Lord Jesus Christ from around the world, at Gafcon IV in Kigali – with one of my daughters, Hannah.
And that's a wrap!#gafcon23 pic.twitter.com/ssxJfGUQtT

— Sandy Grant (@SandmanGrant) April 21, 2023

2. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BIBLE; IT’S CLARITY, AUTHORITY AND SUFFICIENCY GIVE US CONFIDENCE IN WHAT WE BELIEVE AS ANGLICANS.

This is clear from the section on “The Authority of God’s word”:

“The current divisions in the Anglican Communion have been caused by radical departures from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some within the Communion have been taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophies of this world (Colossians 2:8). Such a failure to hear and heed God’s Word undermines the mission of the church as a whole.

The Bible is God’s Word written, breathed out by God as it was written by his faithful messengers (2 Timothy 3:16). It carries God’s own authority, is its own interpreter, and it does not need to be supplemented, nor can it ever be overturned by human wisdom.

God’s good Word is the rule of our lives as disciples of Jesus and is the final authority in the church.” (Emphasis added)

Here we see the Kigali Statement echoing, in different words, the same assertion as the Global South Section 1.6 on the sufficiency of God’s Word written in its plain and canonical sense, and the rejection of any “hermeneutics of skepticism,” which Anglican revisionists have brought to the text of scripture.  The Kigali Statement goes on to say of the Bible:

“It grounds, energises and directs our mission in the world. The fellowship we enjoy with our risen and ascended Lord is nourished as we trust God’s Word, obey it and encourage each other to allow it to shape each area of our lives.”

Gafcon continues to stand for the Bible as the very foundation upon which Anglicans have confidence to believe what we believe, to have fellowship with Jesus himself, and to find “energy and direction” for all we do! Therefore, the crisis in the Anglican Communion is not about “differences of opinion” or “secondary matters” of human sexuality.  The crisis is about the very basis upon which the Church is constituted, especially when the plain reading of the text is ignored:

“This fellowship is broken when we turn aside from God’s Word or attempt to reinterpret it in any way that overturns the plain reading of the text in its canonical context and so deny its truthfulness, clarity, sufficiency, and thereby its authority (Jerusalem Declaration #2).”

In other words, what is ultimately at stake here is what we have proclaimed for the last 25 years: the truthfulness, clarity, sufficiency, and authority of the Bible.  For this reason, it is impossible to embrace “pluriform truth” as the Archbishop of Canterbury did at the recent Lambeth Conference 2022. For this reason, GAFCON rejects the Canterbury led communion narrative of “walking together in good disagreement” as the basis for fellowship, much less Communion:

“We reject the claim that two contradictory positions can both be valid in matters affecting salvation.  We cannot ‘walk together’ in good disagreement with those who have deliberately chosen to walk away from the ‘faith once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3).  The people of God ‘walk in his ways’, ‘walk in the truth’, and ‘walk in the light’, all of which require that we do not walk in Christian fellowship with those in darkness (Deuteronomy 8:6; 2 John 4; 1 John 1:7).”

Read it all.

Canon Phil takes an in-depth walk through of 8 major take-aways from the @gafconference Kigali Commitment released today. https://t.co/BzhWk6VJnh

— American Anglican (@AnglicanCouncil) April 21, 2023

From the link there as well as many other sources–KSH

[Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Colossians 1:18

Greetings from Kigali, Rwanda, where the fourth Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) met from 17-21 April 2023, bringing together 1,302 delegates from 52 countries, including 315 bishops, 456 other clergy and 531 laity.

We were grateful for the extraordinary hospitality extended by Archbishop Laurent Mbanda and the Anglican Church of Rwanda. We were deeply saddened to hear the news of the loss of Laurent and Chantal’s son Edwin, and we continue to offer our prayers of comfort for the Mbanda family.

We were also privileged to be welcomed and addressed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda, the Right Honourable Edouard Ngirente who spoke of the significance of our gathering.

Our conference theme for 2023 ‘To Whom Shall We Go?’ (John 6:68), along with our Bible studies in the Letter to the Colossians, focused our attention on Jesus, the one in whom all the fullness of God dwells in bodily form, the Lord of all creation and the head of his body, the church (Colossians 1:15-19; 2:9).

Our Chairman in his opening address encouraged us to be a repenting church, a reconciling church, a reproducing church and a relentlessly compassionate church. This is the church we want to be.

We were reminded that the purpose and mission of the church is to make known to a lost world the glorious riches of the gospel by proclaiming Christ crucified and risen, and living faithfully together as his disciples.

Our Fellowship Together

We gave thanks for God’s goodness and faithfulness to the Gafcon movement since its inception in 2008, as we rejoiced in a new generation of emerging leaders. It is God who unites us to himself and to one other in the power of his Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). From the diversity of our different backgrounds and cultures we delighted in our unity in Christ and the love that we share.

Many among us are from contexts of persecution or conflict and we know that as one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. Some were unable to attend the conference because of this. We prayed for our brothers and sisters in Sudan, and for the suffering church. We also heard testimony of the power of the gospel to transform lives even in these circumstances through the prayer, kindness and compassion of Christians.

The Authority of God’s Word

The current divisions in the Anglican Communion have been caused by radical departures from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some within the Communion have been taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophies of this world (Colossians 2:8). Such a failure to hear and heed God’s Word undermines the mission of the church as a whole.

The Bible is God’s Word written, breathed out by God as it was written by his faithful messengers (2 Timothy 3:16). It carries God’s own authority, is its own interpreter, and it does not need to be supplemented, nor can it ever be overturned by human wisdom.

God’s good Word is the rule of our lives as disciples of Jesus and is the final authority in the church.

It grounds, energises and directs our mission in the world. The fellowship we enjoy with our risen and ascended Lord is nourished as we trust God’s Word, obey it and encourage each other to allow it to shape each area of our lives.

This fellowship is broken when we turn aside from God’s Word or attempt to reinterpret it in any way that overturns the plain reading of the text in its canonical context and so deny its truthfulness, clarity, sufficiency, and thereby its authority (Jerusalem Declaration #2).

The Current Crisis in the Anglican Communion

Despite 25 years of persistent warnings by most Anglican Primates, repeated departures from the authority of God’s Word have torn the fabric of the Communion. These warnings were blatantly and deliberately disregarded and now without repentance this tear cannot be mended.

The latest of these departures is the majority vote by the General Synod of the Church of England in February 2023 to welcome proposals by the bishops to enable same-sex couples to receive God’s blessing. It grieves the Holy Spirit and us that the leadership of the Church of England is determined to bless sin.

Since the Lord does not bless same-sex unions, it is pastorally deceptive and blasphemous to craft prayers that invoke blessing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Any refusal to follow the biblical teaching that the only appropriate context for sexual activity is the exclusive lifelong union of a man and a woman in marriage violates the created order (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6) and endangers salvation (1 Corinthians 6:9).

Public statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other leaders of the Church of England in support of same-sex blessings are a betrayal of their ordination and consecration vows to banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.

These statements are also a repudiation of Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, which declared that ‘homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture,’ and advised against the ‘legitimising or blessing of same sex unions’. This occurred despite the Archbishop of Canterbury having affirmed that ‘the validity of the resolution passed at the Lambeth Conference 1998, I.10 is not in doubt and that whole resolution is still in existence’.

The 2022 Lambeth Conference demonstrated the deep divisions in the Anglican Communion as many bishops chose not to attend and some of those who did withdrew from sharing at the Lord’s table.

The Failure of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Other Instruments of Communion

We have no confidence that the Archbishop of Canterbury nor the other Instruments of Communion led by him (the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meetings) are able to provide a godly way forward that will be acceptable to those who are committed to the truthfulness, clarity, sufficiency and authority of Scripture. The Instruments of Communion have failed to maintain true communion based on the Word of God and shared faith in Christ.

All four Instruments propose that the way ahead for the Anglican Communion is to learn to walk together in ‘good disagreement’. However we reject the claim that two contradictory positions can both be valid in matters affecting salvation. We cannot ‘walk together’ in good disagreement with those who have deliberately chosen to walk away from the ‘faith once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3). The people of

God ’walk in his ways’, ‘walk in the truth’, and ‘walk in the light’, all of which require that we do not walk in Christian fellowship with those in darkness (Deuteronomy 8:6; 2 John 4; 1 John 1:7).

Successive Archbishops of Canterbury have failed to guard the faith by inviting bishops to Lambeth who have embraced or promoted practices contrary to Scripture. 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. This renders his leadership role in the Anglican Communion entirely indefensible.

Call for Repentance

Repentance defines and shapes the Christian life and the life of the church. Each day at the Conference, in response to God’s Word in Colossians, we were led in a time of repentance.

Recognising our own sins, and in humility as forgiven sinners, we pray that those who have denied the orthodox Christian faith in word or deed would repent and return to the Lord (Jerusalem Declaration #13).

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 Bible’s teaching. This includes matters such as human sexuality and marriage, the uniqueness and divinity of Christ, his bodily resurrection, his promised return, the summons to faith and repentance and the final judgment.

We long for this repentance but until they repent, our communion with them remains broken.

We consider that those who refuse to repent have abdicated their right to leadership within the Anglican Communion, and we commit ourselves to working with orthodox Primates and other leaders to reset the Communion on its biblical foundations.

Support for Faithful Anglicans

Since the inception of Gafcon, it has been necessary for the Gafcon Primates to recognise new orthodox jurisdictions for faithful Anglicans, such as the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), the Anglican Church in Brazil, the Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE), the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand, and the Diocese of the Southern Cross. We encourage the Gafcon Primates to continue to provide such safe harbour for faithful Anglicans.

In view of the current crisis, we reiterate our support for those who are unable to remain in the Church of England because of the failure of its leadership. We rejoice in the growth of the ANiE and other Gafcon- aligned networks.

We also continue to stand with and pray for those faithful Anglicans who remain within the Church of England. We support their efforts to uphold biblical orthodoxy and to resist breaches of Resolution I.10.

Appropriate Pastoral Care

Aware of our own sin and frailty, we commit ourselves to providing appropriate pastoral care to all people in our churches. This is all the more necessary in the current context of sexual and gender confusion, made worse by its deliberate and systematic promotion across the world.

Appropriate pastoral care affirms faithfulness in marriage and abstinence in singleness. It is not appropriate pastoral care to mislead people, by pretending that God blesses sexually active relationships between two

people of the same sex. This is unloving as it leads them into error and places a stumbling block in the way of their inheriting the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

We affirm that every person is loved by God and we are determined to love as God loves. As Resolution I.10 affirms, we oppose the vilification or demeaning of any person including those who do not follow God’s ways, since all human beings are created in God’s image.

We are thankful to God for all those who seek to live a life of faithfulness to God’s Word in the face of all forms of sexual temptation.

We pledge ourselves afresh to support and care for one another in a loving and pastorally sensitive way as members of Christ’s body, building one another up in the Word and in the Spirit, and encouraging each other to experience God’s transforming power as we walk by faith in the path of repentance and obedience that leads to fullness of life.

Resetting the Communion

We were delighted to be joined in Kigali by leaders of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) and to host a combined Gafcon-GSFA Primates meeting. Together, these Primates represent the overwhelming majority (estimated at 85%) of Anglicans worldwide.

The leadership of both groups affirmed and celebrated their complementary roles in the Anglican Communion. Gafcon is a movement focused on evangelism and mission, church planting and providing support and a home for faithful Anglicans who are pressured by or alienated from revisionist dioceses and provinces. GSFA, on the other hand, is focused on establishing doctrinally based structures within the Communion.

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 church’s mission to the world. We acknowledge their agreement that ‘communion’ between churches and Christians must be based on doctrine (Jerusalem Declaration #13; GSFA Covenant 2.1.6). Anglican identity is defined by this and not by recognition from the See of Canterbury.

Both GSFA and Gafcon Primates share the view that, due to the departures from orthodoxy articulated above, they can no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion, the ‘first among equals’ of the Primates. The Church of England has chosen to impair her relationship with the orthodox provinces in the Communion.

We welcome the GSFA’s Ash Wednesday Statement of 20 February 2023, calling for a resetting and reordering of the Communion. We applaud the invitation of the GSFA Primates to collaborate with Gafcon and other orthodox Anglican groupings to work out the shape and nature of our common life together and how we are to maintain the priority of proclaiming the gospel and making disciples of all nations.

Resetting the Communion is an urgent matter. It needs an adequate and robust foundation that addresses the legal and constitutional complexities in various Provinces. 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. 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.

Our Future Together

As we considered the future of our movement we welcomed the following seven priorities articulated by the General Secretary and endorsed by the Gafcon Primates.

We will engage in a decade of discipleship, evangelism and mission (2023-2033).
We will devote ourselves to raising up the next generation of leaders in Gafcon through Bible-based

theological education that will equip them to be Christ-centred and servant-hearted.

We will prioritise youth and children’s ministry that instructs them in the Word of the Lord, disciples them to maturity in Christ and equips them for a lifetime of Christian service.

We will affirm and encourage the vital and diverse ministries, including leadership roles, of Gafcon women in family, church and society, both as individuals and as groups.

We will demonstrate the compassion of Christ through the many Gafcon mercy ministries.
We will resource and support bishops’ training that produces faithful, courageous, servant leaders.
We will build the bonds of fellowship and mutual edification through interprovincial visits of our Primates.

Arising from our conference we encouraged the Primates Council also to prioritise discipleship for boys and men.

In order to pursue these priorities and to grow the work of the Gafcon movement, we endorsed the establishment of a foundation endowment. We also encouraged the Gafcon provinces to become financially self-sufficient, not only to advance mission but also to avoid being vulnerable to economic manipulation.

Most importantly of all, we commit ourselves afresh to the gospel mission of proclaiming the crucified, risen and ascended Christ, calling on all to acknowledge him as Lord in repentance and faith, and living out a joyful, faithful obedience to his Word in all areas of our lives. We will explore fresh ways to encourage each other, to pray for one another and to hold each other accountable in these things.

We commit ourselves into the hands of our almighty and loving heavenly Father with confidence that he will fulfil all his promises and, even through a time of pruning, Christ will build his church.

‘To whom shall we go?’
We go to Christ who alone has the words of eternal life (John 6:68) and then we go with Christ to the whole world. Amen

Kigali, Rwanda 21 April 2023

Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, Primate of Nigeria, is now reading the conference statement. It will be published immediately after the reading, on the #GAFCON23 website. But for now I just want to concentrate on listening! pic.twitter.com/YFSrrpsvCa

— Sandy Grant (@SandmanGrant) April 21, 2023

A repenting church was one that modeled the Lord’s call for all people to repent of their sins. It served no purpose to call out the sins of others if we ignored our own sins and shortcomings, he explained. The Holy Spirit “reveals” to a believer their sins, giving you a choice to turn away or to continue in sin.

Here the archbishop made his only comment on the situation facing the Church of England – not as a rallying cry for action, but as an example of reprobate behavior. He stated: “In recent days we have seen the Church of England led by the Archbishop of Canterbury walk away from the plain teaching of Scripture. We call on them to repent, to return to the teaching of the word of God. We call on them to stop blessing sin and return to the sanctity and holiness of marriage.”

He then called out the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales, the Episcopal Church of Brazil, the Anglican Church of New Zealand, the Church of Australia, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Episcopal Church of the USA to “repent and turn to the teachings of Holy Scripture.”

“Sadly,” he observed, “and with broken hearts, we say that until the Archbishop of Canterbury repents we can no longer recognize him as the first among equals and the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.”

“It is time for the whole Anglican establishment to be reformed,” he declared, and then asked “Why does the secular government of only one of the nations represented in the Anglican Communion still get to pick the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion? This makes no sense in today’s post-colonial world.”

Read it all.

Time to move on past Canterbury and seek the renewal, revival and reform of the Anglican way — Archbishop Beach tells GAFCON IVhttps://t.co/Rf59mch7B4 pic.twitter.com/d6XnBApWuF

— Anglican Ink (@anglicanink) April 17, 2023