| Dear TFCA Family, Many of us have been hearing in the news of late about the Anglican Communion—the global denomination we draw our spiritual heritage from and that accounts for over 85 million Christians around the world. On October 16, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, the leaders of Gafcon released a momentous statement effectively reordering that Communion, titled, The Future Has Arrived. I recommend reading it. By way of background, Gafcon—the Global Anglican Futures Conference—formed in 2008 as a movement to call the larger Anglican Church to repentance and reform. Sadly, many Anglican bishops, pastors and institutions have turned from the authority of Scripture and rebelled against biblical teaching and church doctrine, especially in matters of anthropology and sexuality. The Falls Church voted in 2006 to disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church USA, the American branch of the Anglican Communion, and since then has become part of the Gafcon movement, expressed today by our place in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). I have had the privilege of attending several Gafcon gatherings. Today, this movement represents over eighty-five percent of global Anglicans, most located in Africa, Asia, and South America. How Does the Recent Gafcon Statement Reorder the Anglican Communion Formerly, belonging to the Anglican Communion was maintained by four “Instruments of Communion”: The Archbishop of Canterbury (first among equals and symbolic center of unity)The Lambeth Conference (a gathering of bishops every ten years)The Anglican Consultative Council (a policy and administrative body)The Primates’ Meeting (gathering of archbishops and national leaders) The Gafcon statement declares that these mechanisms have failed to preserve biblical truth and Gospel unity and instead calls for a reordering around Scripture alone: 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.” This reflects Article VI of the 39 Articles of Religion and continues the Reformation principle of sola Scriptura. Archbishop of ACNA, Steve Wood, calls the Gafcon statement historic, and surely he is correct. The Gafcon leaders boldly go on, 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. And, 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. The statement ends powerfully, Today, Gafcon is leading the Global Anglican Communion. As has been the case from the very beginning, we have not left the Anglican Communion; we are the Anglican Communion. What Precipitated the Statement? While this reordering has been long in the making, the recent appointment of Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury was the final sign that Canterbury—the historic center of Anglicanism—has no interest in repentance or reform but continues to follow culture. Mullally’s record as bishop shows how unfit she is to be the spiritual leader of the Church, as Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda wrote, she has “failed to guard the faith and is complicit in introducing practices and beliefs that violate both ‘the plain and canonical sense’ of Scripture and ‘the Church’s historic and consensual’ interpretation of it.” She recently advocated, for example, for the introduction of same-sex blessings into the Church of England. While the appointment of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury will be celebrated by some, this is also a break with two thousand years of church teaching and practice and contradicts the traditional and plain reading of Scripture where, though men and women are equal in dignity and both called to serve, God ordains that men be head of His church. What does this mean for The Falls Church Anglican? Practically speaking, very little. When we voted to leave The Episcopal Church in 2006, we yet hoped that the global church would reform and be a body we called home. What has happened instead is that God has refined us, and we now find ourselves part of this (large) remnant, Gafcon. Neither Canterbury nor The Episcopal Church has any ecclesial authority over us, nor have they since 2006. Spiritually, however, we are reminded that we are part of what God is doing across the world—that He is always reforming and purifying His church. This should both humble and strengthen us. Humble, because we never want to presume upon faithfulness, but pray earnestly for it. Strengthen, because we see that God will not abandon His church. In his article on these events, Bishop Paul Donison (and Rector of Christ Church, Plano, TX), notes three lessons all evangelical Christians can learn from this moment: First, it shows the courage of global South Christians. The majority world Anglicans—who represent the majority of Anglicans, period—have refused to compromise on Scripture. Second, it models a biblical principle of reformation. When church structures fail, Christians are not called to abandon the faith but to reform the church according to the Word. Third, it underscores the centrality of Scripture. In an age when unity is often defined by sentiment, brand, or leadership charisma, Gafcon insists that the only true basis of communion is the Bible. Let us be thankful to God that we are part of a biblically faithful local church and the biblically faithful Global Anglican Communion. Let us also pray for Gafcon’s courageous leaders. |
| –The Rev. Sam Ferguson is rector of Falls Church Anglican parish in Falls Church, Virginia |