The Global Anglican Communion meets for the 4th time since 2009. Conservative primates gathered in Kigali and withdrew their recognition of Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as the “first among equals.” The chair of St Augustine is now empty, as far as leaders representing an estimated 85 percent of the Anglican Communion are concerned. The primates gathered at the fourth Gafcon conference stated:
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…
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.
Their Kigali Commitment calls for repentance by progressives within 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,” stated the primates. “These warnings were blatantly and deliberately disregarded and now without repentance this tear cannot be mended.”
Gafcon will provide support for evangelicals in and out of the Church of England.
“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 [Anglican Network in Europe] and other Gafcon-aligned networks,” stated the primates. “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 [Lambeth 1998] Resolution I.10.”
The primates echoed the provisions of the 1998 resolution, noting that LGBT people should be treated with dignity.
“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,” stated the primates. “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.”
The statement endorses the continued existence of two conservative movements in Anglicanism, but recognises a need to have a single conservative point of identity—in essence, a reordered communion.
“The leadership of both groups affirmed and celebrated their complementary roles in the Anglican Communion…,” stated the primates. “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.”
