Five Global South primates recently rejected a plea to attend next summer’s Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops. In a related development, the leadership team of an alternate Lambeth Conference announced Feb. 19 that the dates and location had changed.
Last month, 21 English bishops who identified themselves as coming from the evangelical wing of the church wrote an open letter pleading with Global South primates to attend the Lambeth Conference. In their reply, the primates said participating in a conference with unrepentant bishops from The Episcopal Church would be hypocritical and “an assault on our consciences.” They stressed that they are not withdrawing from the Anglican Communion.
The five primates—Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya, Archbishop Henry Orombi of Uganda, and Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone—all belong to the 15-member Global Anglican Fellowship conference (GAFCON) leadership team that is organizing the alternate event, which was first announced on Christmas Eve.
The revised GAFCON schedule calls for an invitation-only consultation for church leaders in Jordan June 18-22 and a pilgrimage to Jerusalem June 22-29. The decision to move the business portion of the conference out of Jerusalem was made after conference organizers met with the Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, Bishop in Jerusalem. By separating the political and spiritual dimensions of the conference, GAFCON organizers hope to reassure Bishop Suheil, who previously expressed concern about the unintended consequences of bringing a conference with a potentially divisive agenda to Jerusalem.
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2 Comments
What a gaff and a con. This meeting detracts from the work of the Church in the world and reduces faith to a particular brand of Biblical purity or Bibliolatry.
The search for the "pure church" contiinues. Rome believes they have it. Evangelicals believe they have it and don't want to be contaminated by the rest of us. They would rather destroy the unity of the church. Alas.
Harry W. Shipps
Savannah, GA