A presentation by Vinay Samuel to the Preparation Meeting for GAFCON2013 on September 16
The Anglican Communion as it exists today is not a single communion – it is more a collection of coalitions.
The centre (Lambeth) has no meaning in defining the Communion. Archbishop Justin Welby has inherited a broken communion he cannot heal. The role of Lambeth has enormously diminished. The instruments of communion as the governing centre are irrelevant for dealing with communion matters.
People will not accept a communion that promotes things that are heretical. Instead of Lambeth legitimation we need mutual legitimation. This leads to coalitions.
Significant parts of African church will continue to believe in traditional orthodox Anglican faith. They will protect it and prevent other versions from entering into their areas.
Time was when the Anglican Communion understood itself to be a communion of autonomous churches with a common faith who kept each other accountable to the common faith.
Once the common faith started disintegrating the Anglican Communion held on to a common way of being Anglican- namely its liturgies, parish system, and leadership of rectors of self-governing parishes and bishops. The common faith began to crumble but Anglicans remained committed to a common life.
However, the life being lived by certain provinces began to be at their heart immoral by conviction on key matters of faith and practice. When faith changes common life changes.
Without a strong theological unity we cannot maintain the communion. It now has a such a diversity that one group cannot recognize the other as Christian.
We need a common theological framework. We need the coalitions of the orthodox and a network of the orthodox coalitions. Keep reading
Also see
Preparing for GAFCON 2
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