The need for GAFCON

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=14824#more-14824

[Anglican Mainstream] 8 Sep 2009--Why was it necessary for the Primates of Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Southern Cone to invite Anglicans from around the world to meet with them and their bishops in Jerusalem in June 2008 for the Global Anglican Future Conference? You have with you today three people who were in the room when that decision was taken: Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, Canon Vinay Samuel and myself.

My privilege this morning is to set out why GAFCON Jerusalem 2008 was necessary.

The immediate cause for GAFCON was the invitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams to those who had consecrated Gene Robinson as a Bishop to attend the Lambeth Conference. This invitation was sent in July 2007, and the timing was significant as I will show later.

Following this invitation, Archbishop Peter Akinola made a visit in October 2007 at his own expense to London to meet with Archbishop Rowan Williams to ask him most seriously to delay the Lambeth Conference until the issue of the consecration of Gene Robinson by the Episcopal Church could be resolved. When Archbishop Williams proved immovable on this certain things became crystal clear to Archbishop Akinola and his colleagues.

First, all that they had done since 1998 to state and clarify both the scriptural teaching of the Anglican Communion, and its pastoral response from a biblical perspective to those in same-sex relationships, had achieved nothing. The result of this process was that there was no clear message of Anglican identity. The account of this ten year process is given by Archbishop Akinola in his article: “A most agonizing journey towards Lambeth 2008” which is the opening chapter of The Way, the Truth and the Life (Latimer Trust 2008). The question was therefore would more of the same achieve anything further....