The Nairobi Conference and Its Impact on the Anglican Church in North America

By Robin G. Jordan

Once the euphoria that typically accompanies a gathering like the Nairobi Conference dissipates and the hoopla fades, what can we expect to see happen in North America as a result of this historic meeting? Presumably Archbishop Bob Duncan and the bishops in the ACNA delegation to the Nairobi Conference signed the Nairobi Communiqué and Commitment. They committed themselves—at least on paper—to the priorities and commitments outlined in the document.

Will they call for the revision of the ACNA constitution to bring it into line with the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration and for the subsequent revision of the ACNA canons to purge them of any doctrine at odds with the doctrine of the Anglican formularies and the teaching of the Bible? Will they call for the further revision of the ACNA ordinal and the ACNA eucharistic rites to ensure that they actually embody the Anglican formularies' doctrine and the Bible's teaching?

As I have pointed out in a number of previous articles, the affirmation of the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration in the preamble of the ACNA constitution is purely incidental and is not in any way binding upon the Anglican Church in North America. In its Fundamental Declarations the Anglican Church in North America equivocates in its acceptance of the authority of the Anglican formularies. Stated or implicit in the ACNA canons, the ACNA “theological lens,” the ACNA ordinal, and the ACNA eucharistic rites is doctrine that conflicts with the doctrine of the Anglican formularies and the teaching of the Bible.

Will they call for the establishment of a special task force to prepare a theological statement in which is clearly articulated the gospel as articulated in the Thirty-Nine Articles and the New Testament? Will they also call for the adoption of a provision in the ACNA canons requiring all preachers and teachers in the ACNA, clergy and lay, with no exceptions, to conform to this official statement of the gospel in their preaching and teaching and to preach and teach nothing in conflict with it?

In all likelihoods they are not going to do anything. It will be business as usual in the Anglican Church in North America. Like TEC Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, when he returned from meeting with the Global South Primates, they will view their signing of the Nairobi Communiqué and Commitment as a mere formality that does not bind them to a particular course of action. They can be expected to put their own spin on the document.

For folks in the Anglican Church in North America opposed to the ordination of women, the Nairobi Communiqué and Commitment is a disappointment. The document states:

We affirm the ministries of women and their vital contribution to the life of the church: their call to the task of evangelism, discipling, and building strong marriages, families, churches and communities. GAFCON 2013 upholds the Bible's teaching that men and women are equally made in the image of God, called to be his people in the body of Christ, exercising different gifts. We recognize that we have differing views over the roles of men and women in church leadership.

I suspect that Archbishop Duncan expected this response from the Nairobi Conference to the opponents of women’s ordination in the Anglican Church in North America. For this reason he was willing to go along with the creation of a special task force to study the issue of women’s ordination and to make a presentation to GAFCON. He himself supports women’s ordination.

With the exception of the shift in focus of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans away from North America - from the United States and Canada - to the United Kingdom, the Nairobi Conference will have negligible impact on the Anglican Church in North America.

Photo: Wolfgang Mayerweiser

Also see
The Nairobi Communiqué and Commitment: How really serious is the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans?