Anglican Church Archbishop Eliud Wabukala. Photo/FILE
In Summary
More than 1,300 Anglican leaders gather in Nairobi to pursue their vision of a church that embraces the Scriptures and follows tradition
Controversial Issues underscore division in worldwide church
Most Anglican bishops oppose the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, for siding with a minority of bishops whom they accuse of preaching a “false” gospel based on an alien culture.
The group consisting of members from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Australia has gained momentum with more than 70 per cent of the bishops who make up the Anglican Communion joining the Global Anglican Future Conference that was formed in Jerusalem five years ago to protest to the consecration of gay bishops and the recognition of same-sex marriage.
A congregation of over 1,300 Anglican leaders gathered in Nairobi for the second summit challenged the moral authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury to lead the church globally.
The six-day conference at All Saints Cathedral which ended yesterday gave Archbishop Justin Welby an ultimatum to close the gap between them and the mainly English and North American bishops.
“We came to Nairobi seeking God’s guidance for the future. Should we stop? Should we slow down? The bishops told us we must go on,” said Archbishop Eliud Wabubukala, the primate of Kenya and chairman of the global conference.
The organisation is seen by many observers as new reformation and revival movement in the Anglican community.
Its membership includes 331 bishops among a total of 871 members of the Anglican clergy, turned down an invitation to the Lambeth Conference in 2008 from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The conference had welcomed North American churches that recognised the consecration of a gay bishop and marriage of homosexuals. They formed Gafcon (Global Anglican Future Conference), a new movement within the church that preaches the gospel based on the Bible, not culture.
Benjamin Kwashi, the Archbishop Jos in Nigeria, which has the largest Anglican fraternity in the world, told reporters on Friday that the Canterbury group has lost its power to attract new members to a worldwide church that desires spiritual solutions based on the Bible.
In a press statement, the bishops even threatened to ordain and consecrate clergy in dioceses in England and North America where followers do not believe in the teachings of churches affiliated with Canterbury.
They gave an ultimatum to Archbishop Welby to lead the reformation in the church or take a back seat.
But other matters, including the rise of Islam, the youth ministry, issues facing women in the church, and marriage, were also on the agenda.
Archbishop Welby excused himself from taking part in Nairobi conference, citing the christening of the Prince George, the three-month-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
But the Nigerian cleric defended the West’s tolerance of gays in the church.
“We are dealing with very rapid changes of culture in the global north and the issue of sexuality is a very important one. How we respond rightly to that – in a way that is holy, truthful and gracious – is absolutely critical to our proclamation of the gospel.”
The prelates in Gafcon have resolved to re-evangelise the West, and the Nigerian church has already sent missionaries to the United States. Dr Peter Jensen, the general secretary of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, told Archbishop Welby at a luncheon during his brief visit before the conference began that Gafcon “is a movement for unity.”
“But our intention is to gather up the fragments of the Anglican Communion and to unite.”
Dr Jensen said the Scriptures are clear about “human sexuality” which he said “needs to occur within the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman.”
The sentiments of the former Archbishop of Sydney were reiterated by conference chairman Archbishop Eliud Wabakula.
The leader of Anglicans in Kenya said in a statement that, “the old ways are no longer appropriate. It is difficult to see how stable and effective leadership can be developed unless the depth of the spiritual crisis we face is acknowledged,” he said.
Gafcon primates said they would only support Archbishop Welby if he would deal with liberals derailing the gospel and traditions of the church. Archbishop Jensen added, “What seems to be increasingly clear among delegates here is that Gafcon wants to have Welby as a friend, but they understand that friends will stand by them clearly and unequivocally, despite cost to themselves.”
At the Nairobi conference, the bishops said they are leading their organization to answer the challenges facing the Anglican Church in the 21st century that include the issues of a return to biblical teachings, marriage, and and rise of Islam.
But the bishops insist Gafcon has not broken away from the Anglican Church but is a movement that offers alternative leadership and direction to “theologically isolated Anglicans”.
The Nigerian church leader was incensed that Archbishop Welby had suggested there was a moral equivalence between the normalisation of gay bishops and blessings by the Episcopal Church and the violation of ecclesiastical boundaries by church leaders from the global south.
The conference at the cathedral with more than 1,300 delegates from the all quarters of the Anglican world said their movement was growing stronger by the day.
“We have exceeded the first Gafcon both in number and reach. We have also surpassed all expectations here in Nairobi,” said Dr Jensen.
A total of 1,352 archbishops, bishops, clergy and lay people from 40 countries were in Nairobi for the meeting; of the 331 bishops at the meeting 30 were archbishops. Notable among them was Archbishop Nicholas Okoh of Nigeria, which has 18 million active Anglicans, the largest number in a single country.
Gafcon chairman and Primate of Kenya, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, said he was “confident this will be a decisive moment in a great spiritual movement which will help shape the future of the Anglican Communion for generations to come.”
Archbishop Kwashi said it was important for Christians in Kenya to show love to Islamic militants following the September 21 Westgate attack as a way of defeating evil with good.
He said, “good will triumph over evil”.
He Islamic militancy is “cruel to both Christians and peace loving Muslims”.
Kwashi said at the press briefing on Friday at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi that “Islamic militancy has damaged relationships between Islam and Christians and other religions around world.”
He said, in Nigeria, Christians were under attack from Boko Haram jihadists. He said it was high time they gave a message of peace for all people under such attacks.
He said terror groups like Boko Haram jihadists in Nigeria, al qaeda in the Middle East and Al shabaab in eastern Africa, should be greeted “with love, and with government and collective responsibility”.
Archbishop Kwashi said the militants were a big problem for Africa and they were increasing the pain on the continent grappling with joblessness, disease, poverty, corruption, among other ills.
He explained that when militants scare away investors into Africa, whose businesses would offer jobs and would improve livelihoods of young people around the continent.
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