This statement was issued today by the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches:
Statement of GSFA Primates on the CofE’s Decision regarding Blessing of Same Sex Unions.
That link above is to a .docx format file. Readers may find this PDF version more accessible.
The Anglican Communion Office has issued this response: Statement by the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued this response: Lambeth Palace responds to GFSA statement. [text copied below the fold]
A Lambeth Palace spokesperson has said:
“At last week’s meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) in Ghana, there was widespread support for working together patiently and constructively to review the Instruments of Communion, so that our differences and disagreements can be held together in unity and fellowship. The Archbishop is in regular contact with his fellow Primates and looks forward to discussing this and other matters with them over the coming period.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury commented last week at the ACC in Ghana that these structures are always able to change with the times.
“We note the statement issued today by some Anglican Primates and we fully appreciate their position. As was reaffirmed in multiple discussions at the ACC in Ghana however, no changes to the formal structures of the Anglican Communion can be made unless they are agreed upon by the Instruments of Communion.
“The deep disagreements that exist across the Anglican Communion on sexuality and marriage are not new. The 42 member Churches of the Anglican Communion are independent and autonomous, but at the same time interdependent. It is a fundamental principle of the Anglican Communion that no province can bind another province, and no Instrument of Communion has any jurisdictional authority over any province.
“In a world of conflict, suffering and uncertainty, we must remember that more unites us than divides us. Despite our differences, we must find ways to continue walking and working together as followers of Jesus Christ to serve those in need. It was clear at this week’s global Anglican gathering in Accra that many Anglicans share this view. It remains the Archbishop’s prayer and his call to Anglicans around the Communion.”
The link to the GSFA statement isn’t working, at least not for me.
That is why I provided a PDF version of the GSFA statement.
Got it; my mistake.
I don’t think it is working for many of us – Oh you meant the link!
You can get to the statement by going to the GSFA home page, though.
The GSFA statement begins with the idea that the C of E is the ‘Mother Church’ of the Communion. 60 years ago Archbishop Michael Ramsey – speaking of the third Anglican Congress wrote ‘We cease to think of some of our Anglican Churches as “mother” Churches and of others as “missionary” or “dependant” or “younger” and come to think of them all as equal in authority and responsibility, serving one another as they serve God and humanity in a single missionary task.’ The C of E was not regarded then as the only ‘mother’ Church – SEC and TEC have… Read more »
The fact that Foley Beach and Miguel Uchoa Cavalcanti are signatories to the statement rather undermines its intent. Are there others in the signatory list who are not actually members of the Anglican Communion? The GSFA seems to have become one with GAFCON. That also undermines its authority such as it is. So what we are actually witnessing is a bid by 10 Primates of the 38 in conjunction with two leaders of other churches to take over the Communion. It’s helpful that they have been reminded that they are not one of the Instruments that might propose such a… Read more »
Andrew – I think it sets out the intent, not undermines it. The intent is for those who have separated from their churches in North America and Brazil to have a global ‘Anglican’ church to be part of. GSFA is based around a constitution that is conciliar and it intends to have core doctrine agreed by all for all time. The question will then be if they can remain one with two great differences dividing them: 1. If the church should push for deeper criminalisation of LGBTI+ people with Nigeria on one side and much of ACNA and Sydney on… Read more »
Look closer to Sydney, and you will see that Gafcon Australia’s Diocese of the Southern Cross, led by Glenn Davies the former Archbishop of Sydney has welcomed its fourth parish which is led by a woman priest. Sydney is in full communion with DSC. An example, one of many of Sydney NOT regarding the ordination of women as a communion dividing issue.
Praying the next bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross is a woman.
If the Ugandan experience is anything to go by she will find herself marginalised and the long term prospects for women’s leadership will not be good.
“The GFSA seems to have become one with Gafcon” is a confusing statement. Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya have not signed this document. Not the totality of all of the GSFA provinces have signed it either. The situation is likely more fluid as provinces try to understand 1) what the recent actions in the CofE mean, 2) what the recent statements of the ABC in Ghana portend and 3) where the AC is headed. As for “Mother Church” I believe this simply refers to the fact that, historically speaking, the See of Canterbury ceased being a part of the See of… Read more »
“ “The GFSA seems to have become one with Gafcon” is a confusing statement.”
it is indeed Mr Seitz, not least because the GSFA is a confusing entity. Not least because North America is not part of the Global South.
I agree that Philip Groves puts his finger on one of the issues. But also see the statement from the Diocesan bishop of Southeastern Mexico below. As Philip Groves has noted here and previously, the GFSFA can not be relied upon to speak with a unison voice. Their action yesterday has likely caused more, and not less schism.
My prayer for a spiritual Lent for you and yours.
It continues to stagger me that marriage and sexuality have become touchstones of orthodoxy. Polygamy abounds in Africa and I don’t see great condemnation of it. Marriage until very recently was to do with inheritance and property. Was Henry VIII an example of Christian marriage? Let’s get over this and concentrate on the core of the Gospel of reconciliation of fallen humanity by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! If I actually believed in a personal devil, I would say that this was his way of blunting the gospel; rather I suggest that we, as frail earthen… Read more »
I couldn’t agree more.
Yes it is very curious the way Orthodox is now used to mean a view on one issue ( which to my mind is about pastoral accomodation along the lines of e.g. our unilateral decision to allow contraception, or the remarriage of divorcees) rather than anything to do with,say, the catholic creeds.This issue seems to resonate at a level which is more than theological it seems to me unlike polygamy as Dr Wallace notes above. Do look at anglicandownunder and the two articles by bo Peter Carrell of Christchurch NZ in marriage which I found a very helpful and theologically… Read more »
Where is the like button?… Absolutely agree! Let Christianity to focus on what is its core values, references, and the good news of our lord whom has risen out of the Cross like the Gospels tell us!… Meanwhile let the remaining subjects to be dealt properly at the proper places!…
Indeed. It appears that the Church Fathers really missed a trick while they were wasting time with matters like Arius and docetism and other such distractions. If only they had realised that the true definition of Christianity was not about the nature of God in Christ and what that meant for the spiritual salvation of humankind but was really about enforcing sexual conformity and heterosexual marriage then all the theologising in the centuries which followed could have been bypassed, the gospel apparently being conditional upon good behaviour.
Indeed Dr Mike. And how much patristic knowledge do these one issue Orthodox have? Actually say in relation to Calcedonian Christology some of them are pretty heterodox as became clear to me when I was involved in P.O.T.Some one issue Orthodox have extraordinary ideas about some central doctrinal matters. I often wondered how much of their theological education they had actually absorbed.
I was brought up as a con evo, and I didn’t encounter the idea that views on homosexuality are a test of orthodoxy until 1998. I was flummoxed then and I still don’t really understand it. Nor do I understand how there can be a ‘doctrine’ of marriage – practices have differed so vastly over the millennia. What I do understand is that some people are so insecure in the love of God that they need to define themselves as ‘in’ by defining someone else as ‘out’. Marriage and sexuality are the shibboleths currently in vogue, as views on predestination,… Read more »
Right on, Janet. Ramble coming up. Fr Faber, the author of your final clause, is also well known for the splendid hymn Faith of our Fathers which even appeared in the 1933 Methodist Hymn Book. It was taken up as an anthem by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the once ultra-catholic organisation established in the heady triumphalist days to remind the Irish of their victory over the dastardly Sassenachs. The GAA until very recently wouldn’t allow any English game to be played on their hallowed turf at Croke Park: rugby had to stay in Lansdowne Road despite the fact that… Read more »
The link came up quite easily for me. Its contents were, inevitably, entirely predictable. I wish that, when he gave us the Beatitudes, Jesus had added the eleventh – “Live and let live”.
The media reports I’ve heard have been about not recognising Justin Welby as ‘first among equals’; and the responses from Lambeth Palace and the Anglican Communion Office have been about technical matters, for instance whether the decision to bless partners in same-sex unions in church constitutes a ‘change’ in the doctrine of marriage. But the first of the GSFA resolutions seems to me to be the big one, because it says ‘the Church of England has chosen to break communion with those provinces who …’ [etc]. That’s to say, this resolution is an excommunication. Compared to that, who cares how… Read more »
“That’s to say, this resolution is an excommunication.”
But the question is: are the GSFA of Anglicans excommunicating themselves from the Anglican Communion, and setting up a rival organisation. Or are they staging a coup.
Agree. The GSFA are in practice breaking communion and therefore leaving the Anglican Communion. It is more an abandonment than a schism really because no one else is excommunicating them.
STATEMENT OF FULL SUPPORT TO & FULL COMMUNION WITH THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
To His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury:
I hereby express my absolute and total support for your person, position, function, and moral authority. And I take this opportunity to reiterate to you that I am in full and absolute communion with you in your capacity as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Most faithfully in Christ,
Rt. Revd. Julio Cesar Martin
Diocesan bishop of Southeastern Mexico.
ANGLICAN CHURCH OF MEXICO
February 15 2023 AD
Best comment: “..a bid by 10 Primates (out of 42 provinces) in conjunction with two leaders of other churches to take over the Communion. It’s helpful that they have been reminded that they are not one of the Instruments that might propose such a change.”
Given that the Archbishop of Canterbury himself is one of the instruments then in effect you are saying that no breakaway can take place without Justin Welby’s blessing. I’m not sure this is how schism works in reality .
Good morning!
Precisely! What I am trying to express by quoting Andrew Godsall is that one thing is to re-set our Communion along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and a very different one to break communion with him and unilaterally decide whatever structural change – this one last option being a schism.
I think schism is therefore inevitable. And if enough Anglicans want to call themselves the real Anglican Communion, who is to stop them?
No one will stop them from calling themselves the real Anglican Communion, except that by not participating in the instruments of an already established Anglican Communion (even chartered or incorporated in England), I see it as a mere inconsequential semantic game if they call themselves the “real Anglican Communion”. ACNA and the Brazilian “Anglican” group already call themselves the real Anglicans in their respective countries without any real formal impact at structural level.
My opinion at least.
That’s a good point although I suspect we will ultimately have to see what the numbers look like. If a group calling themselves the Anglican Communion begin to outnumber ‘Anglicans with instruments’ as it were, then there will inevitably be a kind of shift in perceptions of world wide Christianity. Will an Archbishop of Canterbury with oversight of a liberal rump in effect still have the same clout on the ecumenical scene? We’ll have to wait and see.
I notice how Putin has attacked the Anglican Church for its gender neutral language and blessing of same-sex marriage, in his State of the Nation address. It must gratify Gafcon, including some African Churches, that their views are shared by the world’s most violent and dictatorial despot.
There is one glaring anachronism that has already been pointed out here, by Andrew Godsall, about this unilateral declaration of independence of 10 people who still cling by their fingertips, plus a couple of outsider bishops who have already declared their schismatic separation from the Anglican Communion. Of the two ‘oddfellows’, one happens to be the head of Gafcon while also head of ACNA in North America, which ecclesial body has no standing in the A.C. These two signatories to this ‘Intent to breakaway’ from the ABC were already long gone! (Reverse stable door politics; Act before you admit to… Read more »
Clap clap clap.
No more no less, dear reverend!…
Although he is listed as a signatory, the Archbishop of Melanesia did not sign the declaration. He only attended a GSFA zoom call as an observer and did not see or agree to the declaration. Indeed, he disagrees with the GSFA position. This is the second time an Archbishop of Melanesia has had his name added to a GAFCON/GSFA declaration without his consent. It seems to me there is an element of imperialism here, not to mention sneakiness. How many of the other signatories actually signed or were put on the list because GSFA leaders assumed they agreed or should… Read more »
Terry – this has been happening since 2005. A Primate was visiting the ACO when the text was released by what was then Global South Anglican and we showed it to him. He was a ‘signatory’ but had not seen it. Another African Primate was visiting us a few years later when a statement was released with his name on it. He had never seen it.
And who actually wrote it? Or amended it? Or has it seen by others outside the GS FA leaders I wonder?
As Lent begins it is obviously a time to focus on our journey to the Cross.
For the Anglican Communion, a journey is also beginning. When all things are in the hands of Jesus Christ, the path is secure. We are asked to wait patiently.
The Anglican Communion will be as He disposes. The path now is well trodden. All parties have been heard.
Let us see what arises in the work of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Fr, for bringing us back to the season and the journey.
That’s it! Let Lent give us what we need to receive the wonderful news of the Easter, dear Reverend!…
I think the other question about GSFA that needs asking quite urgently is, who funds it? Where does the money come from? Whose agenda is being effected by its activities? I think it highly unlikely that the good Christians for Southern Sudan can be producing enough giving to fund their Archbishop travelling about meeting up with other primates and so forth.
We need some transparency here.
I think it is rather obvious. I made a previous comment about statements. Who actually writes them, alters them sends them to who and so forth. Follow the e mail trail as well as the money.
I went to the Eucharist this lunchtime, and received the imposition of ashes. The celebrant chose to use the alternative gospel reading (John 8:1-11) appropriately in the light of the fact that some have decided no longer to be part of our congregation in the aftermath of the decision about prayers for those in single sex relationships. How singularly appropriate that reading was for us and is indeed for the whole communion. Half a century ago I faced the sharp end of the remarriage controversy when similar ignorance-based cruelty was the stock in trade of many conservatives. Our marriage was… Read more »
Bishop Terry Brown (a former bishop of the Province of Melanesia, who would be more likely privy to the intentions of his former provincial Church than most other people) has revealed a disturbing degree of false representation in the latest GSFA Statement of anathema against the ABC and the C. of E.’s recent decision to offer a Blessing to S/S couples who have been legally married by the State. Without either his knowledge or permission, the current Anglican Archbishop of Melanesia has been quoted as a willing signatory to the document: _ “Terry Brown – 1 day ago Although he… Read more »