GAFCON delegates have been giving their reaction to a draft conference communique released at midday on Friday in Jerusalem.

The draft, which is confidential and won’t be finalised for another 24 hours, was greeted enthusiastically by participants, who gave it a standing ovation.

Later at a news briefing, Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen said the actions of revisionist leaders in North America in 2003 had ‘roused a sleeping giant’.

“We can see some of the consequences over the last five years, their own church is now divided and it looks as though that will be a permanent division in some sense or other.”

In personal comments to the briefing, he said the last six months in preparing for GAFCON and the last fortnight being involved had been one of the most extraordinary spiritual experiences he’d ever had, and that he’d seen answers to prayer again and again.

He faced the media with another of the leadership team, Archbishop Greg Venables, the Primate of the Southern Cone.

Archbishop Venables has chosen to go to the Lambeth Conference while Dr Jensen hasn’t but said there had been an agreement to honour each other’s decision.

Earlier, the true international flavour of the GAFCON grouping took over the conference hall as the African Anglican Youth Fellowship choir taught the 1200 delegates a children’s song in Swahili (with actions) and Archbishop Venables took the stage before the 1200 GAFCON delegates with three other South American leaders who had dubbed themselves the ‘three amigos plus one’.

Bishop Tito Zavala played the guitar and they sang in spanish.

GAFCON pilgrims travel to Galilee tomorrow and the official communique will be released on Sunday morning.