The GAFCON/FCA Primates Council has announced a leaders conference is being planned for 2011 and the second ‘GAFCON’ for 2012.

The announcement was part of a wide-ranging statement from its October meeting in England, dubbed the ‘Oxford Statement’.

Among its 14 points, the leaders of around two-thirds of the Anglican Communion have come to a common mind on the proposed Anglican covenant.

As the statement was being released, the Church of England General Synod voted for further discussions on the Covenant.

But the Primates said “While we acknowledge that the efforts to heal our brokenness through the introduction of an Anglican Covenant were well intentioned we have come to the conclusion the current text is fatally flawed and so support for this initiative is no longer appropriate.”

Instead, the GAFCON/FCA leadership commended the recent CAPA conference in Uganda and the Global South meeting in Singapore and noted the increasing interest in the Jerusalem Declaration, formulated at GAFCON 1 in Jerusalem in 2008.

“We believe that we are now entering a new era for the Anglican Communion. New ways of living out our common life are emerging as old structures are proven to be ineffective in confronting the challenges of living in a pluralistic global community. We rejoice in the call of the Jerusalem Declaration for a renewed commitment to the authority of scripture and the centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sadly the rejection of these historic anchors to our faith has brought us to a crisis in the life of the Communion.”

“We remain convinced that the unique character of GAFCON/FCA with its diversity of cultures and its embrace of the Jerusalem Declaration as a common theological confession is a vital contribution to the future of the global Anglican Communion.” the statement continued.

The statement was signed by Primates and Archbishops of several Southern Hemisphere provinces including the Southern Cone,  West Africa, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya and the Anglican Church in North America.

In the introduction, Council Chairman, Archbishop Gregory Venables referred to recent reports that some leaders and congregations had decided not just to realign with other provinces, but to leave the Anglican Church altogether.

“We believe that Anglicanism has a great deal to offer in the pursuit of reaching the world for Christ. While we wish those who are departing the Anglican Church well, we do not believe that it is necessary to depart from what Anglicans have always believed to remain faithful. At the same time, we understand that some structures have become so compromised that some have been pressed by conscience to separate from their national structures - such as in North America. We are glad that GAFCON exists and provides links to remain Anglican when people have been unable, for conscience, to remain in their Province.” Archbishop Venables said.

Photo: Delegates at the Ophel Gardens service at GAFCON 2008 in Jerusalem

In the first announcement since the original GAFCON in 2008, the Primates announced not one but two followup conferences.

“Specifically, we are planning a leadership conference in the latter part of 2011 that will focus on the need to "Contend for the Faith in the Public Square." We are also beginning preparations for an international gathering of Primates, Bishops, Clergy and Lay leaders in 2012, provisionally designated "GAFCON 2". To support all of this we have approved the expansion of the Secretariat.”

No venues or details have yet been released.