In a much anticipated announcement, the leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference, who represent the majority of Anglicans worldwide, have begun a reordering of the Anglican Communion.
"The future has arrived," said Gafcon in an eight-point plan symbolically released on the day of commemoration of the martyrdom of bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, Anglican leaders who stood for biblical truth.
"We are thankful to God for the biblical faithfulness and clarity of the GAFCON primates," said Bishop Peter Hayward, Commissary for the Archbishop of Sydney. "Their decisiveness at such a critical time gives comfort to orthodox Anglicans worldwide and supports mission with authentic, loving and truthful witness."
The global organisation has been preparing for this moment since the landmark Jerusalem conference in 2008, where those gathered from all corners of the communion committed to reform the Anglican communion on biblical foundations.
The meeting sought to turn the tide of revisionism promoted in some parts of the Anglican world, which had led to errors in doctrine, church government and matters of human sexuality.
In the first point of its latest statement, the GAFCON leaders quoted the Jerusalem Declaration which expressed the consensus of the 2008 meeting.
"We declare that the Anglican Communion will be reordered, with only one foundation of communion, namely the Holy Bible, “translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading” (Jerusalem Declaration, Article II)."
The latest statement went on to call on provinces to reject the so-called Instruments of Communion and remove references to being in communion with the Church of England or the See of Canterbury.
"Today, Gafcon is leading the Global Anglican Communion," said GAFCON's chairman Archbishop Laurent Mbanda. "As has been the case from the very beginning, we have not left the Anglican Communion; we are the Anglican Communion."
The announcement came weeks after the appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally, who supports abortion rights and the blessing of same-sex relationships, as Archbishop of Canterbury.
The principal of Moore Theological College, Dr Mark Thompson, wrote that the appointment merely confirmed the trajectory of revisionism at the highest levels of the Church of England.
“Sometimes this has been done by remaining silent in the face of programs of doctrinal revision promoted by others,” he said. “At other times this has involved their own outright denial of what the Bible teaches.
“At still other times they have redefined the Bible’s teaching in ways entirely inconsistent with its explicit wording, in an attempt to legitimate their own decision to permit things the Bible prohibits or to forbid things the Bible calls on us to do in response to God’s grace.
“Gafcon has made repeated calls for repentance and a change of direction,” Dr Thompson added. “However, there has been no repentance and no return. The Gafcon leaders have now judged that time is up. Enough is enough.”
Feature photo: Some of the international delegates gathered in Jerusalem for the first Global Anglican Future Conference in 2008
