There are multiple Anglican denominations all over the world and even here in Australia – that is nothing new. For instance, have you ever heard of the Free Church of England in Australia, or the Anglican Independent Communion Australia or The Traditional Anglican Church in Australia? 

Many of these “other Anglicans” are not recognised by the Anglican Communion and are not officially in any sort of partnership with the Sydney Diocese. 

However, now through GAFCON (the Global Anglican Future Conference and its ensuing movement), Sydney Anglicans are connected with Anglican denominations all over the world – including Australia – some of which are new and not recognised by Canterbury. These relationships are important to us. 

In March this year, I was in Rwanda for a meeting of the GAFCON primates’ council. In the room were church leaders, some recognised by both GAFCON and by Canterbury, together with another group of leaders whose churches are only recognised by GAFCON. 

These relationships are important to us. 

This latter group included England (Anglican Mission in England), Europe (Anglican Convocation Europe); North America (Anglican Church in North America); Brazil (Igreja Anglicana no Brasil), Aotearoa/New Zealand (Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand); Australia (Southern Cross) and Southern Africa (Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa, or REACH-SA). In fact all of these churches, except REACH-SA, were started under the auspices of GAFCON. 

GAFCON Global and local branches of GAFCON around the world, including our GAFCON Australia branch, have two major objectives. The first is to promote the biblical gospel of Jesus in the existing structures of the Anglican Communion. For us in Sydney, we are part of the Anglican Church of Australia and we do all we can to promote Christ and to promote trust in his word in the wider Anglican Church. The Sydney Diocese is not planning to leave the Anglican Church! 

However, around the world (including Australia) there are faithful Anglicans who feel they are unable to remain under the authority of church leaders, who deny Christ’s clear teaching on a range of issues in the Bible. These faithful Anglicans need a home or a “lifeboat”. That is why GAFCON, in fulfilling its second objective, has started all these new Anglican churches and why the global Anglican primates (senior archbishops) have deemed each of them to be authentically Anglican.

there are faithful Anglicans who feel they are unable to remain under the authority of church leaders

It is not only new Anglican churches that have been deemed authentically Anglican by GAFCON. At the end of 2023, the GAFCON primates recognised and received REACH-SA (formerly known as CESA or the Church of England in South Africa) as a GAFCON Anglican province. This is the first formal recognition of this church by a global Anglican body since its beginnings in the 1870s! 

The Sydney Diocese has long been a friend of REACH and has sent pastors and theologians over the years, including Bishop Dudley Foord and Broughton Knox to name just two. In February this year, I travelled to Johannesburg in South Africa for the consecration (making of a new bishop) of the new Presiding Bishop of REACH-SA, Dr Siegfried Ngubane, the first black African presiding bishop of that denomination. This was a great moment for this gospel-centred church as it seeks to position itself to preach Christ to Southern Africa.

The GAFCON churches, whether old like us in the Sydney Diocese or one of the new ones, are determined to take gospel ministry seriously and preach Christ faithfully to the nations. We want to see our nations won for Christ. 

Please join with me in praying that Christ would continue to grow faithful churches. Pray, too, for the work of GAFCON in promoting Christ and his word in all Anglican churches, old and new.

The GAFCON Australasia Conference was recently held in Brisbane from July 1-4.
 

The Rt Rev Malcolm Richards is Sydney’s Bishop for International Relations.