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Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

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Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans
TypeCommunion
ClassificationWestern Christian (with various theological and doctrinal identities, including Anglo-Catholic, Charismatic, Evangelical)
OrientationConfessing Anglican
ScriptureHoly Bible
TheologyAnglican doctrine
PolityEpiscopal
ChairmanLaurent Mbanda
Vice ChairmenKanishka Raffel, Miguel Uchôa
General SecretaryPaul Donison
HeadquartersSheffield, England
Origin2008
Global Anglican Future Conference, Jerusalem
Separated fromAnglican Communion
Membersc. 40,000,000
Official websitegafcon.org

The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a communion of conservative Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Conservative Anglicans met in 2008 at the Global Anglican Future Conference, creating the Jerusalem Declaration and establishing the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA), which was rebranded as GAFCON in 2017.

History

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Main article: Global Anglican Future Conference
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The Global Anglican Future Conference was held near Jerusalem in June 2008 at the initiative of theologically conservative African, Asian, Australian, South American, North American and European Anglican leaders who opposed the ordination of homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions by member churches of the Anglican Communion.[1] The meeting came as the culmination of a series of controversies in the Anglican Communion that began in 2003 when the openly non-celibate gay bishop Gene Robinson was consecrated by the Episcopal Church USA.[2] GAFCON was organised as a conservative alternative to the 2008 Lambeth Conference, which was boycotted by many traditionalists except most notably, Bishop Anis.[3] Mouneer Anis the Presiding Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East (a conservative himself on matters of human sexuality), however publicly announced he would not be one of the traditionalists attending GAFCON 2008; his observation was that "the Global South must not be driven by an exclusively Northern agenda or Northern personalities."[4]

The GAFCON Final Statement produced at the first conference recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury for his historic role in the Anglican Church but denies that his recognition is the cornerstone of Anglican identity. The statement also called for the formation of "A Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans."[5]

GAFCON was instrumental in the formation of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009. The ACNA was formed as an alternative church structure for those disaffected by the official Anglican structures in the United States and Canada. The Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America, which covers much of South America, is a key constituent of the GAFCON movement. The Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Australia, played an important role in forming the FCA and its Archbishop Peter Jensen was the FCA's first secretary.[6]

On 6 July 2009, GAFCON was launched within the British Isles and by 2016 rebranded itself as GAFCON GB & Europe.[7] Through this branch, the Anglican Network in Europe was created, and the Reformed Episcopal Church and Free Church of England have been members of GAFCON GB & Europe since 2008. In 2015, Rod Thomas (a member of the executive of AMiE) was consecrated the provincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelical members of the Church of England.

On 3 September 2009, GAFCON's South African branch was established by the initiative of Bishop Bethlehem Nopece, of the Anglican Diocese of Port Elizabeth. It incorporates Anglicans from three denominations: the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH-SA) and the Traditional Anglican Communion.[8] In 2023, REACH-SA was recognized as an "authentic Anglican province" by the Gafcon Primates' Council, and its presiding bishop, Glenn Lyons, was seated on the council.[9]

GAFCON in New Zealand was launched in April 2016 in two conferences that took place in Auckland and Christchurch reuniting nearly 500 members from the entire country. Chairman Archbishop Eliud Wabukala from Kenya sent a message of support read at the conferences. Video greetings were also sent by Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church in North America, and Bishop Richard Condie of the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania and chairman of GAFCON Australia. Rev. Jay Behan became the chair of GAFCON New Zealand. The creation of GAFCON New Zealand was a result of the passing of Motion 30 by the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia and the subsequent document "A Way Forward", proposing the blessing of same-sex marriages, presented at their General Synod in May 2014.[10] The Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand was established in 2019 with Behan as the inaugural bishop.[11]

GAFCON helped to form the Diocese of the Southern Cross in 2022, a breakaway from the Anglican Church of Australia as a result of disagreements over same-sex marriage and other issues.[12][13]

Organization

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The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans aims to extend the goals of the GAFCON conferences into a movement, to "preach the biblical gospel [...] all over the world" and "provide aid to [...] faithful Anglicans" disaffected from their original churches.[14] The fellowship recognizes the Jerusalem Declaration, written at the 2008 GAFCON meeting, as a "contemporary rule." The fellowship is administered by a "Primates' Council" originally consisting of Primates from the African provinces of the Anglican Communion.[15]

Member provinces

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Provinces Territorial jurisdiction Membership (in thousands of people) Anglican Communion member province Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches member Represented on GAFCON Primates Council
Anglican Church in Brazil Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Central America N/A No Yes Yes (Miguel Uchôa, vice chairman)
Anglican Church of Chile Chile 20[16] Yes Yes Yes (Hector Zavala Muñoz)
Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo 500[17] Yes Yes No
Anglican Network in Europe (proto-province) Europe N/A No No No
Anglican Church of Kenya Kenya 5,000[18] Yes Yes Yes (Jackson Ole Sapit)
Church of the Province of Myanmar Myanmar 62[19] Yes Yes Yes (Stephen Than Myint Oo)
Church of Nigeria Nigeria 18,000[20] Yes Yes Yes (Henry Ndukuba)
Anglican Church in North America Canada, Mexico, United States 122[21] No Yes Yes (Steve Wood)
Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda Rwanda 1,000[22] Yes Yes Yes (Laurent Mbanda, chairman)
Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa[9] Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe 100[23] No No Yes (Siegfried Ngubane)
Anglican Church of South America Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay 23[24] Yes Yes No
Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan South Sudan 3,500 Yes Yes Yes (Justin Badi Arama)
Church of Uganda Uganda 11,000[25] Yes Yes Yes (Stephen Kaziimba)

[26]

Non-provincial GAFCON branches

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Branches Territorial jurisdiction Membership (in thousands of people) Other affiliated entities
Gafcon Australia Australia TBD Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Diocese of the Southern Cross
Gafcon GB and Europe Continental Europe, Great Britain TBD Anglican Network in Europe, Free Church of England, Reformed Episcopal Church
Gafcon Ghana Ghana TBD Anglican Diocese of Sunyani
Gafcon Ireland Ireland, Northern Ireland TBD
Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand New Zealand TBD
Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe 100[27]
Gafcon Tanzania Tanzania TBD Anglican Church of Tanzania Dioceses of Tabora, Mara, Mpwapwa, Tarime, Kibondo, Mount Kilimanjaro, Rorya, Shinyanga, Lake Rukwa, and Western Tanganyika[28]

[26]

Ordination of women

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The ordination of women to holy orders, the offices of deacon, priest (presbyter), and bishop, remains controversial in GAFCON. In 2006, the Church of Nigeria planned to ordain women to the diaconate, but not as priests or bishops.[29] In 2010, the church moved forward with those plans and began to ordain women as deacons, with limitations "for specific purposes like hospital work and school services".[30] The Church of Nigeria continues to prohibit the ordination of women as priests or bishops.[31] The Church of Uganda has ordained women as deacons since 1973 and as priests since 1983.[32] The Anglican Church in North America allows each diocese to decide whether to ordain women as deacons or priests but does not permit the ordination of women as bishops.[33] In 2018, the primatial bishops of the GAFCON member churches agreed to a moratorium on further ordinations of women to the episcopate.[34][35] In 2016, prior to the moratorium, the Episcopal Church of Sudan consecrated the first woman, Elizabeth Awut Ngor, as bishop and the first among the GAFCON members.[36] In 2021, the Anglican Church of Kenya consecrated two women as bishops, Emily Onyango was consecrated as an assisting bishop and Rose Okeno was consecrated as the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Butere.[37][38][39] In 2022, Archbishop Kaziimba of the Church of Uganda confirmed that a woman may be ordained a bishop in the Church of Uganda.[40][41] In 2023, the Diocese of the Southern Cross welcomed its first female priest.[42]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "History". GAFCON. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  2. ^ Finer, Jonathan (November 3, 2003). "Episcopalians Consecrate First Openly Gay Bishop". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ Butt, Riazat (2008-08-03). "Lambeth conference: Archbishop blames liberals for church rift". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  4. ^ "Middle East Presiding Bishop will not attend GAFCON". Thinking Anglicans. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  5. ^ "GAFCON Final Statement". GAFCON. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Sydney Synod endorses Jerusalem Declaration" (Press release). Anglican Diocese of Sydney. October 20, 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  7. ^ "About Gafcon GB & Europe". Gafcon GB & Europe. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  8. ^ "Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans launched in South Africa" (Press release). GAFCON. September 3, 2009.
  9. ^ a b "New General Secretary for GAFCON". Anglican Ink. November 10, 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  10. ^ Jill (2016-04-19). "Formation of Fellowship or Confessing Anglicans New Zealand". Anglican Mainstream. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  11. ^ "A New Diocese & Bishop for the Church of Confessing Anglicans in New Zealand". GAFCON. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  12. ^ Baker, Jordan. "Anglican church splits: conservatives form Australian breakaway". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  13. ^ Diocese, Armidale Anglican (2022-08-24). "Our Bishop's response to the launch of the Diocese of the Southern Cross". Anglican Diocese of Armidale. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  14. ^ "Jerusalem Declaration - June 2008". GAFCON. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  15. ^ "Structure". GAFCON. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  16. ^ "Iglesia Anglicana de Chile se convierte en la provincia 40º del mundo, Anglican Church of Chile Official Website (Spanish)". Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Church of Christ in Congo – Anglican Community of Congo – World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  18. ^ "OUR HISTORY - ACK". Anglican Church of Kenya. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  19. ^ "Church of the Province of Myanmar – World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  20. ^ "World Council of Churches". Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  21. ^ "Congregational Reporting: 2021 in Review" (PDF). Anglican Church in North America. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Province of the Anglican Church in Rwanda – World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Church Denominations in South Africa". SA Christian. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  24. ^ "Anglican Church of South America – World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  25. ^ Muñoz, Daniel (May 2016). "North to South: A Reappraisal of Anglican Communion Membership Figures". Journal of Anglican Studies. 14 (1): 71–95. doi:10.1017/S1740355315000212. ISSN 1740-3553.
  26. ^ a b "Global Movement". GAFCON. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  27. ^ "Church Denominations in South Africa". SA Christian. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  28. ^ "A COMMUNIQUE FROM GAFCON TANZANIA". Gafcon Global Anglicans. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  29. ^ "Women Clergy a Future Possibility for Nigeria, says Bishop". Christian Today. 26 July 2006. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  30. ^ "Nigeria: Cleric Okays Women Ordination | WWRN - World-wide Religious News". wwrn.org. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  31. ^ Rubenstein, Mary-Jane (2004-06-01). "An Anglican Crisis of Comparison: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Religious Authority, with Particular Reference to the Church of Nigeria". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 72 (2): 341–365. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfh033. ISSN 0002-7189. PMID 20681098.
  32. ^ "50 Years of Shared Responsibility with God-called Women in the Church of the Province of Uganda" (PDF). Uganda Christian University. May 3, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  33. ^ Andrew Gross (2017-09-08). "College of Bishops Statement on the Ordination of Women". The Anglican Church in North America. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  34. ^ Conger, George (2018-04-22). "GAFCON adopts moratorium on women bishops". Anglican Ink © 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  35. ^ "Task Force on Women in the Episcopate, Interim Report (2019) | GAFCON". www.gafcon.org. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  36. ^ lwilson (2021-08-06). "Anglican Church in Kenya appoints first two women bishops". Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  37. ^ Conger, George (2021-01-27). "Appointment of women bishop in Kenya challenged". Anglican Ink © 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  38. ^ "Rose Okeno consecrated as first female bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya". Citizentv.co.ke. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  39. ^ Shilitsa, John. "History as first woman bishop, Rose Okeno, takes the reins". The Standard. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  40. ^ "Uganda Is Ready for A Female Bishop- Archbishop Kaziimba". Uganda Radionetwork. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  41. ^ Independent, The (2022-04-18). "Uganda is ready for a female Bishop: Archbishop Kaziimba". The Independent Uganda. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  42. ^ Sandeman, John (2023-01-30). "Gafcon's Southern Cross diocese gets a woman minister, and church number four". THE OTHER CHEEK. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
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