Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans
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| Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Communion |
| Classification | Protestant (with various theological and doctrinal identities, including Anglo-Catholic, Charismatic, Evangelical) |
| Orientation | Confessing Anglican |
| Scripture | Holy Bible |
| Theology | Anglican doctrine |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Chairman | Foley Beach |
| Vice Chairman | Laurent Mbanda |
| General Secretary | Benjamin Kwashi |
| Headquarters | Surrey, England |
| Origin | 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference, Jerusalem |
| Separated from | Anglican Communion |
| Members | c. 40,000,000 |
| Official website | gafcon.org |
The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a global network of conservative Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to an ongoing theological crisis 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.
Founding
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. 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 in the USA. GAFCON was organised as a conservative alternative to the 2008 Lambeth Conference, which was boycotted by many traditionalists.
The GAFCON Final Statement 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".[1]
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 US 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 is the FCA's secretary.[2]
Organization
| Part of a series on the |
| Anglican realignment |
|---|
GAFCON 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.[3] GAFCON recognizes the Jerusalem Declaration, written at the 2008 GAFCON meeting, as a "contemporary rule". The FCA is administered by a "Primates' Council" originally consisting of Primates from the African provinces of the Anglican Communion.
By region
- GAFCON in the United Kingdom and Ireland was started on 6 July 2009, drawing together many, but not all, conservative Anglicans in the Church of England and other parts of the British Isles. The Free Church of England is also represented on the Steering Group. It has supported the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), launched at the GAFCON II, as a safe haven for traditionalist Anglicans inside and outside the Church of England structures. 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.
- GAFCON in South Africa was started on 3 September 2009 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 Church of England in South Africa and the Traditional Anglican Communion.[4]
- GAFCON in Australia was started on 26 March 2015 in Melbourne, in a conference that reunited 460 members, including 40 from New Zealand, attended by Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, from the Anglican Church of Kenya, chairman of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, from the Anglican Church of Uganda, and Archbishop Glenn Davies, from the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. Archdeacon Richard Condie, from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne became the Chairman of GAFCON Australia.[5]
- GAFCON in New Zealand was started in April 2016 in two conferences that took place in Auckland and Christchurch reuniting nearly 500 members from the entire country. FCA 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.[6] The Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand was established in 2019 with Behan as the inaugural bishop.[7]
Members
Member Provinces
Non-provincial GAFCON branches
| Branches | Territorial Jurisdiction | Membership (in thousands of people) | Other affiliated entities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gafcon Australia | Australia | TBD | 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 | Republic of 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[18] | |
| Gafcon Tanzania | Tanzania | TBD | Anglican Church of Tanzania Dioceses of Tabora, Mara, Mpwapwa, Tarime, Kibondo, Mount Kilimanjaro, Rorya, Shinyanga, Lake Rukwa, and Western Tanganyika[19] |
See also
References
- ^ "GAFCON Final Statement". gafcon.org. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
- ^ "Sydney Synod endorses Jerusalem Declaration" (Press release). Anglican Diocese of Sydney. October 20, 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ "The Jerusalem Declaration | Resources". Fca.net. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- ^ "Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans launched in South Africa" (Press release). Gafcon. September 3, 2009.
- ^ Russell Powell. "FCA underway | News". Sydneyanglicans.net. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- ^ Formation of Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans New Zealand, Anglican Mainstream, 19 April 2016
- ^ "A New Diocese & Bishop for the Church of Confessing Anglicans in New Zealand". Global Anglican Future Conference. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Church of Christ in Congo – Anglican Community of Congo – World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "OUR HISTORY - ACK". Anglican Church of Kenya. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Church of the Province of Myanmar – World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "World Council of Churches". Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Congregational Reporting: 2021 in Review" (PDF). Anglican Church in North America. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ "Province of the Anglican Church in Rwanda – World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "Anglican Church of South America – World Council of Churches". www.oikoumene.org. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Global Movement". Gafcon Global Anglicans. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Church Denominations in South Africa". SA Christian. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "A COMMUNIQUE FROM GAFCON TANZANIA". Gafcon Global Anglicans. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
External links
- Official website
- The Jerusalem Declaration
- Constructing the boundaries of Anglican orthodoxy: An analysis of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON)[dead link] an article from the journal Religion on GAFCON and the evolution of FCA