Abuja analysis: Gafcon finds its next step

This week, 347 Anglican bishops and 121 lay and clergy Anglican leaders from 27 provinces met in Abuja, hosted by the Church of Nigeria, to “confer and celebrate the Global Anglican Communion”.

The meeting was trailed as a “kairos moment” by Bishop Paul Donison, Gafcon’s General Secretary, a Communion re-ordering. In late October he had set out that the Conference would include the Council of Primates electing a primus inter pares, a "first among equals", to lead the Communion. Yet, in a surprise move mid-way through the gathering, a communique confirmed that the Council of Primates is to be reconstituted as a new leadership body, the Global Anglican Council, with a mix of members including primates, advisors, and guarantors (see en news article here).

Furthermore, its new unanimously elected Chairman Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda would not be primus inter pares after all, as the new Council had “discerned that if we are to move past old structures, we must leave behind old titles as well”.

Suddenly, the BBC’s trailing of “rebel clerics pick rival to first female leader” seemed somewhat pre-emptive. The change of direction wasn’t quite whiplash, but the Holy Spirit rarely ceases to surprise!

The theme of the conference was Joshua 24v15, “choose this day whom you will serve”. From the videos, and podcast interviews, this was interpreted as a very joyful choice. The vibrancy of African worship was clearly mediated online to those of us viewing from different continents. Technology was also utilised for delegates themselves, with each plenary followed by groups to discuss issues raised, and using tech to allow everyone to share comments and feedback with the organisers.

The hope expressed by Bishop Donison was that this would be the “fruit of a global conciliar movement”, a movement that is “not colonial, not personality driven”, but instead “conciliar, confessional, collaborative, centred on Scripture”.

The emphasis in communications, from plenaries to press conferences, was that this is the same Communion, now reordered to be a truly global Communion.

UK-evangelical Anglican responses

What did those attending from England make of all this?

Giving interviews with The Pastor’s Heart podcast were the Church of England Evangelical Council's (CEEC’s) John Dunnett, and Vaughan Roberts of the Alliance (alliancecofe.org); both members of the Church of England’s General Synod.

Vaughan spoke of the pain of the breakdown in fellowship with others in the Church of England as a result of divisions, including his bishop in Oxford. Money from his parish is now ring-fenced for orthodox ministry rather than paid into the central diocesan pot. “We are playing out distancing” within the church structures, he said. Yet his expectation was that most people in England will “hardly notice” what was taking place in Abuja, and that “too many in the Church of England are really indifferent to the Communion”.

The Church Times - the Church of England’s paper of record - had no coverage of the Abuja meeting until after the final statement was published on the Friday. Not quite total indifference, but hardly significant impact.

John Dunnett also picked up reflections on what he called a post-colonial world, affirming that “what we are as Anglicans really needs to reflect that reality”. It was humbling for those in the West to remember that there are African countries where being a Christian is “an issue of life and death”. He felt that the Anglican Communion “ought to be more positively embracing the leadership of primates of churches around the world that are growing so rapidly”. Instead, the Anglican Communion theological committee IASCUFO has offered us revisions to the Cairo-Nairobi proposals, including a sharing the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury with the Primates Standing Committee, in a paper Dunnett described as “profoundly tone deaf”. This paper happened to be published just as Primates prepared to travel to Abuja. Symbiotic change, or just silly attempts to distract from anything “official”?

Funding, elections and Canterbury

The “institutional” Communion perhaps doesn’t have the growing numbers of the Gafcon churches, but one thing it does have more of traditionally is money.

One of the challenging points for some dioceses and provinces has perhaps been the demand from Gafcon that those in leadership “will not receive financial assistance from compromised sources”. With this most recent meeting, there is now a structure in place to provide alternative funding, it is hoped.

Anglican Aid’s CEO Tim Swan has said that the new Global Anglican Communion Fund will enable bishops to “have their ministry funded, and also feel like they don't have to sell their soul and leave their theology at the door when they apply for funds from Trinity Wall Street and other places”. He asked Christians to consider getting behind their brothers and sisters in poorer nations in this way, as “we need to back them, not just with words, but with the financial ability to take their ministry forward”. (Anglican Aid itself is an Australian-based charity, originally set up by the former Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, who was also the former Gafcon General Secretary.)

Parts of possible detail are starting to come together then. Bishop Donison acknowledges that there continues to be “much to structure carefully but we will do that work together”. He is not wrong. There have been elections during this meeting – but no clarity about who has been doing the electing, nor which individuals have been elected to the wider Council, or when this will happen.

The final conference communique is clear about Canterbury – the “moral and spiritual authority of the Seat of Augustine has been severely compromised” and continued participation in Canterbury-led meetings “gives credence to the lie that it is possible to ‘walk together despite deep disagreement’ with those who have abandoned Biblical teaching”.

To lead in the Global Anglican Communion will require one to take a principled disengagement from the “Canterbury” Instruments of Communion. So no “big” meetings – and no money. Full and public disengagement is required.

What next?

There will be a lot to work out. There is vision, but next the need will be not just for shape but for structures, for governance, for a constitution.

The Global Anglican Council says it will authenticate newly formed provinces and dioceses who seek recognition as Global Anglicans – this is going to require governance, rules. What began with the Jerusalem Declaration is ongoing. But what delegates seemed to most want was for others in the Global South - most notably the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) and their Primates - to be with them.

Abuja was another step on the Gafcon journey – a momentous one, clearly full of joy – but whether others will join them for the next steps of that journey remains to be seen.

For more on Gafcon's G26 conference, see en articles, Gafcon's G26 conference: What's the agenda?, and, Gafcon unveils new council and leader.