Church

GAFCON participants abide the bible

The Anglican Primate of Nigeria, the Most Reverend Peter Akinola, in a press conference, stated the formation of a separate conservative Anglican conference was due to some members within the Anglican family bringing ‘new principles’ to interpret the Scripture where modern culture had taken precedence over the word of God.

The Anglican Primate of Nigeria, the Most Reverend Peter Akinola, in a press conference, stated the formation of a separate conservative Anglican conference was due to some members within the Anglican family bringing ‘new principles’ to interpret the Scripture where modern culture had taken precedence over the word of God.

The underlying conflict among the Anglican family, said Rev. Akinola, was not homosexuality, but, rather it was the authority and interpretation of the Scripture. This was what separate members within the Anglican Communion, he continued. The ones who were going to attend the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) were those who abide by the bible while those attending the Lambeth were not paying attention to the Scripture, he said in the press conference.

“The issue is that there are members of our Anglican family who are not paying attention to scripture, but are giving prominence to modern culture. They are bringing new principles to interpret scripture. The word of God has precedence over any culture. Those of us who will abide with the Word of God, come rain come fire, are those who are in GAFCON,” Rev. Akinola said.

“Those who say it does not matter are the ones who are attending Lambeth. There might be a view, for whatever it is worth, that they want to be there to observe what is going on.”

Criticising the Lambeth Conference, Rev. Akinola described it as a three-week ‘jamboree’ where the issue would be ignored and he contrasted it with GAFCON, where a roadmap for the future of the church would be decided.

“What is the use of the Lambeth conference for a three weeks’ jamboree which will sweep these issues under the carpet. GAFCON will confer about the future of the church, which will set a road map for the future. We are a movement that will move away from the maybe - maybe not,” he said.

In a pre-emptive move, Rev. Akinola stated Uganda, Rwanda, Sydney, and Nigeria would be boycotting the Lambeth Conference. This was later affirmed by the Sydney Anglican Archbishop, Dr. Peter Jensen, who in a press statement, expressed ‘regret’ in him, along with the other Sydney bishops, not attending the conference.

Dr. Jensen, in an interview with the Southern Cross Anglican publication, said the current Communion was divided over the critical issue of the gospel and biblical authority and that was why GAFCON was needed as the secular pressure increased.

“It is a meeting which accepts the current reality of a Communion in disarray over fundamental issues of the gospel and biblical authority,” explains Archbishop Jensen.

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