The Most Reverend Dr Laurent Mbanda, Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, has called on all “orthodox” bishops inside the Anglican Communion to affix a gathering in Abuja, Nigeria in early March next 12 months.
Gafcon is a worldwide alliance of orthodox Anglicans who’re against the promotion and acceptance of homosexuality, particularly inside the leadership of the church. It was founded in 2008, partly as a response to the consecration of the openly gay Gene Robinson as a bishop within the US Episcopal Church in 2003.
Archbishop Mbanda said that the following six months represent a “crucial” period for the Anglican Communion, and that the Gafcon meeting, to be held from 3 to six March, “stands out as the most vital assembly of authentic Anglicans since Gafcon reset the Communion at Jerusalem in 2008”.
He warned, “Revisionists deliberately divide the Communion with schismatic actions that commemorate sin, as they appoint false shepherds to steer their flock away from God’s good word. But Jesus is constructing his church, and the gates of Hell won’t prevail!”
The elevation of open homosexuals to positions of leadership inside some parts of the Anglican Communion has continually been a matter of significant concern to Gafcon members, who view such actions as contrary to divinely inspired scripture.
Last month Archbishop Mbanda denounced the appointment of Cherry Vann as the brand new Archbishop of Wales, describing the appointment as an “act of apostasy” and a “failure in leadership”.
The Gafcon meeting in March has been billed as a chance for “godly overseers to prayerfully undergo the Holy Spirit” and to hunt God’s will.
Archbishop Mbanda called upon believers to wish for the event and for God’s mercy to increase to the Anglican Communion. He also called for prayer and generosity in order that “every faithful bishop can contribute to this assembly as we unite before God”.
With many Gafcon leaders coming from the Global South, funds and visas have been a problem. At the very first meeting in 2008, representatives from Pakistan and Sudan weren’t permitted to enter Israel as a consequence of political tension between the countries.
Archbishop Mbanda concluded his call saying, “The gospel is exploding within the Global South, and it’s critical that each orthodox Anglican bishop is in a position to attend this assembly in person.”
