The Most Reverend Dr Laurent Mbanda, Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, has called on all “orthodox” bishops within the Anglican Communion to join a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria in early March next year.
Gafcon is a global alliance of orthodox Anglicans who are opposed to the promotion and acceptance of homosexuality, particularly within the leadership of the church. It was founded in 2008, in part as a response to the consecration of the openly gay Gene Robinson as a bishop in the US Episcopal Church in 2003.
Archbishop Mbanda said that the next six months represent a “crucial” period for the Anglican Communion, and that the Gafcon meeting, to be held from 3 to 6 March, “may be the most important assembly of authentic Anglicans since Gafcon reset the Communion at Jerusalem in 2008”.
He warned, “Revisionists deliberately divide the Communion with schismatic actions that celebrate sin, as they appoint false shepherds to lead their flock away from God’s good word. But Jesus is building his church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail!”
The elevation of open homosexuals to positions of leadership within some parts of the Anglican Communion has continually been a matter of serious 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 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 an opportunity for “godly overseers to prayerfully submit to the Holy Spirit” and to seek God’s will.
Archbishop Mbanda called upon believers to pray for the event and for God’s mercy to extend to the Anglican Communion. He also called for prayer and generosity so 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 an issue. At the very first meeting in 2008, representatives from Pakistan and Sudan were not permitted to enter Israel due to political tension between the countries.
Archbishop Mbanda concluded his call saying, “The gospel is exploding in the Global South, and it is critical that every orthodox Anglican bishop is able to attend this assembly in person.”
