Word: anglicans
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...Episcopal Church in the U.S. was expecting a moderate message on homosexual equality from its Anglican counteparts at their annual meeting in Tanzania this week - or even some kind of benign stalling action - it was sorely mistaken. The communique issued by the Communion's collected primates (regional archbishops) ended up presenting a fairly stark choice for more the liberal-minded Episcopalians: either back off on officiating at gay commitment ceremonies and ordaining gay clergy - fast - or be shunned by the Anglican Communion...
...image could be described as unintentionally double-edged. To a significant number of critics, far from bridging a gap, Akinola, 63, is actively involved in widening one. As primate to 17 million Nigerian Anglicans and head of an African bishops' group with a total flock of 44 million, he is one of the most influential leaders in the Anglican Communion, the global 78 million-- member confederation that includes the 2.2 million congregants in the Episcopal Church (U.S.A.). Indeed, he is the highest-profile figure in the southward shift of Christianity as a whole. Yet he may exercise that influence...
...spectacular expression of Akinola's position was his transoceanic embrace in December of 15 Episcopal congregations in Virginia that, put off by the 2003 ordination of V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay bishop, became parishes of his thriving African archdiocese 5,400 miles away. It effectively constitutes a competing Anglican body on U.S. turf. He may make global news when all 38 Anglican primates meet in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Feb. 14 to continue an anguished homosexuality debate that--unlike in the States, where only a minority are expected to leave the denomination--could split the world body...
...that has by now taken thousands of lives on both sides. That experience, combined with his naturally combative and entrepreneurial nature, made him a fearless herald of Christ. Starting when he became a bishop in 1989, Akinola developed Nigeria's hewn-from-the-forest capital, Abuja, into a great Anglican center. Later, he habitually sent bishops to non-Christian areas to preach the Gospel. Muslims sometimes responded violently, but the church gained a presence in the north. Notes the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, a well-connected Episcopal rector who counts Akinola as a friend: "They give witness at great cost...
...size of Akinola's flock, which far outstrips England's in terms of Sunday attendance, has made him a natural leader to robust and conservative Anglican bodies throughout Africa, Latin America and Asia (known as the Global South). Long seen as Western Anglicanism's missionary stepchild, the South has eclipsed it in energy and size, and yearns for corresponding clout. One obstacle is money: funds from liberal Western churches support both the communion and many dioceses, perpetuating what southerners see as a kind of neocolonialism. Akinola announced in 2004 that he would reject money from churches he disagreed with, becoming...