Word: archbishop
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Just days before the group's conference is set to begin in Jerusalem, GAFcon's leader, Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, declared in a 94-page theological statement: "There is no longer any hope, therefore, for a unified Communion ... Now we confront a moment of decision ... We want unity, but not at the cost of relegating Christ to the position of another wise teacher, who can be obeyed or disobeyed. We earnestly desire the healing of our beloved Communion, but not at the cost of rewriting the Bible to accommodate the latest cultural trend. We have arrived...
Strong words, and ominous for Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who next month will convene the Communion's once-a-decade Lambeth Conference. If all the conservatives walk out, they will diminish attendance at the July 20 conference by more than one-quarter. (Liberals assert that the number of abstainers will be much smaller.) The entire process could well result in the diminution of the power of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the titular head of the Communion and the closest thing the denomination has to a Pontiff...
...support such decisions - and does not call for secession from the worldwide group. Indeed, the conservatives say they would prefer that the Communion either become a looser confederation than it currently is or be "realigned" along more conservative principles, possibly with a lessening of the influence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. At a news conference, Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, head of the GAFcon program committee, put the blame for any schism on the American and Canadian churches, which he said have "ripped" the Communion. He added, "I don't hear GAFcon saying or GAFcon being a further cause...
...Naughton, a Canon with the Episcopal diocese of Washington and one of his church's more outspoken liberals, says, "I don't think these guys have the juice to pull off a genuine schism. I don't think Archbishop Akinola speaks for Africa. The coalition he once touted as the 'global south' has shrunk to three hard-line provinces [Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda] and [some] Western culture warriors...
Such attitudes have alienated old Mugabe supporters in Africa. On June 11, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni criticized the Zimbabwe elections and said Mugabe "must go" if he lost the vote. Two days later 40 African leaders, including 14 former presidents, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu published an open letter condemning the violence, while Botswana, one of several of Zimbabwe's neighbors now caring for the heavy influx of refugees who have fled the violence and poverty, lodged an official protest with the regime over its conduct. On a visit to Zimbabwe, Marwick Khumalo...