GSFA: A new wineskin and a new instrument?

Having reaffirmed their view that the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury have forfeited their leadership role of the global Communion, the Assembly elected new leaders from among themselves.

In accordance with the Cairo Covenant, they have set up their own Primates Council, Council of Bishops and Assembly, reflecting three of the traditional Instruments of Communion. Yet, interestingly they have chosen not to elect a new Archbishop of Canterbury, nor identify a new Seat of Augustine, nor appoint one of their own as ‘first among equals’.

As the Chairman of the GSFA, Rt Revd Justin Badi, explained in his opening address:
“All those who are committed to preserving the historic Anglican doctrine and teachings are the true Anglicans. We respect and relate to the seat of St Augustine. It is always our prayer that the person who sits on that seat will always be faithful to the faith we once received from the Saints and faithfully transmitted.

At first glance, the decision not to replace the Archbishop of Canterbury appears to be a mark of respect and a way of leaving the door open for repentance and reconciliation. Some have even seen it as a mark of weakness.

Yet placed in context, this decision appears to be at the heart of the GSFA redesign.
Archbishop Justin Badi rejects the colonial assumption that ‘true Anglicans’ are those who are in communion with the See of Canterbury. Instead he uses a confessional basis for identification – “those who are committed to preserving the historic Anglican doctrine and teachings.”

The redesign becomes clearer, when this is coupled with the GSFA Communique’s assertion that the Cairo Covenant is “a new instrument for the Anglican Communion to bring true unity in diversity which honours the supreme authority of Scripture”.

The Cairo Covenant sets out the doctrinal foundations of ‘the historic Anglican doctrine and teaching’, to which all members of the GSFA must submit, and, perhaps more importantly, the means by which membership can be terminated:
3.1.4 When a member diocese, province or regional Church chooses no longer to accept the Doctrinal Foundation of the GSFA as expressed in Section 1, or is found to have violated in its teaching and practice the Doctrinal Foundation, it may voluntarily withdraw or be suspended or removed from the GSFA by decision of the Board and the Primates Council.

The new wineskin does not rely on a sole individual to determine ecclesial relationships, nor will it allow everyone to do as they see fit. Rather, the limits of legitimate theological diversity are set out, alongside the ways of corporately enforcing them.

Is it possible that the GSFA have, in fact, replaced the Archbishop of Canterbury – not with a person – but with a covenant? If so, the GSFA have radically remodelled the wineskin.
These are, of course, early days in the resetting of the Anglican Communion.

Despite the increasing overlap in personnel, relationships between GSFA and Gafcon seemed strained at points but the final Communique speaks of how encouraging it was to have Rt Revd Paul Donison, the General Secretary of Gafcon, at the Assembly. Those attending the Anglican Orthodox Leaders meeting, which followed on from the GSFA Assembly, suggest that further healing may have taken place there.

The Assembly also ended rather chaotically when transport issues curtailed the final session, meaning the amending and passing of resolutions coincided with some having to leave. It then took several days to sign off the final Communique. But most of those who attended are encouraged and hopeful that by adopting the Cairo Covenant and electing godly men and women to serve as office bearers the GSFA can offer “a well-structured home for orthodox Anglicans worldwide”.

One of the casualties of the disruption, was the morning’s video footage, which dropped off line. This meant that the sermon of the Rt Revd Kanishka Raffel’s was not originally online. It is, however, well worth reading or now watching on YouTube.

Having spoken of the earliest and simplest Christian creed — “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord”- and warning against thinking of these words as “a ‘magic formula’ or ‘easy believism’”, Archbishop Kanishka said

“The failure of some Anglican provinces (sadly including the Church of England) to uphold the biblical ethic of sexuality is an issue of the gospel because, among other things, it denies the humanity of Christ who was fully human and yet single and celibate throughout his life; and it denies the Lordship of Christ by suggesting that obedience is not part of our response to the gospel.

It is these denials of the gospel that make our regretful, painful and prayerful withdrawal from fellowship with those who teach such things essential — as a loving reproof and rebuke in the hope that those who wander from the truth will repent and be restored.

One cannot say ‘Jesus is Lord’ and then disobey his Word and teach others to do the same. We cannot with the same mouth say ‘Jesus is Lord’ and remain silent in the face of the denial of his lordship in any part of life.

Paul says, ‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead — you will be saved.’ Heart and mouth – inward belief and outward confession — they belong together. As bishops and leaders of God’s people we may not choose to maintain private belief in the truth of God’s Word and the reality of Christ’s lordship and at the same time give public expression to the opposite. On the contrary, as bishops and presbyters in the Anglican church we have sworn an oath to drive away error. We may not accommodate to false teaching or acquiesce by silence.

This is the fundamental flaw in the concept of ‘walking together in difference’, when the disagreement concerns matters of importance and not merely trivial differences. To do so is to obscure Jesus’ lordship — but his Word is not confused, his power to change sinful hearts is not limited, his portrayal of the holy life is not this and that, but one.

When we ‘walk together’ with differences over matters of salvation, gospel matters, then the message is distorted, confused and weak. A church that proclaims a distorted, confused and weak gospel will itself be weak and confused. This is just what we see, especially in parts of the Western church where the gospel is distorted to accommodate and appease ungodliness and the rejection of the lordship of Christ.

But, ‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved’!”

For as long as those elected to positions of responsibility within the GSFA can understand the importance of these words and avoid ‘walking together’ with those who water down the gospel, there is hope.

In his opening address, Archbishop Justin Badi, who was elected Chair of the new Primates Steering Group, reminded those gathered why they were there.
In this Assembly which is the 9th Trumpet of the Global South, we will blow the Trumpet together to remind, to warn, and to gather the faithful remnant across the Anglican Communion in mission for the authentic gospel.

There is no doubt that the GSFA have done all that, and more.

When asked how he felt on being re-elected, Archbishop Justin had his eye on the future:
“Now that I’ve come back to leadership, my first priority will be ministerial formation and leadership development – So ministerial formation, I want to encourage all leaders and preachers around the provinces of GSFA to be empowered how to teach and live out the authentic gospel that is first priority.”

The officers elected by the GSFA Assembly will serve until their next gathering in 3-4 years time. Over that time there will be many changes in the global Communion, including a new Archbishop of Canterbury, so that will be the time to judge whether the new wineskin is any more effective than the old one.

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GSFA: A new wineskin and a new instrument?

Anglican Futures
June 24, 2024

For background to the 1st Assembly of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA), whichtook place at the Coptic Orthodox monastery of St Mark, Khatatba, Egypt last week, please see:
1. History – what is the GSFA and where has it come from? https://www.anglicanfutures.org/post/the-gsfa-a-potted-history
2. Convictions – The Ash Wednesday Statement and the Cairo Covenant https://www.anglicanfutures.org/post/gsfa-takes-on-the-challenge-of-resetting-the-anglican-communion
3. The Assembly – Who will be there and what to expect? https://www.anglicanfutures.org/post/gsfa-1st-assembly-who-s-going-and-what-s-on-the-agenda

It is a mistake to think that new wineskins must necessarily look like old ones. Sometimes, a design benefits from a little tweaking and it seems that the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans have done just that at their meeting in Egypt.