Anglican leaders representing a clear majority of the world’s
practising Anglicans, joyously affirmed the Global Anglican Future
Conference (GAFCON) Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration at the end
of the conference on Sunday June 29. The document addresses the crisis
gripping the Anglican Communion over scriptural authority. It calls for
the creation of a new council of primates overseeing a volunteer
fellowship committed to mission and biblical Anglicanism as well as a
new structure of accountability based on the Jerusalem Declaration. It
also signals the move of most of the world’s practicing Anglicans into
a post-colonial reality, where the Archbishop of Canterbury is
recognized for his historic role, but not as the only arbiter of what
it means to be Anglican.
The primates’ council will initially be formed by the six Anglican
primates participating in the GAFCON from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda,
Southern Cone, Uganda and West Africa. Also the Anglican Church of
Tanzania delegation to GAFCON is in agreement with the statement but
will need the endorsement of their House of Bishops before their
archbishop join the council. The primates council is tasked with
recognizing and authenticating “confessing Anglican jurisdictions,
clergy and congregations and to encourage all Anglicans to promote the
gospel and defend the faith.” From the outset, the statement recognizes
the “desirability of territorial jurisdiction for provinces and
dioceses of the Anglican Communion except in areas where churches and
leaders have denied the orthodox faith or are preventing its spread.”
Speaking specifically to Anglican Christians in North America, the
statement goes on to say that GAFCON believes “time is now ripe for the
formation of a province in North America for the federation currently
known as Common Cause Partnership to be recognised by the Primates’
Council.”
Read the full text at: www.gafcon.org
 Dear Anglican Mission Leaders and Friends,
I’ve just returned from Jerusalem where the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) was convened. Representatives from the Anglican Mission and the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda were joined by pilgrims from around the world, over 1100 in all. The Jerusalem Declaration, the centerpiece of the prayerful deliberations of participants and the GAFCON Statement, clearly frames theological and missional objectives for the majority of world-wide Anglicans. It is clear that the crisis of faith and leadership which propelled the Anglican Mission into action eight years ago is now understood by numerous Primates and Provinces, and those gathered in Jerusalem for this historic event have taken significant steps toward a new day of mission and ministry for Anglicanism.
The complete GAFCON Statement is below and additional information on the event is available on the GAFCON website (
www.gafcon.org). We will be sharing more detailed reports, responses and photographs from GAFCON in the near future. Many thanks to all those who prayed for us as we traveled and participated in the conference.
Faithfully,
The Rev. Canon Ellis E. Brust
President and Chief Executive Officer
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