Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans
Encyclopedia
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) is a global network of traditionalist Anglican
Churches which formed in 2008 in response to an ongoing theological crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion
. Traditionalist Anglicans met in 2008 at the Global Anglican Future Conference
(GAFCON), creating the Jerusalem Declaration and establishing the FCA.
(GAFCON) was held near Jerusalem in June 2008 at the initiative of theologically conservative African Anglican leaders who opposed the ordination of homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions by member churches of the Anglican Communion. The meeting came as the culmination of a series of controversies in the Anglican Communion which began in 2003 when the openly gay Gene Robinson
was consecrated as a bishop by The Episcopal Church in the USA. GAFCON was organised as a conservative alternative to the 2008 Lambeth Conference
which was boycotted by many traditionalists.
The conference's statement, the Jerusalem Declaration, recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury
for his historic role in the Anglican Church but denies that his recognition is the cornerstone of Anglican identity. The Declaration also called for the formation of "A Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans".
FCA recognizes the Jerusalem Declaration, written at the 2008 GAFCON meeting, as a "contemporary rule".
The FCA is administered by a "Primates' Council" originally consisting of Primates from the large African provinces of the Anglican Communion
.
appeared on a radio show with Chris Sugden of "Anglican Mainstream". Later, in an internet forum, Kings wrote: "the chair of the GAFCON Primates' Council is now English: Greg Venables; the secretary is Australian: Peter Jensen; the key theologian is American: Stephen Noll; and the unofficial media secretary is English: Chris Sugden. So much for the end of neo-colonialism..."
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
Churches which formed in 2008 in response to an ongoing theological crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. Traditionalist Anglicans met in 2008 at the Global Anglican Future Conference
Global Anglican Future Conference
The Global Anglican Future Conference was a seven day conference of conservative Anglican bishops and leaders held in Jerusalem in June 2008 to address the rise of secularism in the Church, HIV/AIDS and poverty. As a result of the Conference, the Jerusalem Declaration was issued, and the...
(GAFCON), creating the Jerusalem Declaration and establishing the FCA.
Founding
The Global Anglican Future ConferenceGlobal Anglican Future Conference
The Global Anglican Future Conference was a seven day conference of conservative Anglican bishops and leaders held in Jerusalem in June 2008 to address the rise of secularism in the Church, HIV/AIDS and poverty. As a result of the Conference, the Jerusalem Declaration was issued, and the...
(GAFCON) was held near Jerusalem in June 2008 at the initiative of theologically conservative African Anglican leaders who opposed the ordination of homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions by member churches of the Anglican Communion. The meeting came as the culmination of a series of controversies in the Anglican Communion which began in 2003 when the openly gay Gene Robinson
Gene Robinson
Vicki Gene Robinson is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office in March 2004...
was consecrated as a bishop by The Episcopal Church in the USA. GAFCON was organised as a conservative alternative to the 2008 Lambeth Conference
Lambeth Conferences
The Lambeth Conferences are decennial assemblies of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place in 1867....
which was boycotted by many traditionalists.
The conference's statement, the Jerusalem Declaration, recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
for his historic role in the Anglican Church but denies that his recognition is the cornerstone of Anglican identity. The Declaration also called for the formation of "A Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans".
Organization
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans aims to extend the goals of GAFCON into a movement, to "preach the biblical gospel ... all over the world" and "provide aid to ... faithful Anglicans" disaffected from their original churches.FCA recognizes the Jerusalem Declaration, written at the 2008 GAFCON meeting, as a "contemporary rule".
The FCA is administered by a "Primates' Council" originally consisting of Primates from the large African provinces of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
.
By region
- The FCA was instrumental in the formation of the Anglican Church in North America in 2008-09. The ACNA was formed as an alternative church structure for those disaffected by the official Anglican structures in the USA and CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
- The FCA was launched in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on 6 July 2009, drawing together conservative Anglicans in the Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
.
- The FCA was launched in South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on 3 September 2009. It incorporates Anglicans from three denominations: the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the Church of England in South AfricaChurch of England in South AfricaThe Church of England in South Africa was constituted in 1938 as a federation of churches. It is an Anglican church but it is not a member of the Anglican Communion. However, it relates closely to the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, to which it is similar in that it sees itself...
and the Traditional Anglican CommunionTraditional Anglican CommunionThe Traditional Anglican Communion is an international communion of churches in the continuing Anglican movement independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The TAC upholds the theological doctrines of the Affirmation of St. Louis and an Anglo-Catholic interpretation of...
. At the launch of the FCA South Africa, Canon Dr Vinay Samuel of India told participants:
- “Can you bring the biblical resources of faith to shape the heart of South Africa’s agenda. Will its agenda be shaped by simply an ideology of rights and use the iconic status of leaders such as Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela to silence any other view? That is not a great gift to the world from South Africa. You will draw on the best of South Africa’s journey of social transformation. But you are called to the prophetic stance of the obedient disciple, rather than the stance of political people who have become messianic with the new universal of human rights which is now being imposed, claiming that these rights are self-evident –and if the Bible teaches anything different it is to be rejected. They own the Bible, and claim the Holy Spirit, for the service of this ideology. That is based on power, not on obedience.”
- The Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America, which covers much of South America, is a key constituent of the FCA movement.
- The Anglican Diocese of SydneyAnglican Diocese of SydneyThe Diocese of Sydney is a diocese within the Anglican Church of Australia. The majority of the diocese is Evangelical and low church in tradition and committed to Reformed and Calvinist theology....
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
played an important role in forming the FCA and its Archbishop Peter Jensen is the FCA's secretary.
Reactions
In May 2010 the Bishop of Sherborne Graham KingsGraham Kings
Graham Kings was consecrated as the Anglican Bishop of Sherborne on 24 June 2009 at a service in Westminster Abbey.- Early life :Kings was born in Barkingside, Essex on the eastern outskirts of London. He is one of 2 children...
appeared on a radio show with Chris Sugden of "Anglican Mainstream". Later, in an internet forum, Kings wrote: "the chair of the GAFCON Primates' Council is now English: Greg Venables; the secretary is Australian: Peter Jensen; the key theologian is American: Stephen Noll; and the unofficial media secretary is English: Chris Sugden. So much for the end of neo-colonialism..."
External links
- Official website
- The Jerusalem Declaration
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WWN-509Y43M-1&_user=10&_coverDate=07%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=8&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_origin=browse&_zone=rslt_list_item&_srch=doc-info(%23toc%237135%232010%23999599996%232229848%23FLA%23display%23Volume)&_cdi=7135&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=18&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=3fbaf4bad12173bb27eafe087d4692b8&searchtype=aConstructing the boundaries of Anglican orthodoxy: An analysis of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON)] an article from the journal Religion on GAFCON and the evolution of FCA