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GAFCON Chairman says Church of England is in Grave Spiritual Danger
By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
July 12, 2017
False teaching is restless and relentless, and the Mother Church -- the Church of England -- is in grave spiritual danger, says GAFCON chairman and Primate of all Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh.
In a blistering letter to GAFCON followers and fellow primates, Okoh accused Archbishop Justin Welby of being more concerned about alleged 'boundary crossing' than about contempt for God's Word that made a missionary bishop [Andy Lines] necessary.
Okoh ripped Church of England leaders for inviting the Bishop of Edinburgh, who strongly supported the Scottish Episcopal Church's adoption of same sex "marriage" to the Church of England's July General Synod meeting as an honored guest.
"Although the Church of England's legal position on marriage has not changed, its understanding of sexual morality has. Same sex relationships, which were described by Lambeth Resolution I.10 of 1998 as 'incompatible with Scripture' now receive approval at the highest level."
Okoh cited the case of Vicky Beeching, a singer, songwriter and lesbian activist who advocates homosexual marriage to receive the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer award for Worship in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace.
"The need for GAFCON to safeguard the integrity and clarity of global Anglican mission is as urgent as it has ever been. Our calling is not to be conformed, but to be transformed. A watching world needs to know that Anglicans are defined first and foremost by faithfulness to the Word of God. By God's grace, we will demonstrate that resolve as we gather in Jerusalem to be heralds of the good news of Jesus, God's Son and our Saviour."
Okoh praised the recent General Assembly of the Anglican Church of North America, in Chicago, describing the gathering of some 1,400 bishops, clergy and laity "as a truly historic event."
"In less than ten years, a new strong, united and spiritually vigorous Anglican Province has come into being. It has become the launch pad for a new work with the consecration of Bishop Andy Lines as a missionary bishop for Europe." He cited GAFCON's initiative in making this happen.
Okoh said Chicago was a foretaste of what can be expected in Jerusalem in June 2018.
GAFCON began in 2008 by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, who described it as a "rescue mission" for the Anglican Communion. That rescue was not limited to North America. "There is still much to do because history is repeating itself in other parts of the world, as the recent capitulation of the Scottish Episcopal Church to secular ideas about marriage has demonstrated," he said.
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