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GAFCON Statement on Synod's rejection of Bishops' report in CofE
20th February 2017
The Church of England is in turmoil following the General Synod's rejection of a report by the House of Bishops recommending that there should be no change in the Church's traditional teaching on marriage and sexuality.
Even though the report held out the possibility of change and signalled a permissive approach in practice, it was abruptly rejected by an almost unprecedented vote against a motion to 'take note' of the report, usually just an uncontroversial preliminary to further debate.
After the vote, the Archbishop of Canterbury repeated his call for 'a radical new Christian inclusion' and it seems likely that this is a watershed moment with the Church of England now set on the same path as the Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) and other Provinces that have taken it upon themselves to reinvent fundamental Christian doctrine.
GAFCON UK have already commented that 'The confusion created by the General Synod vote on 15th February makes it abundantly clear that a new vision is now needed of what Anglican Christianity in England can and should be.'
It is also increasingly clear that a new vision is needed for the Anglican Communion as a whole. Despite its enduring historical symbolism, Canterbury can no longer be the defining centre, but through the GAFCON movement a growing number of faithful Anglicans are now recovering their true identity in the gospel itself as the Bible is restored to its rightful place at the heart of the Communion.
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