The appointment, on the surface, would appear to be a slap in the face at Anglican pansexualists as Fearon has publicly condemned homosexuality; his anti-gay position has deeply offended Western pansexualists like Colin Coward of Changing Attitude and other left leaning Anglicans, like Thinking Anglicans. In a strange twist of irony, the opposite has happened with a number of Church of England homosexuals now praising the appointment despite the Nigerian bishop's past statements.

At a sermon he preached at the Episcopal Church's General Convention in Minneapolis in August 2003, he warned the 1,000 plus people present that consecrating Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire would be a departure from Scripture and damage Anglicanism's global witness.

In an interview in 2007, he told the Dallas Morning News, "[W]e feel we are deceived; we have been cheated by the people the Lord Jesus Christ used to introduce us to the Scriptures, to bring us to a new faith in the Lord Jesus. They are telling us that it's not wrong after all, that it's a natural way. But we say: You are wrong; the Bible is right. So it's not just a question of human sexuality. It's about the authority of Scripture. For us, Scripture judges every culture. What I hear in the Western world is that culture judges Scripture. That's the basic difference. It's not a question of sex or no sex."

Then he softened his stance allegedly saying, in a March 2014 account in the Nigerian newspaper New Telegraph that legalizing gay marriage or such acts amounts to making God's good creatures and standards look imperfect. "Our battle today is not against homosexuals, our battle today is against those who say God's standards are not good enough for us. The government has criminalized homosexuality, which is good, our battle is not against human beings; it is against the devil. Our resolution of 1998 [Lambeth 1:10] on homosexuality has not changed and will not change by the grace of God."

Apparently, the Church of England's pansexualists now think they can do business with him as he has begun to thread the needle over sodomy, back pedaling earlier harsh statements on the subject.

"I'm arguing for a more nuanced response to Bishop Idowu-Fearon's appointment. He follows a General Secretary who agreed to meet me soon after being appointed in 2005," wrote Colin Coward of Changing Attitude.

"I have met Bishop Josiah twice and found him open to me as a gay priest and activist and far less obviously hostile than he is now being portrayed. I have often wondered whether his more extreme remarks were made to satisfy the deep prejudices of the collective House of Bishops in Nigeria. Bishop Josiah's engagement with me was in marked contrast to Archbishop Peter Akinola and the now-Primate of All Nigeria, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh," added Coward.

Fearon, an Islamic scholar, has lived on the margins of the Communion for many years. He has lived as much in England -- where he has home and his wife works as a nurse -- as he has in Kaduna.

Depending on whom you ask, he was demoted in 2008 by Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola from Archbishop to Bishop of Kaduna because of his close ties to Canterbury and his support for Lambeth 2008, which had been boycotted by his fellow countryman. On the other hand, some argue that he simply was not re-elected by the House of Bishops for a second term as Archbishop of Kaduna. "Under Nigerian protocol, he retains the title of archbishop," a source told VOL.

In any event, he has learned to schmooze the West while retaining ties to Nigeria, although VOL has been told there is very little respect for him there despite his enormous scholarship in Islamic studies.

The appointment, on the other hand, is seen as a brilliant tactical move by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

"Fearon is a domesticated Nigerian who is not really trusted by his own people," a source told VOL.

A shrewd observer noted that this is a very clever move by Welby. He has no problem with Fearon being orthodox; the problem for Welby comes when people say orthodoxy must mean drawing some boundaries, for example, with The Episcopal Church. It is certain Fearon would never have gotten the job if was not going to go along with Indaba. (The aim of Continuing Indaba is to enable Anglicans worldwide to live reconciliation by facing its own conflicts, celebrate diversity and difference attempting to become agents of God's reconciling mission in the world. It is an official ministry of the Anglican Communion.)

The Episcopal Church kicks in over $1 million a year to keep the office going in London. Furthermore, if some in The Episcopal Church should attack Fearon for being "anti-gay," it would be just fine for Welby as it reinforces his middle ground honest broker narrative.

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