The Meeting was held during the week of December 5, 2005. Bishops Matthew Obadayo and Ikeche Nwosou from Nigeria represented the Primate and Bishops Ray Sutton and James West represented REC/APA. Both Bishop Riches and I thought it would be a good idea that we attend the meeting to meet these two men and be available as resource persons for our representative bodies.

As the meeting progressed, it became more and more apparent that the visiting bishops had no idea what a separated Anglican Church was. They had no idea how we could have Episcopal Orders and be yet outside the Anglican Communion (AC). Each of us had to present books and papers that told about our individual churches which both came from two different origins at greatly different periods of history.

My thanks to Fr. Mark Clavier for his work on the history of the APA and Fr. Chad Jones on his Dossier on our Episcopal Orders. It took almost one complete day to get them to have a vague idea of who we are, but finally the light went on for them. Bishop Obadayo received a call from Archbishop Akinola about 5:00 P.M. that first day and we can only gather from one side of the conversation that he wanted more progress to be made.

The next day we began working on an actual document of intercommunion based upon the document that exists between REC and APA. That work took the remainder of the second day.

Archbishop Akinola then indicated that he wanted a second meeting ASAP in Nigeria. We thought perhaps he meant March or April 2005. What he wanted was a meeting after the new year. Neither I nor the REC Bishops had any idea how we could possibly arrange this on such short notice. We would have to raise the money for the trip and get the series of required shots, update passports and get visas approved by the Nigerian Consulate. I want to mention here how much we of the REC/APA appreciate Anglicans United and Fr. Todd and Cherie Wetzel. Between Lisa Ulrich in our office and Cherie, the tickets were coordinated and purchased by Anglicans United and all the necessary papers were filed so we could make the trip in early January, 2005. Another great big thank you to Anglicans United.

Bishop Sutton and I traveled via Northwest Airlines and KLM through Amsterdam and met Bishop West in Lagos, Nigeria. We traveled together by car to Abeokuta, where the second series of meetings took place. We worked out another document with stronger language than intercommunion, a document indicating that we were working toward one unified body. (I think that the Archbishop believes in the back of his mind that the orthodox of the AC will ultimately need to unite with or without the Archbishop of Canterbury (ABC)). We completed our work after a couple of days and spent time traveling the area, visiting churches.

We had regular worship services together. We visited Archbishop Akinola in his hillside home in Abeokuta where he plans to live when he retires. Very nice!

Upon returning home, because of the urgency that the Primate seemed to have placed of this, we heard little or nothing for months. A couple of months ago the Church of Nigeria issued a revised Constitution and Canon removing all reference to the Anglican Communion and the ABC; they make it very clear that Nigeria is in communion with all faithful Anglicans and shares no communion with the revisionists. This Constitution, it seems, was what he was waiting on to move forward with his Union Concordat with us.

In Pittsburgh the final draft of our joint Concordat was given to us for our approval. Bishop Riches and I met with the Archbishop along with Canon Martyn Minns, his close confidant, and received the Document and then proceeded to formulate a Press Release. Once all sides agreed upon this, it was forwarded to be distributed as widely as possible.

This emerging relationship with the 18,000,000 member Nigerian Province of the Anglican Communion is without a doubt the most significant event in the life of the separated Anglican Church movement. It is a glorious occasion and one we should be rightfully pleased about. It is a mission minded document, which you will realize as you read it all, and I believe we must be active partners in this relationship if it is to grow. A number of our parishes have Nigerian families as members. This Concordat should serve as a real tangible indicator of our commitment to them and to the historic Faith we all share. The Archbishop wants s to reach out to Nigerian Anglicans in our areas who have founded new churches under the Primate's of the CANA initiative.

Each parish priest or lay leader needs to share this information with the membership by letter or announcement. This should truly serve as encouragement to all who have labored so long in the vineyards of our part of the Church through times of discouragement. God bless and keep you all and have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

All Blessings,

+Walter

The Most Rev. Walter Grundorf is Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America.