But recent challenges and strains have emerged among biblically faithful Anglicans.

In a recent article published in First Things, (see below) Archbishop Mouneer Anis (ret.), a much beloved spiritual father of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA), and the Rev. Dr. Gerald McDermott suggest that the foundations of the reset in GSFA Covenantal Structures (The Cairo Covenant) may be lacking. They focus on Section 1 of the Doctrinal Foundations, paragraphs 1.4 and 1.5, which you can find here and specifically the headline and text Sola Scriptura:

"The problem is that the Cairo Covenant uses the language of sola scriptura without sufficient qualification. The term sola scriptura suggests that the Bible by itself can ensure orthodoxy without the guidance of the historic Church. The Covenant defines sola scriptura as 'the Scriptures authority over the Church," which itself is 'a creature of the divine Word.' Yet as students of church history know, the Church produced the Bible and protected it against heretical interpretations at ecumenical councils like Nicaea...the Bible was a "creature" of the Church, not the other way around."

After citing other Anglican formularies such as the Thirty-Nine Articles and the canons of 1571, they conclude that the Cairo Covenant as written does not acknowledge that the guardian of Scripture has always been the Church's councils, creeds, and teachings. And so, they propose the following amendment to Section 1, paragraph 1.5 of the Doctrinal Foundations of the Cairo Covenant:
"We suggest replacement of sola scriptura with prima scriptura, Scriptures primary authority protected by the wisdom of the Great Tradition...reading Scripture with the Church's eyes of faith."

The Rev. Dr. Ashley Null took great exception to an earlier version of the critique of the Cairo Covenant [https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/06/is-the-anglican-reset-truly-anglican] by the Rev Dr. Gerry McDermott. Dr. Null is known to many of our readers for his exhaustive research and curation of the writings of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, a leader of the Reformation of the Church of England. In his recent inaugural, John H. Rodgers Lecture at Trinity School for Ministry [which we have reprinted with permission here: https://americananglican.org/reformational-anglicanism-and-a-new-global-communion], Dr. Null takes issue with the points raised by Dr. McDermott et al:
o The accusation that the GAFCON Kigali Commitment (and by extension, the Cairo Covenant) promotes a "bible alone" position is false. The Kigali Commitment explicitly cites the GAFCON foundation Jerusalem Declaration (2008) paras. 2-4, 6 and 7, that I>"The Bible is to be read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church's historic and consensual reading" (emphasis added) which includes the four Ecumenical Councils, the three historic Creeds, the Thirty-Nine Articles, the 1662 BCP, and Ordinal.

o Sola scriptura is NOT a departure from the English Reformers and martyrs Tyndale, Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley because they saw the church's historic and consensual teaching as something the "catholic fathers and ancient bishops gathered out of [the Old Testament and New Testament]" citing Canon 6 of the 1571 Church of England Canons.

o The 16th century Anglican Reformers were convinced by their reading of the Bible, considering the ancient fathers of the faith, that the doctrine of the Trinity and the Thirty-Nine Articles are sound biblical teaching and not a creature of the Creeds and Councils of the Church as Dr. McDermott et al insist.

o Likewise, the 16th century Anglican Reformers agreed with Augustine and the first leaders of Christianity who "established the infallible early church consensus as to what was apostolic teaching, namely the canon of Scripture," and so--in the words of Augustine, Cranmer, and the Thirty-Nine Articles (see Article 20)-- "Obscure passages [of the Bible] should be expounded by those which are more clear, that is, the safest way to interpret Scripture is through Scripture." (emphasis added)
By now, you may be wondering, "Why all this fuss?" Aren't both sides in agreement about the value of the Great Tradition of councils and creeds as a resource in reading Scripture? Null says they are not. "To place a supposed consensus of the fathers, beyond their agreement to the canon [of Scripture, that is, the Bible], as the lens through which to interpret the canon," he writes, "we would be putting justification by faith, the essence of the Gospel, at risk." Why? Because only the unconditional love of God for sinners found first in the Bible can inspire sinners to love God more than sin.

In the end, Dr. Null cites the words of the late Bishop John Rodgers himself:
"Anglicans have never taught 'Scripture alone' [Sola Scriptura] in the sense of an isolated Scripture. Rather, 'Scripture alone' means that Scripture has a unique level of authority of its own. It alone is the supreme authority in the life of the Church and nothing else is on the same level of Scripture. All aspects of tradition are to be tested by what is taught in Scripture." (emphasis added)

We also include the Rev. Dr. Steve Noll's article below, an Appeal to the Global South Fellowship and GAFCON. Dr. Noll is certainly in agreement with Dr. Null and Bishop Rodgers on the unique level of the authority of the Scriptures, yet he makes a very good case for an amendment to Section 1 of the Cairo Covenant's Doctrinal Foundations to include para. 2 of The Jerusalem Declaration (2008) and specifically the language: "The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught, and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the Church's historic and consensual reading. "And so," he concludes, "I think the historic Anglican doctrine of sola Scriptura supplemented by respectful reading of the Church Fathers is well-stated in the Jerusalem Declaration and should be part of the [GSFA Cairo] Covenant."

Here is the critical question. Are the Foundations of the Global South Covenantal Structures (Cairo Covenant 2019) secure? Is the Cairo Covenant, as it is currently written, SUFFICIENT to unite biblically faithful Anglicans across the globe, reformed and catholic alike, GAFCON and Global South? Does it provide processes for resolving serious theological issues in a way that is both faithful to Anglican formularies and charitable to all?

Let me address the second question first with regards to the proposed amendment by Dr. McDermott et al to replace sola scriptura with prima scriptura in Section 1, para 1.5 of the GSFA Covenantal Structures (Cairo Covenant).

Under the Cairo Covenant, the Council of Bishops guards the Doctrinal Foundations in Section 1 (Covenant para 3.4.1), including the disputed paragraphs on Sola Scriptura. Whenever a member of the GSFA has a question or proposed innovation concerning matters of faith, order, and discipline, it shall first bring the question or proposed innovation to the Faith and Order Commission of the Council of Bishops for resolution before taking any action arising out of the question or proposed innovation (para. 3.4.4b). The Primates Council shall also refer to the Faith and Order Commission of the Council of Bishops any complex matter of doctrine (para. 3.5.1).

The Faith and Order Commission is composed of 18 bishop members of the Council. It is empowered, in consultation with the Primates Council, to co-opt proficient members (such as canon theologians from the dioceses and other specialists from the wider body of Christ) to assist the Commission in the subject under study. Such co-opted members shall have no voting rights in any decisions of the Commission (para. 3.4.4c).

In other words, the amendment proposed by Archbishop Mouneer (ret.) and Dr. McDermott must go first to the Faith and Order (F&O) Commission for study, decision, and recommendation by the GSFA Council of Bishops (para. 3.4.3). The Bishops Faith and Order Commission should therefore co-opt Archbishop Mouneer, Rev. Dr. Gerry McDermott, Rev. Dr. Ashley Null, and Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll as canon theologians with expertise in this area to assist them. Better yet, the Bishops F&O Commission would do well to co-opt many other canon theologians and experts from the majority Global South Provinces in the areas of theology, biblical hermeneutics, patristic history, and any other relevant studies to resolve the questions.

These theological questions are not new, and they are serious. Is it possible to resolve the theological chicken-and-egg question: Which came first, the Bible or the Church? If this cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of all, what then is the role of the Great Tradition--the teachings of the ancient catholic fathers in Creeds and Councils--in reading and interpreting Scripture? Can the Global South and GAFCON together read, interpret, and apply Scripture as Dr. Null suggested as the 16th century Anglican Reformers did with Scripture interpreting Scripture? How can we avoid the problems that Dr. McDermott and others have pointed to in the 18th-20th centuries that gave rise to theological revisionism when everyone is an authority unto themselves? Do we have confidence in the role of bishops as already provided in the Cairo Covenant to "express, and if necessary, insist on, the teaching of the ancient, catholic and universal Church" (para. 3.4.3). If not, how will the amendment replacing sola scriptura with prima scriptura resolve that challenge? Finally, as Dr. Null observes, it is not surprising for old doctrinal divisions in historic Anglicanism to now emerge. Can we address these theological differences within the Cairo Covenant "robustly, albeit hopefully with accuracy, mutual respect and above all, charity?"

After addressing these kinds of questions robustly, and with mutual respect and charity, the Bishops F&O Commission will then make a recommendation to the Council of Bishops for a decision on the proposed amendment as they are the operational means by which the Council of Bishops can guard the faith and order of the GSFA and its members (para. 3.4.1). In rendering their decision, "the Council of Bishops shall express, and if necessary, insist on, the teaching of the ancient, catholic and universal Church" (para. 3.4.3). In other words, the Cairo Covenant's plain sense of the text affirms that the Church cannot and will not ignore tradition when interpreting the Scriptures. This should give assurance and comfort to those seeking to amend the paragraph on Sola Scriptura that their concerns will be taken seriously in light of these conditions.

If the Council of Bishops approve this amendment, it must then be approved by the Primates Council and the Board (aka the Standing Committee) of the Assembly (para. 3.7.2). If the primates and the board agree that the amendment should go forward in the form recommended by the Council of Bishops, notice of intention to move the amendment must be given to the members of the GSFA and the proposed amendment must be circulated to each member of the Assembly at least six (6) months prior to such meeting of the Assembly (para. 3.7.1). Finally, the Assembly itself is not a "higher authority" than the episcopal leadership of the bishops and the primates. The assembly has no authority to create any doctrine apart from the Amendment proposed first by the Council of Bishops and then approved in a form acceptable to the Primates Council and the Board--all of which are principally composed of bishops! Finally, the Assembly may only ratify an amendment to the Covenant by a super-majority, two-thirds vote of those present at the Assembly (para. 3.7.3).

This is the kind of rigorous process Anglican Provinces (like the Church of Nigeria) practice with regards to the development of doctrine within their national and regional churches and which I have documented in Anglican Conciliarism. It is this very rigorous process which has been missing from the current Instruments of the Anglican Communion. Moreover, in keeping with this rigorous process, there are no "loopholes" for members to create "facts on the ground" or "take any actions arising out of the question or proposed innovation" prior to resolution by the Bishops F&O Commission (para. 3.4.4b). This process, too, has been missing from the current structures of the Anglican Communion.

In conclusion, the processes and mechanisms in section 3 of the GSFA Covenantal Structures (The Cairo Covenant) as currently written are sufficient to resolve the complex questions and matters of doctrine behind the proposed amendment to para. 1.5 on Sola Scriptura. In keeping with the great reset of the Anglican Communion undertaken by biblically faithful Anglicans in the GSFA and GAFCON, we can do so with sound biblical scholarship, "the teaching of the ancient, catholic and universal Church" (para. 3.4.3), and with charity towards all.

But NOT before the GSFA convenes its inaugural Assembly in June 2024. Why not? Because it is at this very inaugural assembly that the provinces, dioceses, and mission societies that subscribed to the Cairo Covenant will gather to ratify these Covenantal Structures including the launch of the Council of Bishops, its Faith and Order Commission, the Primates Council, and the election of the Board (aka Standing Committee) of the Assembly. In patience, and in charity with those with whom we disagree, may we pray fervently for the Holy Spirit to guide and direct the launch of this pan-Anglican Global Council, and especially the Bishops' Faith and Order Commission, that will enable us to safeguard the doctrine, discipline, and order of a genuine Communion!

Next Tuesday: I will address the Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll's proposed amendment to include the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration in the Fundamental Declarations/Doctrinal Foundations (section 1) of the Cairo Covenant.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Anglicanism at a Crossroads: www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/12/anglicanism-at-a-crossroads
Reformational Anglicanism and a New Global Communion: americananglican.org/reformational-anglicanism-and-a-new-global-communion
Are the Foundations of the Global South Secure?: stephenswitness.org/2024/01/07/are-the-foundations-of-the-global-south-secure-an-appeal-to-the-global-south-fellowship-and-gafcon
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