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Anglican General Secretary Spins Welsh Decision to Bless Homosexual Marriage
By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
October 1, 2021
Outgoing Anglican Communion Secretary General, the Most Rev. Dr. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, dodged a question put to him by a Premier reporter about the Welsh decision to bless same-sex marriage, saying only that, "As long as God is alive, there will always be the Anglican Communion of churches."
He told Premier he is "very confident" in the future of the group and said, "My confidence is not based on the human aspect, but on the divine aspect, in that the church belongs to God, and the Anglican Communion of churches, is a part of God's Church, the universal church."
That's despite fears of divisions over theological stances, especially around the issue of sexuality. He conveniently ignored that GAFCON, which holds the majority of global Anglicans soundly in its grip, roundly rejects homosexual practice especially homosexual marriage as a violation of Scripture, the creeds and the Canons and Constitutions of most Anglican provinces.
Earlier this month, the Church in Wales voted by a two thirds majority to allow the blessing of same-sex marriage. The decision has sparked a lot of controversy within the church with the Evangelical Fellowship in Wales saying the decision is causing many Christians to leave the church.
Archbishop Josiah shared his thoughts on the Church in Wales' decision: "I am treating it as a decision taken by a member of our family. A decision that does not go down well with a significant number. And again, it is a blessing that they have not come out to say: 'We are changing our cannon on marriage'".
He also said that "Anglicanism has always embraced different theological positions" and it is important to stress that "Anglicans never say the Anglican Church, we say the Anglican Communion of churches".
Not entirely true. We don't have a Magisterium, but Anglicans have always understood Scripture to be both defining and authoritative. There has always been a universal acceptance around what is truth with regard to human sexual behavior. For 2,000 years the Church has recognized sexual behavior staying within the confines of marriage between a man and a woman, no exceptions.
Furthermore, if what Fearon says is true, then GAFCON would never have been formed, and Archbishop Rowan Williams would never have said to Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola that he would "blink first" and allow homosexuality to plant its flag permanently in the soil of the Anglican Communion.
The Nigerian Primate's resistance is precisely why Fearon is wrong. GAFCON exists to counter point the Lambeth Conference, Welby's charm offensive to persuade primates that homosexuality is no big deal and Lambeth Resolution 1:10 can be ignored in favor of meatier issues like climate change. Welby is as slippery as an eel - you can never get a straight answer out of him. Just ask the Bell Society folk.
"There is always room within the Anglican Communion as long as you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, and you are willing to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour," Fearon continued.
But progressives, liberals, Affirming Catholics and revisionists do not accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, or they would be affirming Scripture as final and authoritative and renounce their unbiblical positions. It is precisely because they have "progressed" away from scripture as normative and believe that cultural mandates matter more than biblical revelation, that the Anglican Communion is in trouble!
Archbishop Josiah, who is 72, will step down from his role, leaving his Instrument of Unity - the ACC - irrelevant and in tatters. His predecessor Gregory Cameron, who began the slippery slide to progressivism in the AAC, and is now Bishop of St Asaph, was a leader in pushing for homosexual marriage in Wales.
The ACC will be overtaken by the reality that GAFCON is now an "Instrument of Unity" within the Anglican Communion for those who believe that the future of Anglican mission, faith and order lies in a faith that is truly confessional -- specifically, the confession that we find in The Jerusalem Declaration from the first GAFCON in Jerusalem 2008.
Canon Phil Ashey, of the American Anglican Council said GAFCON as an "Instrument of Unity" is a critique of the failure of the existing Instruments of Unity" to hold the Communion together in the face of unilateral revisions of faith and practice by Anglican churches in the west. By this I mean the failure in the last ten years of the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference of Bishops, and Primates' gatherings and the Anglican Consultative Council.
Ashey noted that even Archbishop Justin Welby acknowledged from the pulpit at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, the day before GAFCON 2013 began, that the Instruments of unity had failed.
Fearon will return to his native Nigeria, with his bridge-building efforts in tatters. He will not be welcomed with open arms by the Nigerian primate or the House of Bishops; they have stood resolutely against everything he and Welby have stood for. His compromises were bridges too far for the stoutest orthodox Anglican province. They will remind him that not only did he fail the Anglican Communion, his efforts at Christian-Muslim reconciliation are mocked by the continued slaughter by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen of Nigerian Christians, many of whom are Anglicans. TLC contributed to this story.
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