The official list of the Global Anglican Council, set up to lead in a reset Anglican Communion, was released by the Gafcon General Secretary, Paul Donison, overnight. It differs from the list published by The Other Cheek recently – which included people who are likely to join the council but have not yet. The Other Cheek apologises for this error.
It includes Primates (leaders of national churches).
The Most Rev. Laurent Mbanda, Archbishop of Rwanda, who also serves as Chair
The Most Rev. Miguel Uchoa, Anglican Church in Brazil, who serves as Vice Chair
The Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, Archbishop of All Nigeria
The Most Rev. Stephen Kaziimba, Archbishop of Uganda
The Most Rev. Enrique Lago, Archbishop of Chile
The Most Rev. Siegfried Ngubane, Presiding Bishop of REACH South Africa
The Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs, Acting Archbishop of the ACNA
Regional advisors who lead churches.
The Most Rev. Kanishka Raffel, Archbishop of Sydney
The Rt. Rev. Jay Behan, Bishop of the Church of Confessing Anglicans in Aotearoa, New Zealand
The Rt. Rev. Andy Lines, Bishop of Anglican Network in Europe
The Rt. Rev. Glenn Davies, Diocese of the Southern Cross
The Rt. Rev. Yassir Eric, Presiding Bishop of EKKIOS
Guarantors
The Most Rev. Peter Akinola, Emeritus Archbishop of All Nigeria
Mr. Mano Kampouris, Laity, Anglican Church in North America
Yinka Fisher, Laity, Anglican Church of Nigeria
The difference between this list and one list published earlier by The Other Cheek is that several Primates are not currently on the new list. We were advised to use the list of Primates on the Gafcon website – but this Council list is shorter. However, the Council list as published by the American Anglican Council includes the following note, “Primatial leadership is not closed. Additional primates are being actively engaged and informed about the Council’s framework and are being invited in.”
Here is a list of obvious possibilities for council members, who are listed as members of the former Gafcon Council of Primates, which the new Global Anglican Council has replaced.
Georges Titre Ande, Primate of the Anglican Church of the Congo.
Justin Badi Arama, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan.
Stephen Than Myint Oo, Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Myanmar.
Jackson Ole Sapit, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya.
Samy Fawzy Shehata, Archbishop and Primate of Alexandria.
There is also the possibility that the final list could include other Primates, extending the wide geographic range of the new Global Anglican Council even further. Another change is the substitution of Julian Dobbs, Acting Archbishop of the ACNA, while the Archbishop, Steve Wood, is suspended.
Two sorts of Primate
The Abuja declaration reaffirmed the basis of belonging to the emerging global Anglican Communion, which is simply to assent to the Jerusalem Declaration (JD), which affirms the foundations of Anglicanism such as the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the 39 Articles and the ancient creeds. The JD also affirms marriage as a female-male exclusive lifelong union.
The American Anglican Council account of the new council also incldes the following information about Primates: “Entry into this leadership structure follows a clear pattern. Anglican primates who affirm the Jerusalem Declaration and commit to principled disengagement [that is not attending Canterbury Communion meetings or obtaining monies from Canterbury-aligned entities] are not elected onto the Council but are invited into it by virtue of their office. This reflects an effort to preserve the dignity and responsibility of primatial leadership rather than subject it to external selection. At the same time, primatial leadership is not closed. Additional primates are being actively engaged and informed about the Council’s framework and are being invited in. Bishop Donison shared with us a recent example that illustrates this process. Archbishop Enrique Lago was not present at the Abuja gathering. After receiving the Council’s decisions and affirming both the Jerusalem Declaration and the requirement of principled disengagement, he was welcomed into the Council’s leadership after G26 occurred. The same invitation remains open to other primates who are prepared to make that commitment.
“Those Anglican primates who are not able to do so are not excluded from the life of the Communion, and, as previously stated, are recognised as participants in the Global Anglican Communion, but will not be made office-holders or hold leadership within the Council itself. They will also be welcome to any future Gafcon gathering. In this way, the emerging structure seeks to distinguish between shared fellowship and shared governance.]