Global South Anglican

But let’s be careful. A time of reflection and caution is now needed without precipitate responses, either of offense taken, or euphoric overreaction. After all, the differences between Anglicans and Roman Catholics have not disappeared overnight. For many Anglicans, doctrines such as Papal infallibility and the Marian dogmas remain considerable barriers to unity with the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, it is not yet clear which aspects of Anglican tradition, practice and theology are to be embraced by the Apostolic Constitution….

The Global South Primates Steering Committee responded to the Vatican's announcement on Apostolic Constitution in this statement.

The Vatican on Tuesday announced that it would make it easier for Anglicans who are uncomfortable with their church’s acceptance of women priests and openly gay bishops to join the Roman Catholic Church.

Responses:

Letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury to “the Bishops of the Church of England, and the members of the Primates Meeting of the Anglican Communion.”

Joint statement issued today the Archbishop of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury

Abp Bob Duncan: ACNA welcomes annoucement

CANA: Vatican Move Recognizes Reality of Anglican Divide

News Reports:

Telegraph: Pope throws a lifeline to the Church of England for women bishops

Reuters: Pope approves document on Anglicans joining church

Associated Press: Vatican creates new structure for Anglicans

Ruth Gledhill (Times blog) : Pope unity move ‘not act of proselytism or aggression’ says Rowan Williams

Ruth Gledhill & Richard Owen (Times News): Vatican moves to poach traditional Anglicans.

ABP. NICHOLAS OKOH ELECTED  NEW PRIMATE

A new Primate has emerged for the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in the person of Archbishop Nicholas Orogodo Okoh. (57 this November ) He is presently the Archbishop of Bendel Province  and bishop of Asaba. The news of his election was announced today 15^th September, 2009 by the Dean of the Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Maxwell Anikwenwa immediately after the election by the Episcopal Synod held in Umuahia, Abia State.

More here

The ACNA has consecrated and elected two bishops for its dioceses, which represent the full span of its theological spectrum, while also highlighting the fragility of the new province-in-waiting’s theological boundaries. On Aug 22, the Rt Rev William Ilgenfritz was consecrated Bishop of the Missionary Diocese of All Saints by Archbishop Robert Duncan. The new diocese consists of 13 congregations across the United States, and is part of the wider ACNA.

On Saturday 29th August 2009 I received reports from Wernyol, Twic East County, Jonglei State, that there had been another attack on the peoples of the area in which over forty people – men, women and children – were killed.  Amongst the dead were Ven. Joseph Mabior Garang, Archdeacon of Wernyol and Archbishop’s Commissary in the new Diocese of Twic East, who was shot at the altar of the church in Wernyol during a service of Morning Prayer.  Tens of others have been wounded, some very seriously with gun-shot wounds and broken limbs...

Having listened to the concerns of Christian partners and correspondents in Pakistan, NIFCON (the Network of Inter Faith Concerns for the Anglican Communion) is one of the main sponsors of a petition being drawn up asking the government of Pakistan to repeal the law against blasphemy. In recent years the threat of this law has often been often been used in unjust attacks upon the country’s vulnerable Christian minority, and it seems to have played a part in the recent incident in Gojra which led to the death of a number of Christians.

Sign the petion here

A historic Memorandum of Understanding between St. Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore and All Saints' Cathedral, Cairo, Egypt with St. Mark's Pro-Cathedral, Alexandria, Egypt was signed on the 1st of August 2009...

The Standing Committee of the Synod of the Province of the Anglican Church in Southeast Asia, meeting in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia on 29 and 30 July 2009, noted the passing of resolutions DO25 and CO56 of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church (“TEC”) in the United States of America...

The ABC rightly indicates that the Communion is indeed already broken. In (2) he speaks of ‘the broken bridges [from TEC] into the life of other Anglican provinces’ as the existing reality, and stresses that GenCon 09 has done nothing to repair these broken bridges. Though his explanatory clause ‘very serious anxieties have already been expressed’ is (perhaps deliberately) imprecise, the whole passage indicates, as the Primates did in 2003, that the breach has already occurred...