Dear friends,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Thank you very much for your messages and prayers for us as we go through this difficult time.

With great sadness, I would like to tell you about the tragic situation in Imbaba, Giza. Imbaba is a densely populated area, a few kilometres south of Cairo. Over the past two days, there have been clashes in this area between Christians and Muslims. The outcome ofthe clashes was the death of 12 people, and more than 232 injured. Moreover, several houses and shops were burnt, cars were destroyed, and the church of st. Mary, in the same area, was completely burnt.

The clashes started because of a rumour that a Christian woman who converted to Islam was being hidden by Mar Mina Coptic Orthodox Church. As a result of this rumour, a group of Muslim fundamentalists that belong to the Salafi sect gathered around the church, and wanted to go inside to search for this woman. Young people from the church prevented them from entering, because they were afraid that they may burn the church as it happened a few weeks ago in Sole, Giza.

As a result, more Muslim people came and after praying in the street, they started to shout "Islamic, Islamic." The Christians shouted back "with our spirit and blood, we are ready to defend the cross." There were attempts from moderate Muslims and the church priests to calm down the demonstrators on both sides, but these attempts failed.

Soon after this, some of the demonstrators started shooting and throwing Molotov cocktails. The army arrived and things became quieter. However, early the next morning, some extremist Muslims came and burned several blocks of flats and shops owned by Christians. Yesterday, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar called for an emergency meeting of Beth EI-Eila (the House of the Family), a newly formed group which includes the heads of Christian denominations and several Muslim leaders and the Grand Imam. We all agreed that this incident should be taken very seriously by the authorities, and that those who caused these destructive clashes must be brought to justice. It is worth mentioning that previous clashes between Christians and Muslims have always been solved through community reconciliation. The meeting also appointed a committee to go and visit Imbaba, and report back. I was one of this committee, and we spent eight hours today visiting and listening, and then writing a report to the wider committee.

The damage we saw was indescribable. The area looked as if it was a battlefield, because of the many tanks and soldiers. I was moved by the story of one of the guards of St. Mary's Church, who refused to denounce Jesus Christ and as a result, his throat was slit. This is at least the fifth tragic incident since the first day of the year, when a church was bombed in Alexandria. There is no doubt that inter-religious tension is growing in Egypt, and this needs a real strategic plan to combat it. This is what we are trying to do through Beth El-Eila.

I very much appreciate your prayers so that the Lord may transform this difficult situation.

We all hope that Egypt will be a safe place for all Egyptians.

May the Lord bless you!

Yours in Christ,

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis
Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa
President Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican
Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East

Photo: Reuters

GAFCON primates meeting in Africa have announced plans for another international conference as well as opening offices in London and Nairobi.

The council of Anglican leaders was established by the Global Anglican Future Conference in 2008, representing more than 35 million Anglicans.

Now, the Primates are planning for a second GAFCON in 2013 preceded by a leadership conference in New York in 2012.

At the start of their meeting just after Easter, the council elected Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya, as its new Chairman to replace Archbishop Greg Venables, the Primate of the Southern Cone.

The new Primate of the Southern Cone, Archbishop Hector Zavala, was welcomed to the council, as was the Primate of Rwanda Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje.

The election of Archbishop Wabukala is significant as it marks a transition of the chairmanship to someone other than one of the original GAFCON primates.

Archbishops Zavala and Rwaje are also new Primates.

In a 13 point statement issued after their Nairobi meeting, the Council said “if we are offer adequate support to our member provinces, sustain our various initiatives, and strengthen our communications capabilities we must add capacity to our current secretariat.”

A Chairman’s office would be established in Nairobi, Kenya and a GAFCON Global Coordination office would be established in London under the direction of the Rt. Rev’d Martyn Minns, Missionary Bishop of the Church of Nigeria, serving as Deputy Secretary and Executive Director.

The meeting discussed the challenges confronting the Anglican Communion and the Primates said they were “disappointed that those who organized the Primates meeting in Dublin not only failed to address these core concerns but decided instead to unilaterally reduce the status of the Primates’ Meeting. This action was taken with complete disregard for the resolutions of both Lambeth 1978 and 1998 that called for an enhanced role in ‘doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters’. We believe that they were seriously misled and their actions unacceptable.”

“We continue to be troubled by the promotion of a shadow gospel that appears to replace a traditional reading of Holy Scriptures and a robust theology of the church with an uncertain faith and a never ending listening process. This faith masquerades as a religion of tolerance and generosity and yet it is decidedly intolerant to those who hold to the “faith once and for all delivered to the saints”.

The Primates reaffirmed the statement of orthodox faith formulated at GAFCON 1 in 2008, known as the Jerusalem Declaration.

“We believe that the theological principles outlined in the Jerusalem Declaration offers the only way forward that holds true to our past and also gives a sure foundation for the future” the Primates said.

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Nairobi Statement from the GAFCON/FCA Primates Council

The Full text reads: (download statement)

Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

1.   We met in Nairobi from April 25th through April 28th, 2011. We gathered as the elected leaders of provinces and national churches of the Anglican Communion and as leaders of GAFCON/FCA. We rejoice in the Easter proclamation that Jesus Christ is alive and we joyfully acknowledge his love for all humanity, his Lordship over all the earth and his promise to return with power and great glory.

2.   We are profoundly saddened by the many disasters that have afflicted our world in recent months and offer our prayers for those whose lives have been devastated. We take to heart the warning from our Lord that in our age there would be “wars and rumors of wars” and a season when, “nations will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and famines and earthquakes in various places.” We also remember His solemn warning that no-one can know the time for the end of this age and so we acknowledge all these events as reminders of the urgent need for repentance and reconciliation with our heavenly Father.

3.   We are distressed that, in the face of these enormous challenges, we are still divided as a Communion. The fabric of our common life has been torn at its deepest level and until the presenting issues are addressed we will remain weakened at a time when the needs before us are so great. We were disappointed that those who organized the Primates meeting in Dublin not only failed to address these core concerns but decided instead to unilaterally reduce the status of the Primates’ Meeting. This action was taken with complete disregard for the resolutions of both Lambeth 1978 and 1998 that called for an enhanced role in “doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters”. We believe that they were seriously misled and their actions unacceptable.

4.    We note the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to offer support for those Anglican clergy and congregations who find themselves alienated by recent actions in the Communion. We believe that the provision of an Anglican Ordinariate is intended to be a gracious gift but sadly one that also points out that our own Communion has failed to make adequate provision for those who hold to a traditional view of the faith. We remain convinced that from within the Provinces that we represent there are creative ways by which we can support those who have been alienated so that they can remain within the Anglican family.

5.    We devoted a considerable portion of our time together exploring some of the presenting issues regarding Anglican ecclesiology. We were mindful of the importance of letting scripture speak directly to the nature of the church and not simply let our current experience delimit our doctrine. While we are grateful for our history and our particular Anglican tradition we believe that there is and can only ever be one church of Jesus Christ which he has purchased with his own blood and over which he is the Head. The local church is the fundamental expression of the one true church here on earth and is bound together with other local churches by ties of love, fellowship and truth. From such networks have come denominations, national churches and global communions.

6.    As members of the global Anglican Communion we delight in the particular history with which we have been blessed. We are grateful for the missionary heritage that gave birth to our global communion with its distinctive balance of reformed catholicity. Meeting in Nairobi we are especially thankful for the influence of the East African Revival with its emphasis on the renewing power of the Holy Spirit, a call to Holy living and unquestionable desire for evangelism.

7.    We believe, however, that we are fully the church in our various settings, created and sustained by Word and Sacrament, and marked by obedience that results in faith, hope and love. We also recognize the Lord’s call to discipline demands from us a commitment to unity, holiness, apostolicity and catholicity. All of these are aspects of what it means to be church and we are committed to resourcing our bishops and other leaders so that we can more fully become the church that God has established.

8.   We continue to be troubled by the promotion of a shadow gospel that appears to replace a traditional reading of Holy Scriptures and a robust theology of the church with an uncertain faith and a never ending listening process. This faith masquerades as a religion of tolerance and generosity and yet it is decidedly intolerant to those who hold to the “faith once and for all delivered to the saints”. We believe that the theological principles outlined in the Jerusalem Declaration offers the only way forward that holds true to our past and also gives a sure foundation for the future.

9.    Confident of the power of God’s Word to renew His church we are creating a network for theologians and theological educators who embrace the Jerusalem Declaration to give further support for our seminaries and Bible Colleges. We have also reviewed and approved plans for the leadership conference now scheduled for April 2012 and the beginning preparations for an international gathering of Primates, Bishops, Clergy and Lay Leaders now scheduled for the first half of 2013 and provisionally designated “GAFCON 2”.

10. We are delighted in the election of the Most Rev’d Eliud Wabukala, Primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya to serve as Chairman of the Primates’ Council and also the Most Rev’d Nicholas D. Okoh, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) to serve as Vice-Chairman. We were pleased to appoint Bishop Greg Venables and Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini as trustees. We also welcomed the Most Rev’d Hector Zavala, Province of the Southern Cone and the Most Rev’d Onesphore Rwaje, Anglican Church of Rwanda as new members of the Council.

11. We also recognized that if we are offer adequate support to our member provinces, sustain our various initiatives, and strengthen our communications capabilities we must add capacity to our current secretariat. Consequently it was agreed that a GAFCON/FCA Chairman’s office would be established in Nairobi, Kenya and a Global Coordination office would be established in London under the direction of the Rt. Rev’d Martyn Minns, Missionary Bishop of the Church of Nigeria, serving as Deputy Secretary and Executive Director.

12. Finally we know that it is only be God’s grace that we can accomplish anything and we call on all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord to join us in prayer for our world and especially for those who are suffering because of natural disasters as well as those who struggle to live under violent and oppressive governments. We know that our only hope is in the redeeming and transforming love of God and we pray that we will all be faithful to our call to be an instrument of God’s grace.

13. To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

The Primates Council
The Most Rev’d Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop, Anglican Church of Kenya, Chair
The Most Rev’d Justice Akrofi, Archbishop, Anglican Province of West Africa
The Most Rev’d Robert Duncan, Archbishop, Anglican Church in North America
The Most Rev ‘d Onesphore Rwaje, Archbishop, Anglican Church of Rwanda
The Most Rev’d Valentino Mokiwa, Archbishop, Anglican Church of Tanzania
The Most Rev’d Nicholas Okoh, Archbishop, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Most Rev’d Henry Orombi, Archbishop, Church of Uganda
The Most Rev’d Hector Zavala, Province of the Southern Cone
The Most Rev’d Peter Jensen, Archbishop, Diocese of Sydney, Secretary

Source: Gafcon

22 March, 2011

Ten days have past since the major magnitude 9 earthquake which happened in regions from Tohoku to Kanto on the 11th March. The major tsunami, which hit Japan immediately after the earthquake, reached a huge area from Hokkaido to Kanto. The tsunami, which was over 10 metres, brought complete destruction to many towns and villages along the coastline.

We Japanese are accustomed to earthquakes and tsunamis, however no one could have imagined that such a major earthquake or tsunami could have happened. As of today, more than 8,400 people are confirmed dead and still 12,000 people are missing. There are more than 300,000 people who are enduring hardship at various evacuation centres.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor's cooling system has completely failed as a result of this catastrophe. This has resulted in people living within 30 kilometres to be evacuated from the area. At the nuclear reactor site, there are people working tirelessly to solve the problem of the cooling system. However, people are already discovering levels of radiation in the milk and vegetables available in the locality. Everybody is therefore concerned about the further spread of the radiation.

Immediately after the major earthquake, I began to receive many messages of support and concern from churches, mission agencies and people all around the world. Both my computer and the one at the Provincial office receive such emails on a daily basis. They are all messages in which people express concern for our safety and also messages of support, sympathy and unity.

I am very grateful for such concern from everybody, and I am also very sorry to say that I am unable to respond individually to these people at the present time. I have also received many offers of money and goods for the relief effort from Provinces, churches, mission agencies and individuals. Again, I am really grateful for these offers. The Provincial office has established a fund to deal with donations. Also, I have received many inquiries about what people can do to help the victims and Japanese churches. Some say they are prepared to send relief medical teams and relief volunteers, others want to know what items are most needed by those affected. To respond to all of these queries let me explain the current situation of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai.

Ten days have passed since the major earthquake and in the areas affected by the disaster relief activities have begun. But because the destruction was so significant, there are many areas where the basic infrastructure such as electricity and water supply has not been restored. Also, because such a huge area was affected, such things as food, water, petrol and medical supplies have not reached the affected people. Such hardship has been broadcast by the media, not just to Japan, but to the rest of the world. Such images of suffering caused many people to respond: "I want to go out to the region and help these people. I want to go and deliver food and other necessities now!" This is why we have received so many offers of help.

But as time passes some restoration of the transport network and also distribution of food and other supplies have begun. Use of personal transporation to deliver supplies to affected areas has been restricted [by the government]. Even the church are unable to deliver goods to the devastated areas at the moment.

Regarding relief volunteers, because there is no structure or system to receive these people in the devastated areas at the moment, only the official public servants such as doctors, nurses, Japan's Defence Regiment personel and fire fighters, police, medical centre staff and local council staff members are allowed to provide care to those affected.

Regarding Tohoku Diocese, all the church can do there at this present time is work out the extent of the damage to church buildings and other facilities [kindergartens, nurseries, etc.], and confirm the safety of its parishioners. In the future, once the extent of the damage to churches and other facilities becomes clear, I anticipate that volunteers from other Anglican dioceses across Japan will travel to Tohoku to help with relief and rehabilitation activities.

Churches in Tohoku Diocese and also some churches in Kita Kanto Diocese have sustained some damage to their buildings and facilities following the earthquake. I know that we will need to consider the rebuilding of these in the future. Also, many of the houses belonging to parishioners were damaged. We will need to rebuild these also. This all needs to be done after we know the extent of the damage and calculate the cost. At that time, the NSKK will run a fundraising campaign to help the reconstruction efforts.

This having been said, staff of the ‘Tohoku Earthquake Relief & Rehabilitation Task Force HQ’ at the Provincial office and of the relief centre in Tohoku Diocese consider the people affected by the disaster to be the church's priority. In most of the areas affected by the disaster there are no Anglican churches, however it is the NSKK's desire to stand with all people there and to do whatever we can to support them.

The relief and rescue phase will soon end, but the the restoration phase will go on for a long time. As the NSKK, particularly as Tohoku Diocese, we believe that it is during this second phase when God will most use us to do his work.

Nippon Sei Ko Kai is a small Church. Tohoku Diocese is a small diocese within that small Church. So we know that what we can do is limited. We recognise it will be necessary to work with others outside of the Anglican Church and outside of religious organisations. We will need to partner with ecumenical partners, the government, private organisations, and non-profit organisations and non-governmental organisations in order to do this relief and restoration work.

For those churches and organisations overseas who have offered to send us medical teams, medical supplies and pharmaceutical goods, please contact the Red Cross, the Japanese Embassy or Consulate in your country.

Finally, I would like to express my utmost gratitude for the prayers and warm words which were sent to me from everybody. I would like you to continue to pray for the ongoing relief and restoration work.

The Most Revd Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu
The Archbishop of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (The Anglican Communion in Japan)

Source: ACNS

On the 11th of March at 2:46pm, the biggest earthquake ever to hit Japan struck just off the coast of the Tohoku region. This caused a tsunami and fires that brought massive devastation to a very wide area. This unimaginably strong earthquake triggered an explosion at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear reactor. The people living in the area around that and the No. 2 reactor have been evacuated. The stories and images constantly broadcast by the media have left people lost for words, unable to describe the sheer scale of the unbelievable devastation caused by the earthquake, tsunami and fires.

We see homes devastated, whole towns that were swallowed by the tsunami, and houses that continue to burn because fire fighters are unable to reach both the properties and the people who were the victims of this catastrophe. With hearts filled with grief and helplessness we see people who are mourning their lost loved ones and others who search tirelessly for missing family members. There are so many who have lost their homes and possessions. Towns and villages were obliterated by the tsunami, everything was gone in a second.

Since the earthquake the Provincial office has worked very hard to find out about the people and the churches in Tohoku diocese. However, we could neither contact them by phone nor email. Only yesterday were we able to start to see a picture of the devastation in the affected areas. I had been most concerned that I could not contact the Bishop of Tohoku diocese [The Rt Revd John Hiromichi Kato], but on Saturday he rang me and I was able to find out more about what had happened to the churches in Sendai City.

Bp Kato explained that he himself had not been able to find out much about the other churches in the diocese of Tohoku. This was largely due to the fact that neither power supplies nor telephone lines had been restored in areas most badly hit by the tsunami. There is particular concern for two churches: Isoyama St Peter’s Church in Fukushima Prefecture and Kamaishi Shinai Church and the kindergarten in Iwate that were close to the sea. Priests have been frantically trying to confirm that their parishioners are safe. We also know that it is not only Tohoku diocese that has been affected, some churches in Kita Kanto diocese have been reported to have been damaged also.

Sendai Christchurch (the Cathedral church) is badly damaged and yesterday, while there were still so many aftershocks, the church carried out their first Sunday after Lent service in the diocesan office.

In many affected areas there are roadblocks but as for Tohoku diocese the church is planning to establish an emergency relief centre within the diocesan building. Bishop Kato will lead the efforts to respond to the crisis.

At a Provincial level I am working to establish a structure for responding to this unprecedented natural disaster as soon as possible. This will include providing relief and sourcing volunteers and funding to help with the restoration of the affected areas. I am also trying to find more accurate information about our church family and the relief efforts, and to communicate that information as quickly as possible.

What we can do right now, however, is pray. Prayer has power. I hope and request that you pray for the people who are affected, for those who have died and for their families. Pray for the people involved with the rescue efforts, and in particular pray for Tohoku and Kita Kanto dioceses and their priests and parishioners during this time of Lent.

I am grateful for all the many prayers and messages of support from throughout the world; from the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Churches.

This will be a joyous occasion after four years without an archbishop in the Province.

It will also be a solemn occasion in the face of the persecution of the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe seeing that our brothers and sisters continue worshipping in the open and under trees.

Please pray that the Province under the leadership of the new Archbishop could be courageous in meeting the challenges confronting its membership and many others who are suffering silently.

+William Provincial Secretary

Source: ACNS

They are the Reverend Drexel Gomez, retired Anglican Archbishop of the West Indies, and the Reverend Canon Paul Avis, general secretary of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity. They will join members of the local Christian community in exploring new approaches to missionary activity, in keeping with the changing social environment.

The symposium at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston is part of the year-long anniversary activities, which will be launched on Sunday, March 20, with a service at the Spanish Town Cathedral.

The JCMS is the recognised missionary agency of the Anglican Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

The high-level panel of speakers for the symposium includes religious leaders, who will set the tone for the workshop discussion on the mission responsibility of the Church to "act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:1-6).

The respondents

The keynote presenter, Archbishop Drexel Gomez, will be supported by four respondents - the Reverend Donald Reece, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston; the Reverend Dr Marjorie Lewis, President, United Theological College of the West Indies; the Reverend Dr Garnett Roper, President, Jamaica Theological Seminary; and the Reverend Kenute Francis, Anglican Rector of St John's Church, Ocho Rios.

An advocate for ecumenism, the Rev Canon Paul Avis, will bring an international perspective to the deliberations. Canon Avis has written numerous theological books and articles. These include a 2005 publication titled, A Ministry Shaped by Mission, which presents a new model for the work of the Christian Church in the community; and his most recent publication, Reshaping Ecumenical Theology.

Participants in the workshop sessions will address issues of justice and governance; the church's role in correcting social inequalities which marginalise the majority of the population; evangelism and social transformation and the nurturing of a caring family of believers, who reflect God's compassion in their relationship with others.

Chairman of the JCMS and Suffragan Bishop of Mandeville, the Reverend Dr Harold Daniel, explained that the symposium was being organised in response to the changing social reality which demands a holistic approach to ministry and mission that will engage both ordained and lay members of the Christian Church in promoting spiritual, emotional and personal development in their respective communities.

"You are not Church just by keeping church," Bishop Daniel asserted. The symposium, he said, was designed to change the mindset of the whole Church and re-awaken commitment to Christian service.

The Jamaica Church Missionary Society was founded in 1861 and charged with fulfilling the mandate given by Jesus in the Great Commission (St Matthew 28: 18-20) to take the Gospel to the whole world.

Source: The Gleaner, Jamaica

First, as we and others have already noted, the Dublin meeting represented only a small fraction of the Communion’s active members. Thus, from the very outset it lacked one of the defining criteria of a Communion Instrument, the ability to function as a body that “interprets and articulates the common faith of the Church’s members (consensus fidelium)”.  (Covenant 3.1.4.) Last week, the consensus fidelium was to be found elsewhere with those who did not attend.

Second, the Dublin meeting acknowledged no accountability to and, indeed claimed no continuity with, past Primates’ Meetings.  It made no mention whatsoever of the moratoria the Primates and other Instruments had developed and ratified repeatedly over many meetings in the previous decade. The Anglican Covenant, similarly the focus of several years’ intensive effort, was mentioned only in passing in a footnote. Each of the Primates’ Meetings, and indeed meetings of the other Instruments, in recent years had placed their work in the context of developing and interpreting their own prior work and that of the other Instruments. On both the acknowledged “critical situation” facing the Communion and their own self-definition, the Dublin participants seemed to operate in a vacuum, having a conversation among themselves about “journeying together in honest conversation.”

Third, as if to confirm these previous observations, those present in Dublin concluded by refusing to accept or even acknowledge the role repeatedly specified for the Primates’ Meeting by the Communion over the last forty years.

In one of its daily briefings, the ACNS noted that:

Primates spent the afternoon sessions sharing their expectations of Primates’ Meetings. Following a request to the Archbishop of Canterbury he shared with them a short history of the meetings. He explained that, although it had altered over the years, the original purpose of the meeting established in 1978 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Donald Coggan was an opportunity for “leisurely thought, prayer and deep consultation”.

After the meeting was concluded, the Canadian Primate stated:

We recalled the fact that [the 101st Archbishop of Canterbury] Donald Coggan, 20 years ago, envisioned the primates’ meeting as a place “for leisurely thought, prayer, and deep consultation.” And then [Archbishop of Canterbury] Rowan Williams gave a history of the last 10 years of the primates’ meeting…What happened was there was a call in the communion for enhanced responsibility on the part of the primates… the primates were assuming an authority [that] as a group was never intended.

The primary document produced by the Dublin meeting, “Towards an Understanding of the Purpose and Scope of the Primates’ Meeting: A Working Document,” also begins by noting that “Archbishop Coggan was the first to call for ‘meetings of the Primates of the Communion reasonably often, for leisurely thought, prayer and deep consultation …’.”

Oddly missing from this selective history are the actual concrete specifications of the role of the Primates’ Meeting as developed by all the Instruments over the past four decades. Indeed, lost in the oft-quoted dicta of Archbishop Coggan is the fact that his remarks were made in an address to the very 1978 Lambeth Conference that created the Primates’ Meeting by resolution. That initial resolution and those of subsequent Conferences make clear that the "leisurely thought, prayer and deep consultation" were intended to serve a broader purpose.

From the outset, the Primates’ Meeting was intended as a mechanism for coordinating with the Archbishop of Canterbury the other activities of the Communion. Thus, the request in the first Lambeth Conference resolution (1978 Res. 12) was:

The Conference asks the Archbishop of Canterbury, as President of the Lambeth Conference and President of the Anglican Consultative Council, with all the Primates of the Anglican Communion, within one year to initiate consideration of the way to relate together the international conferences, councils, and meetings within the Anglican Communion so that the Anglican Communion may best serve God within the context of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

Significantly, 1978 resolution 12 followed immediately after Resolution 10, which affirmed the traditional teaching on human sexuality, and Resolution 11:

The Conference advises member Churches not to take action regarding issues which are of concern to the whole Anglican Communion without consultation with a Lambeth Conference or with the episcopate through the Primates Committee, and requests the Primates to inititate a study of the nature of authority within the Anglican Communion.

In 1988, the Lambeth Conference went further:

This Conference:

2.(a) Urges that encouragement be given to a developing collegial role for the Primates Meeting under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, so that the Primates Meeting is able to exercise an enhanced responsibility in offering guidance on doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters. (Res. 18.2(a).)

This request was then reiterated in 1998 when the Conference:

(a) reaffirms Resolution 18.2(a) of Lambeth 1988 which "urges that encouragement be given to a developing collegial role for the Primates' Meeting under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, so that the Primates' Meeting is able to exercise an enhanced responsibility in offering guidance on doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters";

(b) asks that the Primates' Meeting, under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, include among its responsibilities positive encouragement to mission, intervention in cases of exceptional emergency which are incapable of internal resolution within provinces, and giving of guidelines on the limits of Anglican diversity in submission to the sovereign authority of Holy Scripture and in loyalty to our Anglican tradition and formularies;

Gradually during the 1980s and 1990s, the Primates’ Meeting began to exercise the responsibility the successive Lambeth Conferences had requested. Meeting in London in October 2003, all the Primates, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, accepted the responsibility given to the Primates’ Meeting by the Lambeth Conferences and undertook “to exercise the ‘enhanced responsibility’ entrusted to us by successive Lambeth Conferences.”

In the last decade, the Covenant accepted and reiterated this developed understanding of the Primates’ Meeting by specifying the responsibility of the Primates (along with the other Instruments) as:

• articulation and exercise of our shared faith and common life and mission. 
• to interpret and articulate the common faith of the Church’s members (consensus fidelium).
• to work as representatives of their Provinces in collaboration with one another in mission and in doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters that have Communion-wide implications.
• to initiate and commend a process of discernment and a direction for the Communion and its Churches. (Covenant, paragraph 3.1.4.)

It must be emphasized that the Covenant has been approved by both the Anglican Consultative Council and the Archbishop of Canterbury and has now been adopted by three of the Communion’s churches.

Against this background, what is most remarkable about the Dublin meeting is that its working document on the Primates’ Meeting cites only the preliminary remarks of Archbishop Coggan, but makes no mention whatsoever of the subsequent work done to implement those remarks by the Lambeth Conferences and the Covenant in specifying the role of the Primates’ Meeting, work that by now has been accepted by all the Instruments of Communion. As far as one can discern, this established understanding played no role at all in the deliberations at Dublin. While one might try to parse the provisions of the Dublin document to align it to greater or lesser extent with the accepted precedents, the simple fact is that those other sources were not acknowledged, were not quoted and were not even the subject of obvious paraphrase.  Those meeting in Dublin staked no claim to continuity with the past, ignoring the will of the most authoritative of the Instruments of Communion—the Lambeth Conference of Bishops.

For all these reasons, the group of Primates who met in Dublin cannot be recognized as acting in accord with the accepted Communion understanding of the Primates’ Meeting as an Instrument of Communion. This Instrument thus joins the others as now being dysfunctional and lacking in communion credibility. The role of the Lambeth Conference as an Instrument of Communion is to “express episcopal collegiality worldwide.” But in 2008, when the bishops of most Anglicans “worldwide” were not present, it could not perform this function. It accomplished little of substance and is now regarded throughout much of the Communion as a symbol of futility. Similarly, the Anglican Consultative Council has been re-structured legally so that it is no longer recognizable as the Instrument defined in the Covenant or in past Anglican documents. The role of the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion is to function as “a primacy of honor and respect among the college of bishops,” as “a focus and means of unity,” and the one who “gathers” the Lambeth Conference and Primates’ Meetings. Whatever may be said about the cause of the disintegration, it is incontrovertible empirically that Canterbury has been unable to perform this function over the last three years. The Communion thus finds itself with no working Instrument that has been able to perform its necessary function, follow its rules, and garner credible acceptance from the majority of the Communion. 

We are left with a grouping—one can no longer say “communion”—of three dozen or so autonomous churches, many of whom are not in communion with others, without any effective Instruments of Communion to bind them together. This is made no less heartbreaking by being the Communion’s obvious trajectory for several years.

But we can only proceed from where we are. The first task for those who share a Communion ecclesiology is to begin to re-constitute working Instruments of Communion. These will necessarily be provisional at first, but if the Communion is to survive they must evolve into Instruments that actually work to unite the member churches of the Communion. If church history, including our own recent experience, teaches anything it is that neither confessions without instruments nor instruments without common faith and order are sufficient to preserve unity. As recently noted by the Secretary General, the vast majority of the Communion continues to share Anglicanism’s historic faith and order notwithstanding its rejection by two provinces. What is needed as a matter of urgency are Instruments that express that common faith. We call on the Primates representing the vast preponderance of Anglicans, together with their colleagues, to take up the charge of seeing to the furtherance of the Communion and we pledge our prayers to that end.

By:

The Reverend Canon Professor Christopher Seitz
The Reverend Dr. Philip Turner
The Reverend Dr. Ephraim Radner
Mark McCall, Esq.

In the midst of the turmoil which Egypt is going through, we have felt that the Lord is very near to us.  We have experienced his peace, and we were assured of his protection.  In most of our churches and homes, there have been prayer meetings for the situation and for our beloved country Egypt.  All our churches are safe, although they have not been guarded by the security since Friday when all the security were withdrawn.  This assured us that the one who protects the churches is the Lord of the Church.

I was touched to see young adults, Muslims and Christians, guarding the streets, homes, and our churches.  They did not allow any thieves or looters to come near the area.  They also arrested some of those and handed them over to the Army.  I applaud our local Egyptian clergy and people who joined the youth in the streets in guarding homes and churches.

I admired all our expatriate clergy and diocesan staff who refused to leave Egypt in order to stay in the midst of the people who decided not to go, even when their Embassies encouraged them to leave and provided airplanes to do so.        

Yesterday demonstrations were very peaceful, in spite of the huge number that gathered in the middle of Cairo.  We praise the Lord that we have now the internet back, and we can communicate with you all.   This morning the security also returned to guard the churches as normal.

Yesterday, President Mubarak made it very clear that he will not seek re-election after he finishes his term in November 2011.  He appointed Mr. Ibrahim Soliman as a Vice-President.  He has a good reputation among Egyptians.  This appointment ruled out the possibility of appointing the President's son as a successor.  President Mubarak also appointed a new Prime Minister, Mr. Shafik who was the Minister of Civil Aviation (Egypt Air, etc…).  He is a very good man and has done a lot of improvement in his previous Ministry.  President Mubarak also called for a review for the Constitution to allow democracy; he also assured the people that those who were responsible for the violence, destructions, looting, escape of prisoners, etc… will be brought to judgment. 

Our concern was that extremist groups would take advantage of the demonstrations to push for violence.  We thank God that this did not happen.  It seems that the majority of the youth who are demonstrating are aware of this possibility.  Many of them started to see this possible risk.  The youth who were interviewed by the television yesterday mentioned that all what they need is democracy.  Many groups this morning are demonstrating in support of President Mubarak, the new government, and peaceful transfer of authority at the end of the Presidents term.    

Egyptis a very important country in the whole of the Middle East, and whatever happens in Egypt affects the rest of the countries.  I was amazed at how the President of Yemen, this morning, announced that he will not seek re-election and will not promote his son to be the next president.  We pray that we can set a good example to the surrounding countries.  

e appreciate your prayers for:

• Our churches and institutions, so that we can fix our eyes on God who is in control.  May what is happening help us to draw nearer to God and to know that the time is short.      
• The end of demonstrations, especially in view of the changes that President Mubarak announced.  This will bring Egypt back to normal and the curfew will be ended.  
• The new government, in order to achieve the desired targets in serving the people, especially the Minister of Interior who is now trying to re-build the trust with the people of Egypt.
• People to find their needs of food and health care.
• Wisdom for the youth, in order not to allow the extremists to stir them up.
• The families who lost their loved ones in the violence, and those who are injured.
• Our beloved Egypt to recover this turmoil.  

Once again, thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement.

May the Lord bless you!

Yours in Christ,

+Mouneer

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis

Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican Diocese of Egypt

with North Africa and the Horn of Africa

President Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican

Provinceof Jerusalem and the Middle East

There are some detailed daily briefings over at ACNS site.

Go here to read them.

Read the rest here

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Thank you for your words of condolences and encouragement after the bombings in Alexandria, Egypt on 1 January 2011.  I cannot tell you how much these have meat to me and to the church in Egypt.  I conveyed your condolences and assurances of support to Pope Shenouda III, the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church.  It was so painful to watch the twenty-one coffins of the Christians who died in the bombing in Alexandria.  With every coffin carried down the aisles of the church the people were shouting, "we are ready to die for the sake of the cross."  Of course, they meant "we are ready to carry the cross and die for the sake of Jesus."  When each coffin was placed in front of the sanctuary, the people clapped as if clapping for a hero…a martyr. 

Shouting, weeping, clapping and crying were all mixed with the chanting of the priests and deacons.  Bible readings reminded all the Christians of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  All this reminded me how the Church in Alexandria was founded on the blood of the martyrs.  Indeed, Alexandria was once baptized in the blood of the martyrs.  Today the church continues to be ready to shed its blood for the sake of Christ. 

I pray that those who watched this moving funeral and all those who are affected by this tragedy would be encouraged to stand firm in the faith we received from Jesus Christ through the Apostles, like their ancestors.

In a time like this, we have nothing to hold on to except the promise of Jesus "I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail."  It is also a time to pray for the terrorists. 

Please find attached the December 2010 edition of the Diocese of Egypt newsletter. 

Thank you for your prayers,
 

Yours in Christ,

+Mouneer

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis

Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican Diocese of Egypt

with North Africa and the Horn of Africa

President Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican

Provinceof Jerusalem and the Middle East