Bishop of Southwark: Anglicanism's militant tendency must be resisted

[...] Reading the manifesto, you would think that western Anglicans have capitulated totally to their culture. This, again, is nonsense. We are trying to relate the Christian gospel with its grace and challenge to the culture in which we are set. At an earlier Lambeth conference, when polygamy was a divisive issue, the conclusion was that we would trust the African bishops to tackle the issue in their own way, for they were best placed to do so. The cultures of east coast America or south London are not the same as in Nigeria. The Gafcon leaders should have the humility to trust church leaders ministering in very different environments to their own to know what they are doing.

Apparently, some of the authors of the manifesto are now coming to Britain to attempt to recruit English parishes and clergy to their movement. All I can say is that it was good, thoughtful, hardworking clergy from the evangelical tradition who, a couple of years ago, demanded that I took action against militant tendency evangelicals destructively planting congregations in their parishes. I cannot see them rushing to join such a global movement themselves.

It seems that the Archbishop of Canterbury has decided that enough is enough. In the face of hectoring unreason, he writes, in the traditional Anglican language of thoughtful holiness: "The Gafcon proposals for the way ahead are problematic in all sorts of ways and I urge those who have outlined these to think very carefully about the risks involved."

I think that he is saying, "Don't go down this destructive path." Read more
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