Attendance by two Church of Ireland bishops at the conservative Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) meeting in Jerusalem last week has provoked deep anger among the church’s clergy, Patsy McGarry writes in The Irish Times.
They have described it as “an absolute disgrace”, “schismatic”, and as illustrating “how utterly out of touch some senior clergy” were with church membership.
Bishop Harold Miller of Down and Dromore and Bishop Ferran Glenfield of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh attended the meeting with other senior clergy from the Church of Ireland and members of Gafcon Ireland set up last April.
Gafcon came into being after the election in the US Episcopal Church (Anglican) of the openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
It describes itself as “a global family of authentic Anglicans standing together to retain and restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion”.
Gafcon includes Anglican Primates from many Africa countries as well as bishops and clergy from Australia, Canada and the US who boycotted the last gathering of the worldwide Anglican Communion at the 2008 Lambeth Conference.
Contradiction
In a statement at the end of its Jerusalem meeting, it urged Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury not to invite bishops to the next Lambeth Conference in 2020 who endorsed sexual practices deemed in contradiction of scripture.
It urged Gafcon members to boycott the 2020 Lambeth Conference if this does not happen.
On Sunday, Church of Ireland dean of Waterford Maria Jansson asked “how can Bishops Harold Miller and Ferran Glenfield reconcile the vows they made at their consecrations as bishops to ‘maintain and further the unity of the church’ with their support of Gafcon which stridently endeavours to undermine that very unity?”
Their presence in Jerusalem illustrated “how utterly out of touch some senior clergy can become from the average member of the Church of Ireland”, she said.
The Irish Times 25/06/2018
See also on CNI – News special, Gafcon review 23/06/2018: Two thousand meet at Gafcon conference in Jerusalem, Church Times report – Evangelist Quits Anglican Task Force Over Bishop’s LGBT Affirmation – Letter to the Churches from Gafcon Assembly 2018