Senior archbishops, presiding bishops, and moderators from churches across the globe have gathered for what we are told will be a time conceived as a pilgrimage. They will pray and study the book of Acts, visit holy sites in Rome, and reflect together about the mission and witness of the Church in the world.
A number of Primates from the Global South have decided not to attend. Despite the programme including pilgrimage to the incredible Basilicas of both St Peter’s and Saint Paul Outside the Walls (where St Paul the Apostle is buried), plus visits to the Cistercian Abbey at Tre Fontane and Santa Maria in Trastevere (one of the oldest churches in Rome), from initial group photographs it looks like at least a quarter of the Primates haven’t joined the group. The Archbishops of Rwanda, Uganda and Nigeria are among those absent, their respective provinces together estimated to total almost 20 million worshipping Anglicans.
Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, Chair of the Global South (and Primate of South Sudan, with around five million people in it) was clear on last week’s Pastor’s Heart podcast why he cannot attend: ‘We cannot sit together with those who have intentionally violated the Biblical truth that we received from our forefathers. We cannot go and share anything with them unless they repent. But we are seeing there is no sign of repentance. What we are hearing is just “Let’s be together, continue to be together in unity as we continue sinning”.’ He will instead be holding those in prayer who are attending, that ‘the Holy Spirit will guide them well and will remind them about the importance of upholding the biblical truth within the Anglican Communion.’ Worryingly, he also described how he has heard of resources being offered and ‘all kinds of tricks being done to influence people to go ahead and attend the meeting’ beyond just promises of prayer and pilgrimage and time together.
Read it all in Evangelicals Now
