Nigerian Anglican leader Archbishop Peter J Akinola has told the head of the Anglican Communion that the worldwide body is deeply divided and that despite many efforts to keep the body from splitting, the division has only deepened.
"As leaders of the [Anglican] Communion, we have all spent enormous amounts of time, travelled huge distances, sometimes at great risk, and expended much needed financial resources in endless meetings, communiqués and reports," wrote Archbishop Akinola in a letter addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams."We have developed numerous proposals, established various task forces and yet the division has only deepened," he added.
The letter, published on 6 May, was written after Dr Williams asked Archbishop Akinola to cancel plans to install a local minister in northern Virginia as head of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America - a conservative splinter group and missionary arm of the Church of Nigeria.
Although the letter was publicised just days before the installation of the Rt Rev Martyn Minns as missionary bishop of CANA last Saturday, Archbishop Akinola said that he did not receive it until after the ceremony.
Still, the Nigerian Anglican leader - who was recently featured as one of Time magazine's top 100 Most Influential People in the World - said he wanted to respond and clarify the situation with regard to CANA.
CANA was established as "a way for Nigerian congregations and other alienated Anglicans in North America to stay in the Communion," he wrote.
It does not bring any advantage to the Church of Nigeria financially or politically, the conservative leader added, but he said, "We believe that we have no other choice if we are to remain faithful to the gospel mandate."
