On Tuesday night in Manchester, hundreds gathered at the Church of Restoration in Wythenshawe for the inauguration of the third diocese of the Anglican Network in Europe and the consecration of their first diocesan bishop, Rt Rev Dr Gideon Illechukwu.
The Anglican Missionary Congregations (Europe) (AMC) has grown from a single Nigerian diaspora congregation in Manchester to 39 congregations all over the UK and in some parts of Europe. After two years of negotiations, the AMC joined the Anglican Convocation in Europe (ACE) and the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) in their mission to proclaim Christ faithfully to the people of Europe.
It was a historic moment, as the Most Rev Henry Ndkuba, Primate of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, explained: "The Anglican Missionary Congregation has been part and parcel of the chaplaincy and mission of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion in the United Kingdom.
"And through several consultation and requests we have this day released AMC to the Anglican Network in Europe to be part of the Anglican Network in Europe and to serve God's people in the proclamation of the gospel in the expansion of the kingdom of God and standing for the truth of the word of God in this generation.
"And on behalf of the Church of Nigeria at this point my brother Bishop Andy Lines, the presiding Bishop of ANiE, we, the Church of Nigeria, hand over AMC to be part of the Network. Amen."
It was also a beautiful expression of the Lord gathering people from every tribe, language, people and nation in order to reach this needy continent. In a service with a vibrant Nigerian flavour, people from all over the network celebrated their unity in the global Anglican family of Gafcon.
As Most Rev Laurent Mbanda, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Rwanda and Chair of the Gafcon Primates said after the service, "This is what Gafcon has done and will continue to do; not only contending for the gospel but providing an ecclesial home for those determined to proclaim God's unchanging truth in a changing world."
"The Anglican Network in Europe is still small, but it is a growing Province-in-Formation. It is likely that there will be at least a hundred congregations and pioneer churches in the network by the end of this year."
Bishop Paul Donison, General Secretarty of Gafcon suggested why the Anglican Network in Europe was so attractive: "In the West I think we are seeing a renewal of interest within liturgical, sacramental traditions because I think as the West continues to collapse under secularism [ ... ] there's a yearning for something sacred, for something different.
"Our Anglican expression has an opportunity to offer the Bible, offer a form of discipleship that is actually rooted in a much more sacramental liturgical tradition that I think can reach into much of our paganized Western region. I think that what is happening in the reformation of Anglicanism today is folks, who've been solidly for the Bible for generations within Anglicanism are now under Gafcon, recommitting to some our ancient patterns.
"They're actually leaning into our Anglicanism, they are leaning into the Prayer book. They're leaning into 'what does it mean to have bishops today?'.
"I mean for many of us, maybe, we didn't particularly know what to do with bishops for generations. Well, under Gafcon, if you can have godly bishops who are preaching the word, people simply lean into that role of bishops. So, I think all of that is going to reach the world, especially in the West, in a powerful way in the generations to come."
The Church of Restoration, where the service took place is known as AMC (Europe) HQ. It was originally commissioned in the 1950s by the Church of England to service the new post-war housing estate at Newall Green. The building was consecrated as St Francis Church in 1961, by the then Bishop of Manchester, William Greer. By 2012, the congregation had dwindled to two, and the church was closed. It was used as Community Centre before the AMC moved in.
The Church of Restoration could therefore be seen as a symbol of much of what Gafcon and the Anglican Network of Europe seek to achieve under God. The restoration of confessional Anglican worship, to a continent where churches have been emptied by false teaching, that provides both the faithful and the lost with hope for the future.
