African Archbishops Bolster U.S. Conservative Gathering

Seven Anglican archbishops from the African continent joined a gathering of conservative Anglicans in the U.S. in a visible show of support for Anglicans in the country left disenchanted by the main U.S. Episcopal Church’s sharp swing to the left.

|PIC1|The visiting archbishops were one of the main highlights for many of the 800 people attending the meeting of the Anglican Mission in America, founded five years ago.

The movement began when Episcopalians became increasingly dissatisfied with ECUSA’s increasing liberalisation and has continued to gain momentum ever since the ordination of the openly gay Gene Robinson as bishop in 2003.

The Rev. Terrell Glenn, a former Episcopal priest now affiliated with the Anglican Mission, said members were encouraged to see the African archbishops at the conference.

“Their presence here is a statement that says, 'what you are doing is good,'" said Glenn, of Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Divisions in the Anglican Communion continue to intensify as Anglican believers continue to polarise between those who believe in scriptural authority and supporters of more liberal interpretations.

|TOP|Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya said in an interview with The Birmingham News, “The biggest thing is repentance. That’s the only thing that can repair the church.”

The Anglican Mission, formed in 2000 as leaders outside the US became increasingly alarmed at the liberalising trends within the US church, is officially a project of the Anglican Church in Rwanda, as well as being linked to two archbishops from Southeast Asia and Africa, who were also in attendance at the gathering along with the seven other African archbishops.

According to the Rev. Jay Greener, a spokesman for the group, Anglican Mission is a growing network incorporating around 100 US churches and small groups, fewer than half of which are congregations that formerly identified themselves as Episcopalian.

Episcopalians, people from the mainline denominations and new converts make up the remainder of the churches now affiliated with the Anglican Mission.