THE Anglican Communion is moving “from a season of raw and antagonistic division to one of reckoning with what will likely be a long process of resolution”, the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) has said.
The body met in Kuala Lumpur from 6 to 12 December, and released a communiqué on 18 December in which it wrote that members had “wrestled” with their divisions, and felt that “we may now be able to face our theological differences and associated fractures more productively, as we seek responsible and creative ways to remain together, albeit to varying degrees.”
The body has an advisory position in the Communion, and is formed of 18 members, drawn from six continents. About two-thirds of the members come from countries considered to be part of the global South.
Earlier last month, IASCUFO published its proposals for structural reform of the Anglican Communion (News, 6 December).
Under the proposals, the agreed description of the Anglican Communion would be revised to describe the constituent Churches as having a “historic connection” with the see of Canterbury rather than “in communion” with it.
The second proposal put forward is to introduce a rotating presidency of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), and to give the Primates’ Standing Committee an “enhanced role” in convening the Primates’ Meetings and the Lambeth Conference.
The report, known as the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals, will be debated at the next meeting of the ACC in 2026. If introduced, the proposals would reduce the Archbishop of Canterbury’s procedural influence in the Communion.
In the communiqué, the members of IASCUFO called on the Churches of the Communion to “cultivate generosity in the spirit” of the proposals, while recognising “the hurt that has been caused”.
Questions of sexual ethics have dominated inter-Anglican discussions in recent years and occasioned divisions in the Communion. The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), which opposes any change to traditional teaching on marriage and sexuality, has emerged as a prominent voice.
The leaders of the GSFA pledge to remain within the Communion, while making clear their opposition to actions taken by the Church of England in introducing blessings for same-sex couples (News, 28 June 2024).
IASCUFO’s communiqué argues that the Anglican Communion “needs to find ways for the contribution of the GSFA to be more fully recognised and received within its wider life and mission. . . We resolved that IASCUFO should reach out to the leadership of the GSFA to explore the relevance of The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals to our most immediate challenges.”
Several member Churches of the GSFA are also represented on IASCUFO, including the Province of Alexandria, and the Church of the Province of South East Asia.
The Church of England Evangelical Council is listed as a “mission partner” of the GSFA.