04/30/2023
Things in the Anglican world are shifting! We pray for reformation and revival!
GAFCON IV - THE KIGALI COMMITMENT
INTRODUCTION [Download the entire commitment using the link below]
[Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:18
Greetings from Kigali, Rwanda, where the fourth Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) met from 17-21 April 2023, bringing together 1,302 delegates from 52 countries, including 315 bishops, 456 other clergy and 531 laity.
We were grateful for the extraordinary hospitality extended by Archbishop Laurent Mbanda and the Anglican Church of Rwanda. We were deeply saddened to hear the news of the loss of Laurent and Chantal’s son Edwin, and we continue to offer our prayers of comfort for the Mbanda family.
We were also privileged to be welcomed and addressed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda, the Right Honourable Edouard Ngirente who spoke of the significance of our gathering.
Our conference theme for 2023 ‘To Whom Shall We Go?’ (John 6:68), along with our Bible studies in the Letter to the Colossians, focused our attention on Jesus, the one in whom all the fullness of God dwells in bodily form, the Lord of all creation and the head of his body, the church (Colossians 1:15-19; 2:9).
Our Chairman in his opening address encouraged us to be a repenting church, a reconciling church, a reproducing church and a relentlessly compassionate church. This is the church we want to be.
We were reminded that the purpose and mission of the church is to make known to a lost world the glorious riches of the gospel by proclaiming Christ crucified and risen, and living faithfully together as his disciples.
CONTENTS OF THE KIGALI COMMITMENT:
- Our Fellowship Together
- The Authority of God’s Word
- The Current Crisis in the Anglican Communion
- The Failure of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Other Instruments of Communion
- Call for Repentance
- Support for Faithful Anglicans
- Appropriate Pastoral Care
- Resetting the Communion
- Our Future Together
THE KIGALI COMMITMENT is available for download in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili (coming soon) here:
http://gafcon23.org/gafcon-iv-conference-statement/
