“Anglicanism Come of Age: A Post-Colonial and Global Communion for the 21st Century” - By the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan
Bishop Robert Duncan today released the text of his opening plenary address to the leadership of the Global Anglican Future Conference. The group has been meeting in Jordan in advance of the June 22–29 Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem.
The address, titled “Anglicanism Come of Age: A Post-Colonial and Global Communion for the 21st Century,” offers Bishop Duncan’s perspective on the positive purpose of the Global Anglican Future Conference, the current state of affairs within the Anglican Communion, and the way forward in the years ahead
“We who are gathered here recognize that the Reformation (Elizabethan) Settlement of Anglicanism has disintegrated. We know that we are at a turning point in Anglican history, a place where two roads diverge. One road is faithful to Jesus’ story. The other road is about some other story…The choice before us is a choice before all Anglicans. It is just as certainly a choice before the upcoming Lambeth Conference. Which road will the Anglican Communion take?” asks Bishop Duncan.
Bishop Duncan continues, “The present structures of the Anglican Communion all reflect a British colonial past. Some new instrument(s) of unity reflecting a global and post-colonial communion must emerge.”
GAFCON is an early sign of what the future holds for Anglicanism. It “will be neither British nor Western. What emerges, we may be just as sure, will represent the conciliarism that has characterized Anglicanism at its best,” states Bishop Duncan.
The full text of Bishop Duncan’s address is here.