Gafcon-aligned scholar and sports chaplain becomes bishop of North Africa.
On Sunday 11th May, the world-renowned Thomas Cranmer scholar, the Rev Canon Dr John Ashley Null, was consecrated as the second Anglican Bishop of North Africa in a joyful service at St George’s Tunis. Bishop Andy Lines of Anglican Network in Europe and Gafcon GBE represented Gafcon.
Read the report from GSFA here
Dr Ashley Null speaking at his consecration service.
Also: A brief history of Anglicanism in North Africa, by David Virtue.
And for a deep dive: Christianity in North Africa, from Britannica.
More on Bishop Null: Elite sports chaplain Ashley Null: ‘The gospel is the antidote to performance-based identity’, from Premier Christianity
Process for appointing the Archbishop of Canterbury
The Church of England has announced the make-up of the Crown Nominations Commission, whose task will be to select the new Archbishop of Canterbury. For the first time it includes five voting members from the wider Anglican Communion, as well as those elected by General Synod and the House of Bishops, and the Chair appointed by the Prime Minister. The Diocese of Canterbury has still not concluded its own process of electing its three representatives, after previous false starts.
Andrew Goddard explains about the process in this article on Psephizo.
Gafcon GBE recognises the importance of this appointment but respectfully warns about the danger of putting too much faith in, or criticism of, the individual (see editorial above).
Anglicanism in Europe
Anglicans need the Real Thing, from The Critic.
A much publicised recent survey shows an increase in churchgoing among the young – but not in the Church of England (except in some urban evangelical congregations). Marcus Walker (of “Save the Parish”) gives a reason: the C of E’s leadership’s public statements reflect a church uncertain about what it believes, replacing “The real thing” with “sermons about every bien pensant soft-left cause found in the Guardian”. Walker’s analysis does not recognise the possibility of a clear separation of “real thing” believers and progressives within the Church of England (as The Alliance advocate), or being Anglican outside the Church of England.
The C of E’s anti-bullying schools guidance is woke indoctrination.
Roger Ciska of Christian Concern shows that "Flourishing for all" (formerly, "Valuing all God's children") is based not on bible-based understandings of the human person, compassion and life guidance, but theories of intersectionality and critical race theory.
Church of England and LLF
Bishop of Guildford Andrew Watson has written a well-received essay explaining why there is increasing disquiet about the way the C of E arrived at bringing in the Prayers of Love and Faith. Bishop Watson goes into the detail of Canon Law, and with politeness and diplomacy questions the way the bishops forced the changes through; he concludes with suggesting that the whole process should be paused indefinitely.
Faithful Anglicans committed to staying in the Church of England will be relieved and encouraged that a bishop is publicly echoing their concerns and will hope that this strengthens their call for a Third Province or similar demarcated zone for those holding to historic doctrine.
Summary and comment on Bishop Watson’s essay:
B2 or not B2, that is the question, from The Critical Friend, Tim Wyatt’s blog on Substack
The return of the pamphlet wars, from Anglican Futures
An orthodox Third Province?
Writing in the Church Times, leading London clergy Sam Wells and Lucy Winkett argue that “Separate structures put the Church of England in danger”, and that those arguing for this because of opposition to same sex relationships are “confrontational and subversive, and… explicitly threatening the integrity of the Church of England”.
Martin Davie refutes their arguments point by point. He says “the purpose of any new provincial structure would not be to divide the Church of England, but to enable both conservatives and liberals to remain together in the Church of England with theological integrity” by giving “long-term guarantees to conservatives in the Church of England”.
Church in Wales: Serious financial and other irregularities associated with a cleric who was a protégé of Archbishop Andy John. Further pressure on the Archbishop of Wales as his home cathedral is put into ‘special measures’. Critics allege poor leadership as “independent investigators reported incidents of inappropriate sexual behaviour and other serious safeguarding concerns”. Politicians get involved: “Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn, who chairs a Westminster parliamentary group on safeguarding in faith communities, has called on the church to offer a full explanation to members and the public” (from BBC News).
Meanwhile in Scotland:
Scottish Episcopal Church under fire for reinstating suspended bishop. From Premier Christian News.
Lord Glenarthur, a former government minister and church member, said Most Rev Mark Strange should resign, for re-instating Bishop Ann Dyer after she was suspended following safeguarding allegations.
The SEC approved same sex marriage in 2017, and this was the catalyst for Gafcon’s consecration of Andy Lines as missionary Bishop to oversee Anglican congregations which left the Canterbury structures and eventually developed into ANiE.
The Church in Wales Governing Body approved blessing of same sex relationships in 2021. All the bishops and leadership structures support this (one of them is on the committee selecting the next Archbishop of Canterbury). Faithful Anglicans remain in pockets in the CiW and SEC. Meanwhile there are initiatives to start new Anglican congregations outside these bodies, under ACE, to add to the eight that already exist in Scotland and Wales. Pray for this!
Pray for Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) as they elect their first Diocesan Bishop. The process will conclude at the AMiE Synod on 5th July.
Anglican Convocation Europe (ACE) will be holding its first in-person conference and Synod on 5-7 June. There will be delegates representing churches from Portugal and Spain, Germany and Holland as well as different parts of the UK and Republic of Ireland. Speakers include Bishop Paul Donison from Gafcon, John McLernon from Crosslinks, and evangelist and podcaster Glen Scrivener.
Anglican Missionary Congregations will hold their first Synod as a Diocese within ANiE at the end of July.
New leadership and structures for Gafcon in Europe
Bishop David McClay of Down and Dromore Diocese has been appointed by the Gafcon Primates as the new Regional Secretary for Gafcon Europe. This will enable Bishop Andy Lines, who previously held that responsibility, to focus on the development of ANiE, and also the specific relationship between Gafcon Global and the Church of England. Bishop David is a wholehearted supporter of Gafcon; he has attended Gafcon conferences, and has faithfully promoted the values and vision of Gafcon in Ireland as an outworking of his passion for the Gospel. Please pray for Bishop David as he leads the process of restructuring, to endure maximum understanding and support for Gafcon from Anglicans in Europe (including the British Isles) going forward.
Around the world: Other news and comment
Rwanda: Pray for Archbishop Laurent Mbanda as the serious corruption case against the Bishop of Shyira Diocese goes to court. He says in a letter:
“…we must stand firm in integrity, ensuring all who serve in the church do so with honesty, accountability and hearts wholly devoted to Christ…in the midst of these trials, we must never lose sight of our greater mission. The church exists to proclaim the gospel and serve God’s people.”
Gilbert Rakotondravelo is the new Archbishop of the Indian Ocean. The Province is moving from 6 to 8 dioceses – boosted by growth in Seychelles and Mauritius. There is disagreement between leaders who want to remain aligned with Gafcon, and those who do not. Pray for a strategy group planning meeting on 7th June, at which it is hoped a Canon Theologian and a new commission for grass roots theological training will be appointed to help give clear direction to the Province.
“Unprecedented surge” in violence against Christians across India in 2024. From Evangelical Focus
Christians in India suffer all kinds of persecution, including threats and harassment; targeted arrests under anti-conversion laws; physical violence (640 verified cases); gender violence; disruptions of worship and prayer meetings; church vandalism; social boycotts with denial of community resources; and forced conversions.
Chinese House Church leader Wang Yi
Imprisoned Chinese Pastor: ‘Pursue Unity, Not Homogeneity, in the Church’
Wang Yi is the pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China. He has been in jail since 2019. In this letter written before his arrest (translated an updated for The Gospel Coalition), he warns the church to pursue true gospel unity which comes from the miracle of bringing people from different backgrounds together in Christ. “The church’s mission is to continually break down this...tendency toward “homogeneous associations” within the church, and shatter our cultural identities to humble us.” Diversity can produce relationship tensions, but “the greater our challenges and conflicts, the greater may be the display of the gospel’s power and glory among us. The unity produced by the gospel is a unity in diversity. Only then can it be considered a ‘supernatural’ unity.”
Services to mark 1700 years since the First Council of Nicaea produced the Nicene Creed: Donna Birrell reports for Premier Christian News.
In more depth: Understanding Nicaea 1700 Years Later: An Annotated Guide, By Justin Hawkins, Mere Orthodoxy
“…the Nicene Creed is both a brief summation of Christian belief, suitable for children in Sunday Schools, and the touchstone of lifelong study. Despite the importance of the council and its creed, misconceptions and oversimplifications abound about what took place there.”
This house believes that without God, all is permissible
Christian Concern's Tim Dieppe reflects on his public debate with the Durham Union about whether there can be morality without God. The debate also featured philanthropist Peter Hardy and YouTuber Alex O'Connor.
“The students were very engaged in the debate and there were lots of interesting conversations over drinks following. I hope that the debate encouraged Christians to have confidence in their faith and to know that God is required for belief in objective morality. Alex O’Connor is becoming the new popular face of atheism. He is polite, articulate, bright, and has a formidable debating style. It was very good to demonstrate the lack of foundation for morality under atheism to these students against him. He has said that he now respects Christianity more than he used to. We should pray for him to recognise that Christianity provides far and away the best explanation for objective moral values, and many other things besides.”
Prayer summary:
- Give praise to the ascended Lord Jesus, name above all names.
- Give thanks for +Ashley Null’s consecration as first elected bishop of Anglican Diocese of North Africa. Pray for him and for the overwhelmingly Muslim area he serves.
- Pray for all faithful Christian teachers in Church of England schools, and for believing parents of children there.
- Pray for the ministry of The Alliance, for Anglican Network in Europe, and for Gafcon as it seeks to engage with orthodox Anglicans across the Europe region.
- Pray for Wales and the orthodox clergy who are still in the Church in Wales (CiW). As leadership of CiW sets a course for approving same sex marriage in 2026, pray for those who are looking at alternative options. Pray for +Stuart Bell and Pru and all the ACE churches in Wales.
- Pray for the Church of Rwanda addressing corruption, for persecuted Christians in India and China.
- Give thanks for increased openness to the gospel among young people, and pray for faithful communication of the Lordship and saving grace of Jesus.
Collect for the Sunday after Ascension Day:
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
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