By Philip De Grey-Warter

Primates of the Anglican Church in North America/Chair of Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), Archbishop Foley Beach; Primate of the Anglican Church of Rwanda/Vice-chair of GAFCON), Archbishop Laurent Mbanda; and Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Henry Ndukuba on October 21, 2022 consecrated three Bishops for Britain at a service held in Hull. The consecrated bishops are Tim Davies, Ian Ferguson and Lee McMunn.

The coming together of the three Archbishops directly from the GAFCON Primates’ meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, coupled with the presence of other Bishops from New Zealand, USA, and Canada has sent a strong and clear message that the global church stands for a historic, orthodox, Biblical and confessional Anglicans across Europe.

Addressing the newly consecrated Bishops, Archbishop Beach said: “You are not alone and as representatives of the majority of Anglicans in the Anglican Communion, we recognise what the Lord is doing in this emerging province.

“In the light of unsettling pluralism within Canterbury-aligned Anglican structures, those seeking a safe home will be reassured that there is a genuine and authentic Anglican alternative to compromise and cultural capitulation.”

The GAFCON Primates’ communiqué celebrated the “consecration of the three missionary Bishops for the Anglican Network in Europe who will engage in church planting and care for those clergy and congregations who have committed to promote biblical faith in the context of other churches that are increasingly rebelling against the clear teaching of the scripture.

In his sermon, Archbishop Mbanda admonished the new Bishops to take care of their own physical and spiritual lives, be cautious of the wolves and protect the people they serve through the faithful preaching of the gospel.

In the words of Archbishop Ndukuba: “As Jesus said, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest (John 4v35). We are here to encourage you.”

The consecration of these Bishops and Stuart Bell, who is due to be consecrated in March, not only provide for growth across the network, they will also enable a relational model of episcopacy, which many have never yet experienced.

Others who were involved in the consecration included Bishop Jay Behan from New Zealand, Bishop Julian Dobbs from America and Bishop Charlie Masters from Canada.