October 31, 2005
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Cynthia P. Brust
770-414-1515
202-412-8721 (Mobile)
 
 
The Third Anglican South-to-South Encounter was held in Egypt October 25-30, 2005.  The gathering focused on “One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church: Being a Faithful Church for Such a Time as This” and issued a closing communiqué entitled “Trumpet III” on October 30. The American Anglican Council has issued a statement in response to the statement:

The American Anglican Council Applauds the Communiqué of the 2005 South-to-South Encounter

We give thanks for the 2005 South-to-South Encounter, a gathering that demonstrates that the Global South, representing two-thirds of the Anglican Communion, has “come of age.”  We rejoice in the missionary zeal of Global South leaders and applaud the communiqué issued today for its clear definition of what it means to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.  We appreciate and uphold the emphasis on truth as the source of unity; on holiness as the call of Christ; on Scripture and the historic faith as the plumb line for catholicity; and transformation through Christ as the central tenet of apostolic doctrine and teaching.  In addition we rejoice and affirm the communiqué’s focus on the authority of Scripture, the necessity of accountability, and the commitment to an Anglican Covenant as recommended in the Windsor Report.

We are gratified that the Global South leaders underscored the grave circumstances faced by Biblically faithful Anglicans in the Americas as well as the intransigence of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) and the Anglican Church of Canada regarding “unscriptural innovations.”  We note especially the clear and incisive judgment rendered upon ECUSA based on the province’s failure to comply with the Windsor Report: “… the growing evidence that the Provinces which have taken action creating the current crisis in the Communion continue moving in a direction that will result in their ‘walking apart’.”    We find great hope and comfort in the communiqué’s recognition of and commitment to the “Networks in the USA and Canada” as well as references to emerging possibilities for addressing the situation in the Americas.
 
We pledge our ongoing support of and prayers for the bold and courageous leaders of the Global South who so consistently uphold the Word of God and the “faith once delivered.”

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The South-to-South Encounter Communiqué is posted on the American Anglican Council website  here.