Nigeria, the world’s largest Anglican Church, prepared
itself for a backlash by the richer Western churches, by establishing its own
endowment fund which is aimed at ensuring that Churches in the developing world
become self-reliant.
The Nigerian Archbishop, Peter Akinola, has been at the forefront of opposition
to same-sex blessings in a Canadian diocese and the appointment of a practising
homosexual to a US diocese. He has also criticised the appointment of Canon
Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading. In a letter to Oxford clergy he said that
such moves were an attack by Satan on the Church.
But after severing Nigeria’s links with the Diocese of New Westminster,
Archbishop Akinola has now released an encyclical to his Church calling for
Nigerian Anglicans to contribute to an endowment fund to ensure that African
churches don’t fall victim to a Western backlash. He accused Churches in
Europe, America and Canada of having long used their wealth to intimidate the
financially weak Churches in Africa.
He added: Our boldness in condemning the spiritual bankruptcy of these
Churches must be matched by our refusal to receive financial help from them.
Archbishop Akinola is one of 16 Primates who have broken links with the Diocese
of New Westminster in Canada. The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, backed
by his regional bishops have also criticised the recent moves by liberal
Anglicans.
The moment for silence is past, they wrote, calling upon our fellow bishops
in the Anglican Communion to join with those who are making clear their
abhorrence of adultery and all sexual immorality and their commitment to the
Bible as the supreme authority in doctrine and ethics for our churches.