Errors in GAFCON's Scriptural and Traditional Teachings: Towards Western Rite Orthodoxy as Faithful Witness to Christ and the Fathers

 By Mor Abdiel Theophorus Tikhon, The Eparchy of the Old Dominion, Diocesan Bishop

 Abstract

The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) claims to be a bastion of "biblical orthodoxy" within Anglicanism, but from an Eastern Orthodox perspective, it perpetuates errors in apostolic succession, an overreliance on Scripture divorced from conciliar Tradition, and liturgical innovations that are alien to patristic witness.  Based on Orthodox criticisms, this article talks about these errors and suggests Western Rite Orthodoxy as a way to fix them. It is a living representation of the one Church that honors Western history while fully reflecting Christ's and the Church Fathers' beliefs.   People might get back to following the truth of the apostles by bringing back Western customs from before the split in the Orthodox community.

 Introduction

The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), founded in 2008, originated as a conservative response to perceived liberal shifts within the Anglican Communion, notably on questions of human sexuality and scriptural authority (Hassett, 2007).  Proponents describe GAFCON as preserving "orthodox Anglicanism" based on Scripture and the confessional ethos of the Jerusalem Declaration (GAFCON, 2008).  Orthodox theology, on the other hand, combines the Bible with the living Tradition of the seven Ecumenical Councils and agreement from the ancient church fathers. This shows that GAFCON's model is very flawed and will continue to fall into error again.   These include false claims about the succession of the apostles, a sola scriptura approach that doesn't take Tradition into account, and ritual practices that don't follow the Fathers' sacramental reality.

For Anglicans disillusioned by these divisions, Western Rite Orthodoxy provides an appealing alternative: the restoration of historic Western liturgies such as the Sarum Use, St. Tikhon's Rite, or Gregorian Rite, vetted and revitalized by Orthodox authority (Ware, 1993).  This path maintains continuity with Christ's teachings and the patristic phronema (mindset), creating unity while upholding and maintaining doctrinal purity of the faith.  As St. Basil the Great stated, the Church's unity is found in shared faith among varied manifestations, not rigorous conformity (Basil of Caesarea, Epistle 252, around 370 CE).

 Errors in Apostolic Succession and Sacramental theology

A fundamental problem in GAFCON's ecclesiology is its naive acceptance of Anglican claims to apostolic succession, which Orthodox theology rejects.  Anglican orders date back to the 1552 Edwardine Ordinal, which ritual lacks the sacrificial purpose required for priesthood, rendering ordinations invalid (Leo XIII, 1896).  Orthodox academics agree, seeing the rite's Protestant alterations as a departure from patristic traditions in which ordination summons the Holy Spirit for eucharistic presidency (Meyendorff, 1979).  The 1946 North American Orthodox Conference specifically refused Anglican orders, saying that they did not have the "intention and form" required by Tradition. They said this by pointing to canons like those of the Council of Trullo (692 CE), which say that sacramental succession must always happen (Erhardt, 1946).

                This problem gets worse because GAFCON supports Anglican unity tools like bishop consecrations but doesn't fix these problems (GAFCON, 202·).   This keeps up a "ghostly succession" that is different from how the Fathers stressed real, peaceful grace transfer (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, around 180 CE).   Without the right teaching, GAFCON's sacraments, which are very important to what Christ told us in John 20:21–23, can't give people the fullness of divine life. This pulls members away from what St. Ignatius of Antioch (around 107 CE) taught about the eucharistic truth.

 Imbalance Between Scripture and Tradition.

GAFCON's motto of "biblical orthodoxy" emphasizes Scripture as the primary rule of faith, echoing the Reformation sola scriptura while ignoring the patristic interaction of Scripture and Tradition (GAFCON 2008).  In the teachings stated by St. Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Orthodox doctrine regards and understands Scripture as a very integral part of the Church's living Tradition, which needs to be viewed and interpreted through the teachings of the councils and the Fathers.  Critics argue that GAFCON's hermeneutic subjectivizes orthodoxy, creating "Christian subjectivities" through colonial-era power dynamics rather than conciliar agreement (Radner, 2020).  For example, GAFCON's rejection of Anglican history in favor of a confessional baseline disregards the Fathers' warnings against private judgment, as St. Vincent of Lérins warned: "We must hold what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all" (Commonitory, ca. 434 CE).

This imbalance is shown in GAFCON's handling of moral questions, where Scripture is used in isolation against Tradition's pastoral complexity, causing division rather than the unity Christ called for in John 17: 21.  Orthodox scholars believe that this Protestant remnant weakens the Church's role as the "pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15), rendering GAFCON's message inadequate (Schmemann 1973).

 Liturgical and doctrinal deviations from the Patristic Witness

GAFCON's liturgical ethos, based on the Book of Common Prayer, incorporates novelties unfamiliar to the Fathers, such as optionalism in sacramental discipline and diluted eucharistic adoration (Hooker, 1593/2003).  As St. Basil stated in his work On the Holy Spirit (Basil of Caesarea, ca. 375 CE), liturgy is "the work of the people" in community theosis, and the Patristic Tradition must embody the mystery of Christ.   GAFCON's concessions, such changing the marriage rites in case of communion problems, expose the relativism that the organization purports to oppose.   They depart from lex orandi, lex credendi, the Fathers' emphasis on the principle that "the law of prayer is the law of believing."

Also, GAFCON's concentration on the southern hemisphere makes it more likely that cultures would mix outside of universal tradition.    This has been characterized as a "politics of subjectivity" that politicizes faith instead of adhering to the regulations established by the conciliation authority (Radner, 2020).    This stands in stark contrast to the patristic concord of the undivided Church, when East and West coexisted in liturgical variety without division.

 Western Rite Orthodoxy Restores Patristic Fidelity

Western Rite Orthodoxy corrects these faults by incorporating pre-schism Western rites within the Orthodox Church, providing legitimate succession and sacramental completeness (Anderson, 2011).  It began with Julian Joseph Overbeck's 1870 petition to the Russian Synod and was formalized in the Orthodox Church in America-Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (OCA-UAOC), Antiochian, and ROCOR jurisdictions. It uses rites like the Divine Liturgy of St. Tikhon (adapted from Anglican sources) or St. Gregory, purged of post-1054 errors such as the Filioque (Overbeck, 1866/2010).

This approach reflects the Fathers' embracing of diversity: St. Gregory the Dialogist (about 590 CE) altered ceremonies for Anglo-Saxons, praising local practices as "pious elements" for unity (Gregory the Great, Epistles, Bk. 9).  Saints like as St. John Maximovitch celebrated the West's millennium of Orthodoxy, pronouncing its liturgy "far older than any heresies" (Maximovich, 1962).  Anglicans will discover a "rebaptism" of their heritage with hymns, collections, and vestments vivified by Orthodox dogmas, encouraging theosis as taught by St. Athanasius: "God became man that man might become god" (Athanasius, On the Incarnation, around 318 CE).

Unlike GAFCON's shattered communion, the Western Rite promotes eucharistic solidarity with the ancient Church, in accordance with Christ's petition and the Fathers' vision.  Converts express great continuity, eschewing Anglican ambiguities in favor of "peace which passes understanding" (Philippians 4:7).

 Conclusion

GAFCON's mistakes, invalid orders, biblical isolation, and liturgical drift are the result of Anglicanism's Reformation ruptures, which distance it from Christ's seamless garment of faith (John 19:23).  Western Rite Orthodoxy beckons as the true via media: Western in appearance, Orthodox in core, and reflecting the fathers' testimony.  Church members seeking pristine Tradition should respond to this summons by entering the ark of salvation, where Scripture, councils, and rituals meet in divine harmony. 

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