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A group of prominent conservative Anglicans has split from the mainstream church, forming its own breakaway diocese: the Diocese of the Southern Cross. Glen Davies, a former Sydney Anglican Archbishop, is heading up the group.

Bishop Richard Condie of the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania announced the news at a Canberra meeting of GAFCON on Sunday. 

“This walking away from the scriptures and the ridiculing of those who uphold them as we have seen in some presidential addresses by bishops in Australian Synods this year, IS the crisis, it IS the emergency to which we must respond.” (source)

Breaking News at GAFCON

GAFCON (or Global Anglican Future Conference) is a conservative “worldwide movement” of more than half of worshipping Anglicans that seeks “to promote reform of the Anglican Church by the Biblical Gospel”. In 2008, GAFCON met in Jerusalem “in response to the consecration of a same-sex partnered bishop in The Episcopal Church (USA) and the decision by the Anglican Church of Canada to bless same-sex unions”.

According to Condie, GAFCON Australia has four goals:

1. Develop and promote a national strategy to reach Australia through healthy faithful biblical orthodox Anglican churches.
2. Promote reform and repentance within the Anglican Church of Australia.
3. Support and strengthen healthy faithful biblical orthodox Anglican churches throughout Australia.
4. Enable the Diocese of the Southern Cross to be fully formed within 2-years.

The significant news was broken in the Gospel Coalition two days ago and picked up by the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday.

The Diocese of the Southern Cross

The Gospel Coalition article described the new diocese as “extra-provincial”, in that it can be joined from anywhere in Australia. Apparently, the first church to join the diocese was Southern Cross Anglican Beenleigh and Logan (Brisbane) (led by Rev Peter Palmer), although further churches are expected to join in the near future.

Significantly, prominent Sydney Anglican (and former Archbishop) Glen Davies will be commissioned as the first Bishop of the Diocese. Until last year, Davies was the Archbishop of the Sydney Anglican Diocese, perhaps the most conservative diocese in the English-speaking world. 

The new Diocese of the Southern Cross will enjoy fellowship with a majority of the Anglians in the world through the GAFCON community and is soundly Anglican in its doctrinal position, affirming the Jerusalem Declaration and the 39 Articles. Although the group is opposed to compromise on issues of homosexuality, it is yet to be determined whether the ordination of women will be permitted.

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Photo by Cheung Yin.