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Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria of the Anglican Communion speaks during the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) opening session in Jerusalem - Source: Reuters -
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Conservatives who have left the US Episcopal Church over issues
like
gay clergy finalised the formation of a rival
church, the latest chapter in a saga that has split Anglicans
worldwide.
The new Anglican Church in North America, which says it has 100,000
followers, ratified its constitution this week and installed Robert
Duncan of Pittsburgh as its first archbishop on Wednesday
evening.
"Across the church people are re-embracing scripture's authority,"
Duncan said, a reference to the conservative belief that liberals
have strayed from the Bible.
"We are oriented toward a hopeful future. We are not turning back
to the hurts of our past," Duncan, who will serve a five-year term,
said.
The Episcopal Church, which is the main US branch of the Anglican
Communion with over two million followers, has declined to comment
on the proceedings.
The ACNA says four of the 28 dioceses under its roof are locked
in property disputes with the Episcopal Church.
Some Canadian congregations are also fighting legal battles over
assets with the Anglican Church of Canada.
Long-standing divisions between liberals and conservatives had
already undermined Episcopal Church unity by 2003 when it
consecrated Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the first bishop
known to be in an openly gay relationship in more than four
centuries of Anglican history.
The ACNA wants to formally join the Anglican Communion which
numbers close to 80 million people worldwide.
Acceptance would put the breakaway church on an equal footing with
the Episcopal Church but the process could take years if it happens
at all.
It requires approval from two-thirds of the primates - the heads of
national churches - in the Anglican Communion and recognition from
the Anglican Consultative Council, another church body.
The new alliance believes its orthodoxy has an appeal for young
people, many of whom have been attracted to fast-growing
evangelical denominations.
"The Episcopal Church is in decline ... But we are growing and
planting new churches. And 20% of our delegates this week were
under the age of 25," Martyn Minns, one of ACNA's founding bishops,
said.
Duncan struck an evangelical tone at his installation service,
calling on his flock to plant 1,000 new churches over the next five
years.
