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from The Living Church

Nassua Meeting Concludes
07/11/2005

A group of self-described “biblically orthodox Anglicans” from the Americas
and Caribbean met July 6-8 in Nassau, Bahamas. The summit was chaired by
Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies and Archbishop Gregory
Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone (Argentina). The list of meeting
participants from the Episcopal Church, according to a press release,
included representatives from the Anglican Communion Network, the American
Anglican Council, Anglicans United, Ekklesia and Forward in Faith North
America (FiFNA).

The Nassau meeting became news last month after an advocacy group,
Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh (PEP) and The Guardian, a British
daily newspaper, published a draft document detailing plans to set up an
alternative Anglican Communion that was purportedly discussed at a meeting
in Lagos, Nigeria last January. “The constitution, which seems not to have
been formally agreed to by meeting participants, names [Nigerian Primate
Peter] Akinola and Archbishop Drexel Gomez, of the West Indies, as interim
co-presidents,” said a June 14 PEP release accompanying the
document. “Akinola and Gomez have been two of the most vocal critics of the
Episcopal Church and of the Anglican Church of Canada for their treatment
of homosexuality.”

According to an article in the June issue of Forward Now, the official
publication of FiFNA, the purpose of the meeting was to set up an
organization similar to the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA)
for the Western Hemisphere.

“Those present have committed to furthering the common ministry of the
Americas and the Caribbean and to assist the global Communion with finding
solutions to the crisis currently afflicting the Anglican churches in the
Western Hemisphere which hinders our gospel witness in this region,” said
the press release issued at the conclusion of the meeting. “We look forward
to building on the work of the conference and working with our
constituencies to strengthen our ties and promote our traditional Anglican
heritage in submission to the primates and the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

When contacted for further details, one meeting participant told The Living
Church that those in attendance agreed “that no one can say anything except
for what is in the press release.”