The Jerusalem Declaration offers a set of principles to guide us in our Christian walk, as outlined in the second sentence of Clause 2: “The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.”
The Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll is Professor Emeritus at Trinity Anglican Seminary and retired Vice Chancellor of Uganda Christian University. He served on the Statement Group of the first three Global Anglican Future Conferences and gave an inaugural address at the fourth. He has written extensively about the history of the Gafcon movement in The Global Anglican Communion: Contending for Anglicanism 1993-2018 (Anglican House: 2018) and online at “Reviving, Reforming, and Reordering the Anglican Communion: Fourteen Theses for Global Anglicans” (2023). He currently serves on the ministry board of Anglican Compass.
The Bible: Believing God’s Word Written (Jerusalem Declaration Clause 2.1)
Clause 2 has two sentences. Taken together, they capture the twofold dynamic of the Bible, moving from God’s gracious self-revelation to our thankful response.
The Jerusalem Declaration: A Personal Commentary
By this time, it is clear that the Jerusalem Declaration has become the doctrinal standard of the global Anglican realignment.
Confessing the Gospel in Our Day (Jerusalem Declaration Clause 1)
The Jerusalem Declaration is the confessional basis for a reformed and reordered Communion. It is not only a memento of the first GAFCON in 2008, but it is also the ongoing “contemporary standard for Anglican identity” for individual and corporate membership in the Global Anglican Communion.
The Jerusalem Declaration & Statement: Apples of Gold in a Setting of Silver
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of articles by Dr. Stephen Noll, titled “The Jerusalem Declaration: A Personal Commentary.” In this series, Dr. Noll draws on decades of experience in the GAFCON movement, especially his role as Secretary of the Statement group that drafted the Jerusalem Declaration and its accompanying Statement. A word…
The Global Anglican Communion: From Canterbury to Jerusalem
Someone may ask: “Hasn’t the Anglican Communion been around for a long, long time?” This depends on what you consider a long time and how you define the Anglican Communion.
Women Bishops and Reception: An Occasion for Rethinking
Editor’s Note: The Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll, now a board member of Anglican Compass, also served from 2015 to 2020 as the Convener of the GAFCON Task Force on Women in the Episcopate. In 2017, this Task Force issued a recommendation for a moratorium on the consecration of women bishops. In this article, we share Dr. Noll’s 2019 essay…
“From the Beginning”: God’s Design for Marriage (10th Anniversary Edition)
The Story Behind the Statement The legal legitimation of same-sex marriage in June 2015 was an important crossroads in American history and the Anglican Church’s witness in North America. I saw this event coming twenty years ago. I felt led to write a tract for the 1997 Episcopal General Convention titled Two Sexes, One Flesh:…
The Canons of Nicaea: Their Relevance for Anglicans Today
As we repeat the Nicene Creed week by week and come to appreciate its teaching, it is easy to miss the historic revolution that led to its creation at the First Council of Nicea. The early Church from Pentecost onward was a missionary movement taking the Gospel from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria to the…
Trinity Sunday: God the Father’s Day?
Some years ago, David Roseberry posted a piece on Anglican Compass titled, “Should You Preach a Father’s Day Sermon on Father’s Day?” (Answer: “Yes!”). Let me pose another question, particularly appropriate in 2025, when Father’s Day converges with Trinity Sunday. My question is this: Should we preach on God the Father on Trinity Sunday? Have…
We Believe: Of All That Is, Visible and Invisible
The first article of the Nicene Creed—“We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth”—can easily slip by without our stopping to wonder at it. This is particularly true of the brief addendum, not found in the Apostles’ Creed, “of all that is, visible and invisible.” But this little phrase…
Confessing the Faith: Catholic Councils and Creeds (Jerusalem Declaration Clause 3)
Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in a series of articles by Dr. Stephen Noll, titled “The Jerusalem Declaration: A Personal Commentary.” In this series, Dr. Noll draws on decades of experience in the GAFCON movement, especially his role as Secretary of the Statement group that drafted the Jerusalem Declaration and its accompanying Statement. Having heard the Gospel…