Editor’s Note: This is the fifteenth in a series of articles by Dr. Stephen Noll, titled “The Jerusalem Declaration: A Personal Commentary.” 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. If clause 8 on…
Marriage and Mankind (Jerusalem Declaration 8.2)
By linking the “unchangeable standard of Christian marriage” to the creation of humankind as male and female, clause 8 opens a doorway to consider a cluster of related issues concerning human nature.
Marriage and Sexual Intimacy (Jerusalem Declaration 8.1)
Many outside the Gafcon movement, and some within it, have asked: “Why are you hung up on sex?” My reply has two parts. First, I will exposit this clause literally, focusing on the meaning of marriage as expressed in the Bible and Prayer Book.
The Governance of a Global Communion (Jerusalem Declaration 7.2)
When the Gafcon Primates announced a Global Anglican Communion of churches committed to the Jerusalem Declaration, it naturally followed that they would order it with the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons.
Equipped by the Historic Episcopate (Jerusalem Declaration 7.1)
We recognise that God has called and gifted bishops, priests and deacons in historic succession to equip all the people of God for their ministry in the world.
The Standard of Prayer Book Worship (Jerusalem Declaration 6)
We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.
Do the Work of an Evangelist: An African Perspective (Jerusalem Declaration 9.2)
I am including here, as a supplement to this commentary, an interview with the Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, my friend, colleague, and successor as Vice Chancellor of Uganda Christian University.