Church of England crisis: Mass defections loom as rebel faction appeals to English clergy

Hundreds of English clergy appear poised to defect from the Church of England to join a new conservative movement after a conference led by rebel archbishops was swamped with delegates in London yesterday.

The 750 delegates attending the meeting in central London were asked to pledge their allegiance to a 14-point manifesto issued last weekend in Jerusalem by the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), a coalition of traditionalist clergy who have challenged the authority of the archbishop of Canterbury.

According to the conservative website, Anglican Mainstream, clergy and churchwardens are asked to "stand in solidarity" with Gafcon by registering their support online.

The popularity of the event caught organisers and speakers by surprise, as only half that number were expected. The attendance level, in addition to the 50 serving English clergy sponsoring the meeting, indicated the disillusion felt by conservative evangelicals.

Their interest in Gafcon threatens to further undermine the authority of Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, who also faces a rebellion at General Synod this weekend over the ordination of women bishops.

During the day, leading figures from Gafcon urged delegates to support the movement. They also offered parallel jurisdiction and oversight where clergy believed their bishops had strayed from biblical teaching.

The archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, told the assembly: "Gafcon exists and is on your side. We need mutual support within the Anglican Communion and across it. This is the moment. England, don't fail us. We are looking to you. We need you to be strong and brave and true. We will help you."

He added that Gafcon had to take care of Christians caught in dioceses, parishes and churches who were faithful to orthodox biblical teaching but found themselves under liberal leadership. "If we do not care for them, who will?" he asked.

Earlier, at a press conference, Jensen denied that he and the other archbishops present, Henry Luke Orombi from Uganda and Gregory Venables from the Southern Cone, were in London to woo parishes or to recruit people into their fellowship.

He said the meeting had been arranged before Gafcon took place, suggesting that England had long been seen as fertile ground for new members.

The event was clearly intended as a rallying point, with theologian Jim Packer saying there was something "dispensable about the archbishop of Canterbury.

"It is not of the essence of Anglicanism to be in communion with him when he becomes part of the doctrinal problem.

"Pray for the next archbishop and that he may be with us sooner than we might have thought."

The day saw a steady stream of Anglicans, in their traditional summer uniform of panama hats, socks, sandals and shirt sleeves flowing in and out of All Souls' church. They were only disrupted at lunchtime, when Peter Tatchell and other gay rights campaigners confronted them with posters bearing slogans such as Anglicans Repent Your Homophobia.

Neither Tatchell, nor the archbishop of Canterbury's pointed rebuke issued two days previously deterred the conference delegates.

Angus Macley, a rector at St Nicholas, Sevenoaks, Kent, said his main concern was developments in the Anglican communion. "There is a degree of sadness that Gafcon is needed but I feel we have departed from biblical authority. My diocesan bishop is Michael Nazir-Ali and we're grateful he has taken such a principled and courageous stand."

Others were attending without the knowledge of their bishop. One vicar, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's a decision to be faithful to the Bible and not to follow practices that have been sieved through the opinions of modern society.

"Gafcon is setting up an alternative shadow structure. There are options apart from leaving. I would say that my congregation shares my views. We have reached the point of no return."

There are several ways for traditionalists to opt out of liberal leadership, with the most successful models operating in the US, which has proved to be the faultline in the Anglican communion due to its stance on consecrating gay clergy and blessing same-sex unions.

The Convocation of Anglicans in North America is a Nigerian Anglican body in the US comprised mostly of local churches that have severed ties with the Episcopal Church and sought the ministry of bishops consecrated in Nigeria. There is also the Anglican Mission in the Americas, a similar body whose priests and bishops are ordained by churches in Rwanda and south-east Asia.

Across London, Williams was conferring Lambeth degrees, a practice dating back to Peter's Pence Act of 1533, which empowers the head of the Anglican church to grant academic dispensations that were previously given by the Pope.