The Archbishop of Canterbury has given his Reflections on the Episcopal Church's 2009 General Convention and addressed it to the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful of the Anglican Communion. As faithful Anglicans, the Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy want to consider this and respond accordingly:

The Archbishop's clear rejection of the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of practicing homosexuals is to be welcomed for its biblical basis. We rejoice that the traditional teaching on marriage, sexual behaviour and clergy lifestyle has been maintained and recognised as normative teaching within the Anglican Communion, and hope that faithful Anglicans can partner together in mission and spiritual growth.

However, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s proposed “two-tier” or “two-track” Anglican Communion is problematic in all sorts of ways, as he acknowledges himself, and we would urge him and others to think very carefully about the risks entailed.

• To be Anglican has always meant being Catholic. As Anglicans, we have always valued and defended our place within the “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.” How could a secondary tier or track, which is walking away from the Church Catholic on matters of faith and practice as the Archbishop highlights, be considered authentically Anglican?
• To be Anglican has always meant being Scriptural. As Anglicans, we have always valued and defended the inspiration and authority of the Holy Scriptures. How could a secondary tier or track, which rejects the clear authority of Scripture on matters of faith and practice, be considered authentically Anglican?
• To be Anglican has always meant being Evangelical. As Anglicans, we have always valued and defended “the faith once delivered to the saints”. How could a secondary tier or track, which replaces the eternal gospel with secular culture, be considered authentically Anglican?

In this whole debate, there has always been a clear choice to be made. Do we remain faithful to the teaching of the Holy Scripture as received by the Church Catholic and so remain authentically Anglican? Or do we reject the teaching of the Holy Scripture and lose our right to be called Anglican, and more importantly Christian (1 Corinthians 6: 9-11)?

Sadly, The Episcopal Church in the United States has made its decision to break the moratoria, by continuing to bless same-sex unions and continuing to ordain practicing homosexuals, thus causing much pain and hurt for faithful Anglicans throughout North America and the rest of the world.

In particular, we feel for those faithful Anglicans in North America who are embroiled in legal proceedings over church property with revisionist hierarchies, and also for those faithful Anglicans who remain within TEC. The issue of who owns church property needs to be tackled in an open and honest way with much care and sensitivity paid to the needs of the local congregation, which according to Article 19 is “the visible Church of Christ… in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered”. We call on all within the Anglican Communion to help and support our brothers and sisters in Christ in this their time of persecution.

We also welcome the creative and courageous development of the new province in North America, the ACNA, and rejoice that they have remained faithful to the long prized principles of Anglicanism. It is these principles, which unite us as Anglicans and set the parameters for communion, as the Preamble and Declaration of the Church of Ireland (1870) makes clear.

What should the future of Global Anglicanism be? Faithfulness, not fudge!