by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury,
Primate of All England and Metropolitan.
was burnt at the stake in Broad Street Oxford on 21 March 1556.

His final testimony is recorded by John Foxe in his Acts and Monuments:

And now, forasmuch as I am come to the last end of my life, whereupon hangeth all my life past, and all my life to come, either to live with my Master Christ for ever in joy, or else to be in pain for ever with wicked devils in hell, and I see before mine eyes presently either heaven ready to receive me, or else hell ready to swallow me up:

I shall therefore declare unto you my very faith how I believe, without any color or dissimulation; for now is no time to dissemble, whatsoever I have said or written in time past.

First, I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, etc. And I believe every article of the catholic faith, every word and sentence taught by our Saviour Jesus Christ, his apostles and prophets, in the New and Old Testament.

And now I come to the great thing, which so much troubleth my conscience, more than any thing that ever I did or said in my whole life, and that is the setting abroad of a writing contrary to the truth; which now here I renounce and refuse, as things written with my hand, contrary to the truth which I thought in my heart, and written for fear of death, and to save my life if it might be; and that is, all such bills and papers which I have written or signed with my hand since my degradation; wherein I have written many things untrue.

And forasmuch as my hand offended, writing contrary to my heart, my hand shall first be punished there-for; for, may I come to the fire, it shall be first burned.

And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and antichrist, with all his false doctrine.

And as for the sacrament, I believe as I have taught in my book against the bishop of Winchester, the which my book teacheth so true a doctrine of the sacrament, that it shall stand at the last day before the judgment of God, where the papistical doctrine contrary thereto shall be ashamed to show her face.

THE CHURCH OF NIGERIA (Anglican Communion)
THE MOST REV. PETER J. AKINOLA, D.D.

Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria.

15th February, 2006

My dear People of God,

The Passion of our Lord, (Lenten Season 2006)

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ who fasted and prayed in order to make a success of his ministry here on earth, that work finished on the cross through which we are  reconciled to the most High God.

We have cause to thank God for the Church and how He has led us from the expectant season of Advent through the Christmas season where we once again celebrated the incarnation of our Lord. He also kept us through Epiphany as we rejoiced in the revelation and joined in the proclamation of the gift of the Christ.

I write to encourage you in this week of Septuagesima, as we prepare for the Lenten season which starts on Ash Wednesday, 1st March 2006.

A careful look at the world today brings to remembrance the words of Apostle Paul indicating that we are living in 'Perilous times' (2 Tim 3:1).

Spiritually, people now only seem to love themselves and the unrighteous mammon. What obtains is religious gangsterism, distortion of the historic faith and doctrines, outright denial of the faith, pandering of falsehood and half- truths, self seeking and self glorification instead of seeking the glory of God by self appointed prophets and preachers who ought to have known better.

At the human and physical level, there is much moral decadence, encouragement of violence and lasciviousness by the screens, eroded family values and shameless immorality actively supported and promoted outside our shores by some government laws in the name of human rights and even encouraged by some religious groups in the corrupted name of love. 

We are forced to witness unimaginable levels of destruction as a result of wars, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, HIV/AIDS pandemic, strange virus infections as well as building and vehicular accidents on land, sea and in the air. 

How do we interpret all these?  Mere coincidences or a manifestation of God’s wrath on his 'erring world'? Whichever way you look at it, we are indeed in "perilous times."

I invite you therefore to use this holy season of lent for critical self examination leading to genuine repentance wherever we have failed God, our nation and ourselves and in humility seek God’s grace and  forgiveness.

Throughout this penitential season, may we for once shun all flamboyance, shed all excesses as well as all forms of corrupt practices, and truly seek to be a people of God for whom Christ has died.

I encourage you to create more time to meditate on the Word of God. Seek to come into a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus as you deny yourself, carrying your cross daily and walking with Him to Golgotha. Crucified with Him, may we all rise to a fresh hope for a new life at Easter.

The Grace of God be with you.

 

Signed,

The Most Rev. Peter J Akinola D.D, CON

(Church of Nigeria News)

REACTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA, THE MOST REVD. PETER J. AKINOLA (CON, DD.) ON THE UGLY DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWED RELIGIOUS FANATICISM IN THE COUNTRY. - 20th February, 2006

1. Having watched with sadness and dismay the recent development in some States in the Northern part of this Country where many Christian Churches and other property have been wantonly destroyed by some Islamic fundamentalists, the Christian Association of Nigeria is compelled to issue the following statements:

a. From all indications, it is very clear now that the sacrifices of the Christians in this country for peaceful co-existence with people of other faiths has been sadly misunderstood to be weakness

b. We have for a long time now watched helplessly the killing, maiming and destruction of Christians and their property by Muslim fanatics and fundamentalists at the slightest or no provocation at all. We are not unaware of the fact that these religious extremists have the full backup and support of some influential Muslims who are yet to appreciate the value of peaceful co-existence.

c. That an incident in far away Denmark which does not claim to be representing Christianity could elicit such an unfortunate reaction here in Nigeria, leading to the destruction of Christian Churches, is not only embarrassing, but also disturbing and unfortunate.

d. It is no longer a hidden fact that a long standing agenda to make this Nigeria an Islamic nation is being surreptitiously pursued. The willingness of Muslim Youth to descend with violence on the innocent Christians from time to time is from all intents and purposes a design to actualize their dream.

2. a. It is sad to note that all acts of hostility meted against Christians by Muslims in the past have remained unaddressed with nobody paying compensations or the culprits brought to justice.

b. We do appreciate the fact that at this stage of our national development, peace is absolutely necessary for realizing our dreams and aspirations. It is in view of this that Christians in Nigeria agreed to participate in the forthcoming National Census as sacrifice for the peace and progress of this nation, in spite of our protest over the non-inclusion of Religion and Ethnicity as necessary demographic data.

c. May we at this stage remind our Muslim brothers that they do not have the monopoly of violence in this nation. Nigeria belongs to all of us – Christians, Muslims and members of other faiths. No amount of intimidation can Change this time-honoured arrangement in this nation. C.A.N. may no longer be able to contain our restive youths should this ugly trend continue.

3. a. We now demand that further destruction of Christian Churches and property in this nation be permanently put to an end.

b. All levels of Government in this country should take adequate steps to protect the lives and property of Christians everywhere in this land as no further destructions will be tolerated or ignored.

c. The Federal Government and those States where Christian Churches have been destroyed are hereby urged to take urgent steps at rebuilding those structures and paying adequate compensation while assuring Christians of adequate protection in this country. These governments should now show in practical terms that Nigeria belongs to all of us by going beyond mere promises of rebuilding destroyed Churches and property as in the past to actual reconstruction, which will help the victims to quickly put this unfortunate incident behind them. A stitch in time saves nine.

Signed

Most Revd. Peter J. Akinola (CON, DD.)
President, Christian Association of Nigeria

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Thanks for this opportunity to write about the humbling new relationship in Christ between the Church of Nigeria and the REC/APA.

Perhaps a little added background will help. Discussions among the three churches began in December 2004, when bishops from the Church of Nigeria convened with REC/APA bishops in Summerville, South Carolina, the Episcopal See and offices of the Diocese of the Southeast of the Reformed Episcopal Church. A second series of meetings was hosted in January, 2005, by the Diocese of Egba in Abeokuta, Nigeria, the location of the Episcopal See and bishop's residence and offices. These meetings resulted in a unanimously agreed upon report with a covenant union document recommended for final approval by the House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria, and the Council of Bishops and General Committees of the REC/APA. Having received ecclesial approval of the report/covenant, the Archbishop and Presiding Bishops were able to act with the support of their churches.

It is also helpful to know that the descriptive wording, "covenant union," is used to convey a stronger relationship than simply the typical intercommunion kind of document. It clearly is an intercommunion (in communio sacris). Orders, prayer books, doctrinal commitments and practices were carefully examined. But a covenant union is much more. Or perhaps I should say, it gets to what an in communio sacris is really supposed to be. The Nigerian leaders asked us to use the Biblical word covenant, for which I/we were glad. On a personal note, I wrote a book on the Biblical covenant 18 years ago that miraculously still stays in print. The REC/APA are strongly committed to the theology of the covenant properly understood as the covenant first between God the Father and God the Son through God the Holy Spirit; and then secondly between Christ and His Church. What our brothers and sisters in Christ were asking resonated strongly in the Scripturally plowed soul of our jurisdictions in other words.

The Nigerians wanted the word covenant, therefore, because they desired our relationship to be first and foremost clearly Biblical. Covenant is the Scriptural word used to describe how we are untied to Christ and one another. Second, the word covenant relates directly to mission. We are brought into the New Covenant of Christ's blood to be witnesses for the King of kings. Third, the word covenant implies that the parties involved have equal responsibility with one another in the cause of Jesus Christ's mission in the world. Time and again the Nigerians have expressed to us that they will pay their own way and they expect us to take their commitments to Jesus Christ, His supreme Word, evangelism and mission just as seriously as they do. Here's where it is so very humbling for us.

For so long the REC/APA have had wonderful doctrinal fidelity; the Church of Nigeria would never have become yoked with us if we were not to their satisfaction loyal to the Biblical and classical standards of Anglicanism. Yet, we like many others in this part of the globe have let our Lord down when it comes to His mission. We have been too long on preservation and too short on proclamation! For this reason we have had to do much soul searching and repenting. Not that we're relaxing our time proven commitments to classical Anglican belief (1662/1928 BCP, Ordinal and Articles of Religion) and practice. Rather it's a matter of regaining to our spiritual DNA what has been missing, mainly mission and evangelism. As you may know, to this end the REC/APA have recently renewed our commitment to take up Jesus' Cross and proclaim His Name in new and bold ways. At our triennial General Council in Orlando, we joined with the APA, also conducting its national council at the same location and time, to set aside an entire day of business to learn about mission and evangelism from the wonderful staff of Christianity Explored. Archbishop Greg Venables was our guest preacher.

Therefore, we enter this new covenant relationship with much learning and work to be done. We thank our God always for allowing us to walk together with our brothers and sisters in Christ from Nigeria to reclaim this land for our God. Please pray for us. To paraphrase one of the church fathers, "Our boat is so small and His sea is so great." Thanks be to God He's in the boat with us; He's not abandoned us in this lost world; and, with Him in our boat we can pass through any raging storm. God bless,

+Ray R. Sutton, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Interchurch Relations Committee, REC

This letter clearly exposes the limitations of the biblical exegesis of the Archbishop of Canterbury as he avoids following the witness of Scripture in its fulness.
Read the Letter in our Article section

Press Release

COVENANT UNION OF ANGLICAN CHURCHES IN CONCORDAT AMONG

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Reformed Episcopal Church, and
The Anglican Province of America

Whereas the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Province of America share a common heritage of faith and order within the Anglican tradition; be it understood that:

Article 1:      The Churches, recognizing the fact that they are working together in the common cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pledge to each other, their mutual cooperation, support, discipline and accountability.

Article 2:      Wherever possible, individual congregations within proximate geographic locations will work closely and cooperatively to demonstrate their commitment to one another and their desire to witness to a consistent Biblical, Evangelical and Catholic expression of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Article 3:      As evidence of our union in Christ and the Common Standards of the faith existing among the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Province of America, a delegation of ministers and laity may be sent to attend each other’s Provincial and General Synods or Councils. As a further demonstration of our union, bishops of the Churches may attend each other’s episcopal meetings with the expectation that they will be invited to speak but not cast votes.

Article 4:      The Ministers of the Churches may, subject to the respective regulations of the Churches, be eligible to exercise pastoral ministry in each Church. Archbishops and Bishops of the Churches in the concordat may also be invited to conduct episcopal duties with accountability, discipline and the episcopal blessing of the local appropriate provincial authorities.

Article 5:      Communicants of the Churches may be received into the other Churches on presentation of letters of transfer, or their equivalent.

Article 6:      It is also our declared intention to initiate a process that will permit us, in due course to enter into an agreement of full communion with a clear and common understanding of all of its implications.      

 

COVENANT UNION OF ANGLICAN CHURCHES IN CONCORDAT AMONG

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Reformed Episcopal Church, and
The Anglican Province of America

In an historic moment, as part of the realignment of global Anglicanism, on November 12, 2005 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Leonard W. Riches, Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, and the Most Rev. Walter H. Grundorf, Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America, entered on behalf of their three Churches a Covenant Union of Anglican Churches in Concordat.

The purpose of the covenant of concord is to work together in the common cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, pledging to each other their mutual cooperation, support, discipline and accountability. Recognizing that all three Churches share a common heritage of faith and order within the Anglican tradition, they are united by saving belief in Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life, and by their commitment to the Faith once delivered, based on the irrevocable Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the final authority for faith and life.

It was agreed that ministers of these Churches, subject to the respective regulations within the jurisdictions, may be eligible to exercise pastoral ministry in each Church. Archbishops and bishops of the Churches in concordat may also be invited to conduct episcopal duties within the other jurisdictions with the blessing of the appropriate provincial authorities.

The three Churches have united specifically for joint mission in North America. Archbishops Riches and Grundorf welcomed the Church of Nigeria's CANA initiative. They assured Archbishop Akinola that, wherever possible, individual congregations of all three jurisdictions, within proximate geographic locations, would work closely and cooperatively together to demonstrate their commitment to one another and their desire to witness to a consistent Biblical, Evangelical and Catholic expression of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Church of Nigeria News http://www.anglican-nig.org/pressreleaseAmerica_Nov.htm

http://www.anglican-nig.org/covenant_union.htm

Christian Teens Beheaded in Indonesia - Christianity Today Magazine: "Laskar Jihad is 'determined to exterminate the Christian community in this region,' Buaya said. Anti-Christian violence began in Central Sulawesi in December 1998, including assassinations, forced closure of churches, bus and market bombings, and the torching of more than 20 Christian villages. On June 19, 2000, Muslim militants massacred 211 worshipers, among them 45 children, in the Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera (GMIH) in the Central Sulawesi village of Duma. In August 2003, a drive-by motorcycle shooter fired at six children in front of Poso Presbyterian Church; two children were hit, but survived."

21. Scripture demands, and Christian history has traditionally held, that the standard of life, belief, doctrine, and conduct is the Holy Scripture. To depart from apostolic teaching is to tamper with the foundation and to undermine the basis of our unity in Christ. We express full confidence in the supremacy and clarity of Scripture, and pledge full obedience to the whole counsel of God’s Word.

22. We in the Global South endorse the concept of an Anglican Covenant (rooted in the Windsor Report) and commit ourselves as full partners in the process of its formulation. We are seeking a Covenant that is rooted in historic faith and formularies, and that provides a biblical foundation for our life, ministry and mission as a Communion. It is envisaged that once the Covenant is approved by the Communion, provinces that enter into the Covenant shall be mutually accountable, thereby providing an authentic fellowship within the Communion.

23. Anglicans of the Global South have discovered a vibrant spiritual life based on Scripture and empowered by the Spirit that is transforming cultures and communities in many of our provinces. It is to this life that we seek to be formed and found fully faithful. We reject the expectation that our lives in Christ should conform to the misguided theological, cultural and sociological norms associated with sections of the West.

Read the whole document here: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/articles/40/50/acns4061.cfm

Mrs. Rebecca Elledge, 80, a founding communicant of St.Thomas of Canterbury REC in Houston, TX, and faithful servant of Jesus Christ, was one of the 23 victims of a bus fire during the evacuation of Houston as a result of Hurricane Rita. Her funeral was held Saturday, October 1. Having fought the good fight, she now, by the grace of God, has joined the Church Triumphant. May she rest in peace, in the eternal presence of her Lord.

We want to thank the Web Journal "Prydain" for referring visitors to our website by commending some of our sermons among the many good resources that the weblog continually gathers. You may see some of the blog comments at the following links:
http://www.upsaid.com/prydain/index.php

http://www.upsaid.com/prydain/index.php?action=viewcom&id=1056

Thanks.