Ebook
To the astonishment and dismay of Anglican leadership in the Global North, Nigeria's Archbishop Peter Akinola led the Global South's revolt against the campaign to normalize homosexuality within the global Anglican communion. For this, he was twice recognized by Time magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People" on earth. As shepherd of an immense Nigerian flock, he joined arms with like-minded archbishops in Africa, Asia, and South America to insist that the church be guided by the Bible rather than culture. Here is the remarkable story of this conflict, from its social beginnings in nineteenth-century Germany, through the renegade behavior of national churches in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, on to gatherings addressing the issues--from Dromantine, Northern Ireland, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At one point, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who had been enabling the "progressives," challenged Archbishop Akinola, "We shall see who blinks first!" Since that day, it is clear that neither Akinola nor his colleagues have blinked. Indeed, through the formation of GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) and union with biblically faithful Anglicans in the Global North, they are pressing their cause with an eye toward the next decennial assembly of bishops at Lambeth.
“This book is coming from the right person at the right time,
before all the pioneers depart. Every fact contained in this book
is as it happened and can be relied upon for the history of what
transpired. We, therefore, strongly recommend that its contents be
taken very seriously by both Anglicans worldwide and the general
public.”
—Nicholas D. Okoh, Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All
Nigeria
“As more leaders who did not live through this season enter into
leadership positions, it is vitally important to have a record of
what really happened. Archbishop Peter Akinola has done that in a
way no one else could do. Read the book. Remember. Or, you are
destined to see this painful history repeated.”
—Stanley Ntagali, retired Archbishop of Church of Uganda
“This is a great resource material for every Christian,
particularly leaders and members of the global Anglican Communion,
who may not have been fully informed about the ‘inner circle’
initiatives, workings, intrigues, and actual struggles to salvage
the torn fabrics of the Anglican Communion.”
—Dapo F. Asaju, professor of theology, Bishop Theologian of
Anglican Church of Nigeria, Vice-Chancellor, Ajayi Crowther
University, Oyo, Nigeria
“Rarely have I encountered such an encyclopedic book that has been
more thoroughly documented and researched. It exposes so much about
the inner workings of the senior leadership of the Anglican
Communion and this carpenter from Nigeria who took the church by
storm.”
—Martyn Minns, retired Missionary Bishop
Gbenga Gbesan is an award-winning journalist and media
consultant, based in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. He has served
as advocate for a wide range of causes, addressing, for instance,
the plight of migrants in West Africa, drug abuse, illiteracy, FGM,
miscarriages of justice, and mistreatment of the elderly and
persons with disabilities. He was also heavily involved in the
UNICEF-assisted SAY YES campaign, working with a group of children
to draft a “Child Rights Charter.”