GAFCON, a global, orthodox Anglican organisation, has called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to "repent" for the "denial of his ordination and consecration vows", following comments about same sex relationships the Archbishop made on a podcast, in which he appeared to equate gay sex with sex within marriage.
Writing publicly, the GAFCON Primates' Council accused Most Rev Justin Welby of having "demonstrably changed the doctrine of sin by promoting the sanctification of sin by means of a divine blessing".
The Council also said he had breached a resolution of the 1998 Lambeth Conference which declared 'homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture".
Earlier this month, Archbishop Justin appeared on the podcast 'The Rest is Politics: Leading'. In response to a question about whether he thought gay sex is a sin, he said: "where we [the Church] have come to is to say that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship, whether it’s straight or gay. We’re not giving up on the idea that sex is within marriage or civil partnership. We’ve put forward a proposal that where people have been through a civil partnership or a same-sex marriage under the 2014 Act, they should be able to come to a church for a service of prayer and blessing".
Critiism of the Archbishop's answer promped Lambeth Palace to issue a statement clarifying that he was expressing his personal views and not the official position of the Church of England.
It read, "Archbishop Justin was giving a personal view that reflects the position now held by himself, the Archbishop of York and many other bishops regarding sexual intimacy. He has been honest that his thinking has evolved over the years through much prayer and theological reflection – particularly through the Living in Love and Faith process – and he now holds this view sincerely... However, there is no consensus among the bishops on this question, and the Church remains deeply divided."
GAFCON describes itself as a "global family of authentic Anglicans standing together to retain and restore the Bible to the heart of the Anglican Communion".
