The Kigali Communique
Global South Primates' Meeting
The Anglican Communion
Kigali, Rwanda September 2006
Communiqué
________________________________________

1. As Primates and Leaders of the Global South Provinces of the
Anglican Communion we gathered at the Hotel des Mille Collines in
Kigali, Rwanda, between 19th and 22nd September 2006. We were called
together by the Global South Steering Committee and its chairman,
Archbishop Peter J. Akinola. Twenty provinces were represented at the
meeting*. We are extremely grateful for the warm welcome shown to us
by the Right Honorable Bernard Makuza, Prime Minister of the Republic
of Rwanda, and the hospitality provided by Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini,
members of the House of Bishops of the Church of Rwanda and all of the
members of the local organizing committee.

2. We have gathered in Rwanda twelve years after the genocide that
tragically engulfed this nation and even its churches. During this
time Rwanda was abandoned to its fate by the world. Our first action
was to visit the Kigali Genocide Museum at Gisozi for a time of prayer
and reflection. We were chastened by this experience and commit
ourselves not to abandon the poor or the persecuted wherever they may
be and in whatever circumstances. We add our voices to theirs and we
say, "Never Again!"

3. As we prayed and wept at the mass grave of 250,000 helpless victims
we confronted the utter depravity and inhumanity to which we are all
subject outside of the transforming grace of God. We were reminded
again that faith in Jesus Christ must be an active, whole-hearted
faith if we are to stand against the evil and violence that threaten
to consume our world. We were sobered by the reality that several of
our Provinces are presently in the middle of dangerous conflicts. We
commit ourselves to intercession for them.

4. We are very aware of the agonizing situation in the Sudan. We
appreciate and commend the terms of the Sudanese Comprehensive Peace
Agreement between the North and the South. We dare not, however, close
our eyes to the devastating situation in Darfur. We are conscious of
the complexities but there must be no continuation of the slaughter.
We invite people from all of the Provinces of the Anglican Communion
and the entire international community to stand in solidarity with the
men, women and children in Darfur, Sudan.

5. We are here as a people of hope and we have been greatly encouraged
as we have witnessed the reconciling power of God's love at work as
this nation of Rwanda seeks to rebuild itself. We have been pleased to
hear of positive developments in the neighboring country of Burundi as
they have recently completed a cease-fire agreement between their
government and the Palipehutu-FNL. We are also beginning to see an end
to the conflict in Northern Uganda and we note that the Democratic
Republic of the Congo is approaching a historic election that offers
promise for a peaceful future. All of these developments are occasions
for hope for the future.

6. We have met here as a growing fellowship of Primates and leaders of
churches in the Global South representing more than 70 percent of the
active membership of the worldwide Anglican Communion. We build on and
reaffirm the work of our previous meetings, especially our most recent
gathering in Egypt in October 2005. We are mindful of the challenges
that face our Communion and recommit ourselves to the abiding truth of
the Holy Scriptures and the faithful proclamation of the whole Gospel
for the whole world. We recommit ourselves to the vision of our
beloved Communion as part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic
Church.

7. We recognize that because of the ongoing conflict in the Communion
many people have lost hope that we will come to any resolution in the
foreseeable future. We are grateful therefore, that one sign of
promise is the widespread support for the development of an Anglican
Covenant. We are delighted to affirm the extraordinary progress made
by the Global South task group on developing an Anglican Covenant. For
the past year they have labored on this important task and we look
forward to submitting the result of their labor to the rest of the
Communion. We are pleased that the Archbishop of Canterbury has
recognized the exemplary scholarship and leadership of Archbishop
Drexel Gomez in asking him to chair the Covenant Design Group and look
forward with anticipation to the crucial next steps of this historic
venture. We believe that an Anglican Covenant will demonstrate to the
world that it is possible to be a truly global communion where
differences are not affirmed at the expense of faith and truth but
within the framework of a common confession of faith and mutual
accountability.

8. We have come together as Anglicans and we celebrate the gift of
Anglican identity that is ours today because of the sacrifice made by
those who have gone before us. We grieve that, because of the
doctrinal conflict in parts of our Communion, there is now a growing
number of congregations and dioceses in the USA and Canada who believe
that their Anglican identity is at risk and are appealing to us so
that they might remain faithful members of the Communion. As leaders
of that Communion we will work together to recognize the Anglican
identity of all who receive, hold and maintain the Scriptures as the
Word of God written and who seek to live in godly fellowship within
our historic ordering.

9. We deeply regret that, at its most recent General Convention, The
Episcopal Church gave no clear embrace of the minimal recommendations
of the Windsor Report. We observe that a number of the resolutions
adopted by the Convention were actually contrary to the Windsor
Report. We are further dismayed to note that their newly elected
Presiding Bishop also holds to a position on human sexuality – not to
mention other controversial views – in direct contradiction of Lambeth
1.10 and the historic teaching of the Church. The actions and
decisions of the General Convention raise profound questions on the
nature of Anglican identity across the entire Communion.

10. We are, however, greatly encouraged by the continued faithfulness
of the Network Dioceses and all of the other congregations and
communities of faithful Anglicans in North America. In addition, we
commend the members of the Anglican Network in Canada for their
commitment to historic, biblical faith and practice. We value their
courage and consistent witness. We are also pleased by the emergence
of a wider circle of 'Windsor Dioceses' and urge all of them to walk
more closely together and deliberately work towards the unity that
Christ enjoins. We are aware that a growing number of congregations
are receiving oversight from dioceses in the Global South and in
recent days we have received requests to provide Alternative Primatial
Oversight for a number of dioceses. This is an unprecedented situation
in our Communion that has not been helped by the slow response from
the Panel of Reference. After a great deal of prayer and deliberation,
and in order to support these faithful Anglican dioceses and parishes,
we have come to agreement on the following actions:

a. We have asked the Global South Steering Committee to meet with the
leadership of the dioceses requesting Alternative Primatial Oversight,
in consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Network and the
'Windsor Dioceses', to investigate their appeal in greater detail and
to develop a proposal identifying the ways by which the requested
Primatial oversight can be adequately provided.

b. At the next meeting of the Primates in February 2007 some of us
will not be able to recognize Katharine Jefferts Schori as a Primate
at the table with us. Others will be in impaired communion with her as
a representative of The Episcopal Church. Since she cannot represent
those dioceses and congregations who are abiding by the teaching of
the Communion we propose that another bishop, chosen by these
dioceses, be present at the meeting so that we might listen to their
voices during our deliberations.

c. We are convinced that the time has now come to take initial steps
towards the formation of what will be recognized as a separate
ecclesiastical structure of the Anglican Communion in the USA. We have
asked the Global South Steering Committee to develop such a proposal
in consultation with the appropriate instruments of unity of the
Communion. We understand the serious implications of this
determination. We believe that we would be failing in our apostolic
witness if we do not make this provision for those who hold firmly to
a commitment to historic Anglican faith.

11. While we are concerned about the challenges facing our Anglican
structures we are also very much aware that these issues can be a
distraction from the work of the Gospel. At our meeting in Kigali we
invested a great deal of our time on the day-to-day challenges that
confront our various Churches including poverty eradication, HIV/AIDS,
peace building and church planting. We were enormously encouraged by
the reports of growth and vitality in the many different settings
where we live and serve.

12. We received a preliminary report from the Theological Formation
and Education (TFE) Task Force. We were pleased to hear of their plans
to provide opportunities for theological formation from the most basic
catechism to graduate level training for new and existing Anglican
leaders. We request that all Global South provinces share their
existing Catechisms and other educational resources with the TFE Task
Force for mutual enrichment. We were pleased by their determination to
network with other theological institutions and theologians in the
Global South as well as with scholars and seminaries who share a
similar vision for theological education that is faithful to Scripture
and tradition.

13. We were blessed by the presence of a number of Economic Officers
(Advisors) from around the Communion. Their determination to find
creative ways to offer means of Economic Empowerment at various levels
throughout the provinces of the Global South was an inspiration to all
of us and resulted in the issuing of a separate summary statement. We
note especially their proposed Ethical Economic and Financial Covenant
that we adopted as Primates and commended for adoption at all levels
of our Provinces. We were impressed by their vision and fully support
their proposal to convene an Economic Empowerment consultation in 2007
with participation invited from every Global South Province.

14. We received 'The Road to Lambeth,' a draft report commissioned by
the Primates of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA)
which they have commended to their churches for study and response. It
highlights the crisis that now confronts us as we consider the future
of the Lambeth Conference. We commend this report for wider
reflection.

15. We were challenged by a presentation on the interface between
Christianity and Islam and the complex issues that we must now
confront at every level of our societies throughout the Global South.
We recognized the need for a more thorough education and explored a
number of ways that allow us to be faithful disciples to Jesus Christ
while respecting the beliefs of others. We condemn all acts of
violence in the name of any religion.

16. Throughout our time together in Kigali we have not only shared in
discussions such as these we have also spent time together in table
fellowship, prayer and worship. We are grateful that because of the
time that we have shared our lives have been strengthened and our love
for Christ, His Church and His world confirmed. Accordingly, we pray
for God's continued blessing on all members of our beloved Communion
that we might all be empowered to continue in our mission to a needy
and troubled world.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before
his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only
God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude
1:24-25)

* Provinces Represented:

Bangladesh**, Burundi, Central Africa, Church of South India, Congo,
Indian Ocean, Jerusalem and Middle East, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria,
Philippines**, Rwanda, Southern Africa, South East Asia, Southern
Cone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, West Indies (** Not
present but represented)