ACC-18 Resolutions

RESOLUTIONS
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The Anglican Consultative Council met for the eighteenth time in 2023 in Accra, Ghana. ACC-18 was the first meeting of the Council held in West Africa since ACC-6, and its agenda spanned mission, ecumenical relationships, governance, and the ongoing work of the Communion’s networks and commissions.

The following 29 resolutions and 8 statements of support were endorsed by members of the Anglican Consultative Council during the ACC-18 plenary meeting. The statements of support address urgent humanitarian, ecological, and geopolitical concerns raised by members at the time of the meeting. Download the full ACC-18 Resolutions and Statements of Support document using the button alongside, or expand each item below.

The Anglican Consultative Council encourages the Evangelism and Discipleship Commission to identify and promote resources to encourage and facilitate the giving of testimony of the transformation through the Good News in the lives of our Church members.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. gives thanks for the work of Theological Education department (TEAC) at the Anglican Communion Office over the last five years, and in particular expresses its thanks to St Augustine’s Foundation, Canterbury, for the financial support that made this possible;

2. welcomes and is glad to launch the new video-based learning resource ‘Renewing the Life of the Earth: Ecotheology Resources’, commending it for use in theological education programmes in churches and seminaries across the Anglican Communion;

3. welcomes and endorses the establishing of the new Commission for Theological Education in the Anglican Communion (CTEAC) as it takes forward and extends the work of TEAC over the next five years.

Recognising the priority of building a safe church throughout the Anglican Communion, the Anglican Consultative Council:

1. commits itself to making the safety of all persons in the provinces of the Anglican Communion a priority of its focus, resource allocation and actions;

2. requests the Safe Church Commission, in consultation with the Secretary General, to continue to provide safeguarding resources and training to the provinces;

3. amends the definition of “vulnerable adult” in the ‘Guidelines to enhance the safety of all persons – especially children, young people and vulnerable adults’ – within the provinces of the Anglican Communion, so that it reads: “Vulnerable adult means an adult who has any relationship with a church worker where there is an intrinsic imbalance of power, which is capable of being exploited or taken advantage of by the church worker to the detriment of the adult. The imbalance of power may be increased by the circumstances of the adult such as where they: o are ministered to in their home; o are dependent on one or more persons for support such as in the case of an accident, illness or birth of a child; o experience a life crisis or natural disaster, such as the death of a family member or loss of employment, or loss of home and possessions; o through poverty, war or civil strife, displacement, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender, or other social and cultural factors have a diminished ability to protect themselves from abuse; or o have an intellectual or physical disability, mental illness or other impairment”;

4. encourages member churches and agencies to use and implement the International Anglican Safe Church Commission Charter and Guidelines; and

5. Requests that the Commission for Theological Education in the Anglican Communion, in consultation with the Secretary General, to develop resources around the theology of safeguarding.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. Welcomes the proposal from the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) to explore theological questions regarding structure and decision-making to help address our differences in the Anglican Communion;

2. Affirms the importance of seeking to walk together to the highest degree possible, and learning from our ecumenical conversations how to accommodate differentiation patiently and respectfully;

3. Asks IASCUFO for any proposals that may impact the ACC constitution to be brought for full discussion to ACC-19; and

4. asks IASCUFO to proceed with this work and report its progress to the Instruments of Communion.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. recognises the extraordinary pressures placed on families and communities by the Covid pandemic, conflict, and other recent and ongoing crises and laments the increases in domestic violence during this time;

2. commends the work of Churches of the Communion in supporting and encouraging families and communities as agents of mission over the past three years;

3. commends the work done by the International Anglican Family Network (IAFN) and other Communion networks to help churches celebrate and support families and young people; and

4. encourages the Churches of the Communion to appoint representatives to engage with IAFN in consultations, regional networks, and sharing of information and expertise.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. notes progress made on ACC Resolution 17:07 ‘Towards an Anglican Health Network’ and celebrates the creation and effectiveness of the Anglican Health and Community Network as a key mark of our Anglican mission;

2. affirms the ongoing value of bringing together practitioners, church leaders and academics from across the Communion to inform practice, advocate for health equity, and provide a coordinated Anglican voice on key health issues;

3. calls on the AHCN to continue challenging unjust systems which create vast differences in health outcomes and access; and

4. encourages the Churches of the Communion to appoint representatives to engage with AHCN to support the creation of collaborative initiatives.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes ‘The Principles of Canon Law Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion, 2nd Edition’, and thanks the Legal Advisors’ Network for its work;

2. commends The Principles to the Churches of the Anglican Communion for study and use, and encourages Member Churches to engage with the Network and use it as a resource in dealing with legal issues as they arise;

3. encourages the Churches of the Communion to draw on the Network when new Member Churches are created;

4. encourages all Churches to keep their canons under review in the light of The Principles; and

5. affirms the continuation and development of the work of the Legal Advisors’ Network, including by fostering reading groups, and exploring the possibility of a Library of Anglican Canon Law.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the publication of the report ‘The Liturgical Formation of all the Baptised’, and thanks the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation for its work;

2. commends the report to the Churches of the Anglican Communion for study, action and response; and

3. encourages the Churches of the Communion to participate in the membership and work of the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the work done to create the Anglican Communion Calendar Sampler;

2. affirms the importance of Calendars in our Churches and commends the principles for the revision of Calendars;

3. ask the Churches of the Communion to submit names of their holy women and men to the Secretary General so that an Anglican Communion Calendar may be created by the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation and the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order; and

4. recommends that the Calendar be offered for use by the Churches, and that this be reviewed at ACC-19.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the paper from the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation and the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order, ‘Virtual Communion and the Covid-19 Pandemic’;

2. commends the report to the Churches of the Anglican Communion for study and response; and

3. encourages the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation to reflect further on the liturgical life of the Churches of the Communion, and the particular significance of the Eucharist.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the publication of ‘God So Loved the World’ as a contribution to Anglican reflection on the nature of the human person as created in God’s image, and the nature of the Church as a Christformed community of faith by grace;

2. commends the report to the Churches of the Anglican Communion for study, action and response; and

3. affirms the need for continuing Anglican reflection in these fields, to meet the many anthropological and ecclesiological questions still before us.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the publication of ‘Anglican Communion: Unity Faith and Order, 2008–2022’;

2. commends the report to the Churches of the Anglican Communion for study, action and response; and

3. affirms the continuing work of Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO), as an important place in which the Anglican Communion reflects on its vocation of communion, its faith and its structures, both between Anglicans and with other Christian churches.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the publication of the Agreed Statement of the International Commission for AnglicanOrthodox Theological Dialogue, ‘Dying Well, Living Well: Our Sure and Certain Hope’, as a shared statement of Anglican and Orthodox understandings of end-of-life matters; a statement that rejects ‘assisted dying’ and promotes a fuller debate to ensure the best possible life for every human person at every age;

2. commends the report to the Churches of the Communion for study, action and response; and

3. affirms the continuing work of the International Commission in its exploration of contemporary ethical issues in light of the Buffalo Statement, ‘In the Image and Likeness of God: A Hope-Filled Anthropology’.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the publication of the Agreed Statement of the International Reformed-Anglican Dialogue (IRAD), ‘Koinonia: God’s Gift and Calling’;

2. commends the report to the Churches of the Communion for study, action and response; and

3. affirms the importance of continued deepening relations with the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the publication of the Agreed Statement of the International Commission for Anglican– Orthodox Theological Dialogue, ‘Stewards of Creation: A Hope-Filled Ecology’ as a shared statement of Anglican and Orthodox understandings of the stewardship of creation that promotes temperance in our use of God’s gifts;

2. commends the report to the Churches of the Communion for study, action and response; and

3. affirms the continuing work of the International Commission and encourages the exploration of contemporary ethical issues surrounding the deleterious effects of the exploitation and abuse of creation on the future of the planet and the quality of human life for ourselves and those who come after us.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. welcomes the publication of the Agreed Statement of the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox International Commission, ‘The Inheritance of Ecumenical Councils’;

2. commends the report to the Churches of the Communion for study, action and response; and

3. affirms the continuing work of the International Commission in its exploration of authority in the Church.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. affirms the role of young people in God’s mission of reconciliation as articulated in the fourth Mark of Mission;

2. encourages the Churches of the Communion to: a. nurture the hopes of young people by creating space for listening and responding to young people’s hurts and generational pain, and empowering their full participation in reconciliation initiatives; and b. engage with the reconciliation initiatives developed by the Anglican Communion Youth Network and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Reconciliation Team; and

3. requests that ACC-19 includes a specific occasion to celebrate young people’s contribution to reconciliation.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. expresses its deep gratitude to all who facilitated this Council’s visit to Cape Coast Castle and the hospitality offered by the Diocese of Cape Coast;

2. laments the widespread historic involvement of the Church in the slave trade and other forms of colonisation around the world from the 17th to the 19th centuries, the impacts of which are still being felt across the Communion;

3. grieves the abject failure to see the image of God in all human beings represented by involvement in and profiting from slavery, a failure which continues in many places and many ways to this day, making a mockery of the life and teachings of Jesus (Luke 4: 16 – 19);

4. recognises the visit to Cape Coast Castle and the ensuing reconciliation service serves as an invitation to deeper historical investigation, education and theological reflection across the Communion; and

5. accordingly, calls on the Churches of the Communion to work with the Anglican Communion Office to build on work already underway in parts of the Communion to devise a programme of work that seeks to address past damage and combat modern manifestations of this evil.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. endorses the principle of multilingual translations of Anglican Communion resources;

2. commends the Anglican Communion Office for its developing work in this area and encourages them to consider additional languages, including Swahili, Arabic and Japanese; and

3. requests that a review of historical documents is undertaken to ensure that, where appropriate, translated versions are made available to assist greater understanding of the Communion.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. affirms the International Anglican Women’s Network as a global voice for promoting unity among women and men, girls and boys;

2. commends the 15th Lambeth Conference for the many leadership roles that ordained and lay women held in plenaries, seminars, and worship;

3. sustains its condemnation of gender-based violence and abuse (ACC 15.07) and other ways in which women and girls are denigrated; and

4. requests the Churches of the Communion to: a. use the International Anglican Women’s Network to improve the future of women and girls through leadership development and activism and appoint a provincial link to the International Anglican Women’s Network and the Director for Gender Justice by ACC-19; b. work towards the implementation of the resolutions on gender justice (ACC 15:07, ACC 16:02 and 16.03, and ACC 17:02 and 17.03); and c. foster leadership among both women and men to teach understandings of masculinity and femininity that model the Christian belief that all are equally created in the divine image.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. affirms that gender justice is crucial to bringing about transformation, reconciliation, peace and unity;

2. recognises the global pandemic of gender-based violence, and specifically domestic abuse, as an affront to God, and a sin;

3. values and commends the Anglican Communion’s work on gender justice since ACC-17, including resources developed to help churches to bring an end to domestic abuse and other forms of genderbased violence and addressing these topics during the 15th Lambeth Conference; and

4. requests the Churches of the Communion to: a. pursue justice through working to bring an end to gender-based violence and abuse, including work with others to provide trauma-informed response to survivors; b. involve men and boys in embracing and teaching forms of masculinity rooted in Christian values of love and mutual respect and use study materials such as God’s Justice: Theology and Gender Based Violence in dioceses and churches to help create awareness and transformation; and c. report to ACC-19 on progress made in gender justice.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. affirms progress made on ACC 17-11 through the significant contribution of the Churches of the Communion and agencies of the Anglican Communion towards achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reflecting the Five Marks of Mission;

2. recognises the challenges to achieving the SDGs, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic and climate crisis, including the increase in gender-based violence, and encourages the Churches of the Communion to engage in further partnerships in delivering the SDGs;

3. encourages the Churches of the Communion to use related Anglican Communion Office and Anglican Alliance resources, including the contextual bible studies, Reimagining Our World Together, on the Five Marks of Mission and the SDGs; and

4. encourages the Churches of the Communion to continue and deepen their engagement with the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. notes that the ‘Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty’ (to stop the increase of fossil fuel projects) offers a practical way to live out the fifth Mark of Mission in response to the climate crisis.

2. supports the Treaty and requests the Secretary General to sign the Treaty on behalf of ACC; and

3. encourages primates and bishops to sign on behalf of the Churches and dioceses of the Communion and advocate their governments to halt new gas and oil exploration.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. recognises that the integrity of creation is under threat and at risk of collapse; and there is urgent need to reduce our carbon footprint and protect biodiversity;

2. affirms the potential of the Communion Forest initiative launched as a legacy of the 2022 Lambeth Conference;

3. invites Churches of the Communion to join in this initiative to be ambitious in using their Godgiven assets; to weave creation care into the spiritual and liturgical life of the Church; and

4. commends the collaboration of the Anglican Alliance and Anglican Communion Environmental Network, and encourages Churches of the Communion to share with them information about their existing and new activities.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. acknowledges the importance of increasing resilience to more frequent and severe disasters;

2. laments that the most vulnerable are disproportionately impacted by disasters, including poor and marginalised communities, the elderly, women and girls, indigenous people, refugees, migrants, and youth;

3. commends the Partners in Resilience and Response as a global Anglican initiative to help Churches build their resilience and capacity for disaster preparedness and response, also offering a means of support to local churches in times of disaster, when their capacity is overwhelmed;

4. affirms the role of the Anglican Alliance, Churches of the Communion and their agencies in facilitating this initiative and encourages Churches to participate in it.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. believes that more must be done by those responsible for climate change to support the resilience and recovery of those most vulnerable to its impacts, especially poor and marginalised communities, women, young and elderly people, and indigenous peoples;

2. commends the United Nations’ Climate Summit COP27 in November 2022 for establishing a Loss and Damage Fund facility, through which the wealthier and greater historic contributors to climate change will financially support developing countries to recover from climate disasters;

3. encourages the Churches of the Communion to use the Anglican Communion UNFCCC COP26 Policy Paper and the COP27 update to advocate for climate justice; and

4. requests the Anglican Alliance and the Anglican Communion Environmental Network to research and propose potential models and means for this work and to report to the ACC Standing Committee in 2024.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. receives with joy the report that the Anglican Communion Youth Network has been renewed as mandated in resolution ACC 16:34, and encourages the Churches of the Communion to engage with the Network;

2. celebrates the importance of young people in God’s mission and encourages the Churches of the Communion to explore ways of overcoming the gaps between children’s, youth and adult ministries, and consider investing in youth and leadership development programmes; and

3. requests the ACYN to research the status of youth development work in the Communion; and requests the Secretary General to explore ways of deepening the involvement of the ACYN in the wider life of the Communion.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. acknowledges the significant social and economic hardship experienced by many young people around the world;

2. recognises that the housing crises impacts the next generation the hardest, resulting in youth homelessness and the struggle of young workers to find accommodation in proximity to their work; and

3. encourages the Churches of the Communion, in consultation with Anglican Alliance and the ACYN, to consider creative ways in which they can support and invest in young people through education, vocational skills, employment and safe housing.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. recalls with joy resolution ACC 16:35 which increased youth representation on the ACC but acknowledges the need for the participation of young people in the selection of their representatives on the Anglican Consultative Council; and

2. requests the ACC Standing Committee, in consultation with relevant bodies, to review the mechanism for appointing additional Youth Members; to consider the possibility of re-appointing them on completion of their term to facilitate continuity; and to make any necessary changes to the Schedule of the ACC Constitution.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. marks with sorrow the earthquakes that have wrought devastation on Syria and Türkiye, destroying buildings, breaking families and ending lives;

2. calls on the Churches of the Communion to pray for those affected, made homeless in the cold of Winter and exposed to the new vulnerabilities, many still displaced and traumatised by the experiences on the Syrian civil war;

3. ask the Churches of the Communion to respond and join in with calls for aid and relief, and to support this assistance as they feel able; and

4. in prayer and advocacy encourage the international community to allow easy access for aid to flow into the country of Syria, regardless of existing restrictions and whomever is in control of the places where there is need.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. acknowledges the various drivers of global migration and displacement; and condemns the demonising of Internally Displaced Persons, refugees, asylum seekers, victims of trafficking and economic migrants who are all made in the image and likeness of God;

2. commends the work of the Churches of the Communion to support refugees through sponsorship schemes, and the efforts being made to respond to those in need;

3. calls on the Churches of the Communion to cooperate inter-regionally, inter-provincially and ecumenically to support safe migration, through education and welcome.

In solidarity with our siblings in Christ in the Holy Land, the Anglican Consultative Council:

1. expresses its grave concern over the recent warning by the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem that Christians in the Holy Land “have increasingly faced assaults on their Free Exercise of Religion” (Christmas Message, 2022);

2. conveys to the Churches in Jerusalem both its members’ sorrow and outrage over fringe Jewish extremist attacks against Christian sacred places, institutions, and members of the faithful themselves since the start of 2023;

3. professes its lament that Christian youth are increasingly leaving the Holy Land for more hospitable countries that offer greater opportunities;

4. stands in solidarity with these indigenous Christian youth and their families; and

5. calls upon the Churches of the Communion to advocate before the relevant governing authorities for the protection of the Christian presence in the Holy Land, and the maintenance of the religious status quo, encouraging them to promote an environment of safety, mutual respect, and religious tolerance between the three Abrahamic Faiths that each hold Jerusalem and its associated lands sacred.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. expresses its deep regret over the moribund state of the stalled peace process between Israel and Palestine, thereby extending Israel’s military occupation over three million Palestinians in the West Bank into its 56th year, and the blockade of the two million Palestinian residents of Gaza into its 16th;

2. decries the increasing cycle of violence that has erupted between the two parties because of this serious lack of diplomatic engagement, thereby leading to hundreds of indiscriminate deaths, injuries, and imprisonments each year;

3. calls upon the Churches of the Communion to continue to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) and all the peoples of the Holy Land; and

4. appeals to these same Churches to advocate before the concerned parties, either directly or through their representative political leaders, for both the de-escalation of hostilities and the relaunching of a peace process based upon well-established principles of justice enshrined in international law – one leading to a fair and equitable Two-State Solution – so that a just and lasting peace might finally be established throughout the Holy Land.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. affirms its commitment to the rights of Indigenous peoples around the world in accordance with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

2. expresses deep regret for the negative consequences of colonisation that stripped Indigenous peoples of their agency, identity, languages, cultures and governance; demeaned their spiritual heritages; prohibited ceremonies and stole their land;

3. commits to pray with Indigenous peoples as they discern how to walk together with the whole Church in new ways that reflect Indigenous values and spiritual commitments;

4. commits to pray for non-Indigenous people across the Communion as they learn to recognise the full story of colonisation and the continuing consequences; and

5. commits to pray with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people as we learn together how the devastating effects of intergenerational trauma have shaped our relationships and affirms the liberating power of the Gospel as needed to bring freedom and fullness of life for all God’s people and creation.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. endorses the Statement of the bishops of Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America (IARCA) in solidarity with the people of Nicaragua, the Roman Catholic Church, political prisoners, and the Diocese of Nicaragua;

2. calls all the Churches of the Communion to join in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua, that they may live in peace and justice with respect for their dignity, and guarantees for their human rights;

3. expresses our support to the bishops of IARCA in their pastoral and prophetic efforts to raise a voice as a sign of hope for the people of Nicaragua.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. stands in solidarity with our brothers and Sisters within the East and Horn of Africa regions who are affected by the current droughts being experienced in the regions;

2. prays for the people whose lives and livelihoods are at risk of being wiped out; for the many children who are facing malnutrition and are unable to attend their education, for those who have lost their loved ones because of hunger; for those for whom the burden of drought adds to already present challenges such as insecurity, war and diseases; and for pastoralists whose livestock was wiped out by drought and are hopeless and traumatised; and

3. call partners to extend humanitarian assistance to those affected, and countries to demonstrate the urgency needed in responding to the climate crisis.

The Anglican Consultative Council:

1. decries the state of starvation, disease and near death in which the indigenous Yanomami forest dwellers of Brazil find themselves, especially women and children and multiple deaths that are linked to water pollution caused by mining and logging in the densely forested area;

2. stands in outrage alongside the people of faith and goodwill of Brazil for the utter lack of provision of basic health care and food security to the Yanomami and other indigenous peoples, especially during the pandemic;

3. strongly condemns the genocidal violence to which the Yanomami people were submitted and violence of any kind and against any indigenous community; and

4. stands in solidarity with the Church in Brazil as it advocates with the new government of Brazil to continue and expand the emergency actions that it began in recent weeks, with emphasis on restoring the health of the Yanomami people and all indigenous peoples and defending their constitutional rights , in accordance with the Christian commandment of love of neighbour.

Click the links below to read all the resolutions from each ACC in full: