The NAIROBI-CAIRO PROPOSALS

Who commissioned the proposals? 

The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals are the result of a long-term piece of work, commissioned at the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-18) in 2023. A sub-group of IASCUFO was set up to do a renewed exploration of “structure and decision-making to help address our differences in the Anglican Communion.” 

The ACC resolution underlined “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.” 

The work also carries forward the call of the 2022 Lambeth Conference to review the Instruments of Communion, and to seek to answer two questions: “To what extent are the Instruments fit for purpose? To what extent might some (or all) of the Instruments be reconfigured to serve the Communion of today and the future?” 

A review and reimagining of the Instruments has long been called for, by the Archbishop of Canterbury and his three predecessors during their terms of service. 

The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals and the Primates’ Meeting in 2024 

A draft of the paper was presented to the Primates’ Meeting in Rome in April 2024, and was revised in conversation with the Primates’ Standing Committee, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the whole of the Standing Committee of the ACC. The Primates shared responses to the report in their communique. Read it here.

What is IASCUFO? 

IASCUFO is the Inter Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order. It is one of the main places where the Anglican Communion does its theological and ecclesiological reflection. It is a permanent commission of the Anglican Communion and reports to the Instruments of Communion. 

IASCUFO is supported by the Anglican Communion Office and chaired by Bishop Graham Tomlin of the Church of England. Its membership is composed of a diverse group from across the Anglican Communion, incorporating a range of viewpoints from Africa, Asia, South and North America, Europe, and Australia. 

What are the proposals about? 

To reflect the diversity and breadth of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals suggest shifts in how the Anglican Communion is defined and organised, “to account for changes of the last century” and encourage “a maximal sharing in leadership”. 

They urge the churches of the Anglican Communion to reclaim their oldest ideals, founded in Scripture and the ancient faith of the Church, and to respond properly to God’s gift and call of unity in Christ, even when that unity is wounded by disagreement and division. The paper seeks to help Anglicans speak “honestly and directly” and to consider several structural adjustments “to encourage a more sustained equality, mutuality, and flourishing of all member churches.”

It is important to read the Nairobi-Cairo document in full to understand the proposals. The report offers two proposals summarised as:

• Proposal 1 – Updating the definition of the Anglican Communion 

  The first proposal offers an updated statement (for the first time since 1930) of the nature and status of the Anglican Communion, a statement that reflects the “maturing of the 42 sister churches of the Communion.” 
  
  The proposed hopeful description states that (1) the churches of the Communion seek to uphold and propagate the Catholic and Apostolic faith and order, as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer; (2) they are properly autonomous, rooted in their various localities; and (3) they remain bound together in four respects: “through their shared inheritance, mutual service, common counsel in conference, and historic connection with the See of Canterbury.” The latter four characteristics “capture the present reality and ideals of the churches of the Communion, by which they seek to foster the highest degree of communion” with one another and with all churches and communities of the Universal Church.

• Proposal 2 – Broadening how the meetings of the Instruments of the Communion are led 

  The second proposal suggests broadening how the meetings of the Instruments of Communion are called, convened, chaired, and presided over, in order to diversify the face of the Instruments of Communion. 

  This includes “a rotating presidency of the Anglican Consultative Council between the five regions of the Communion, elected from the membership of the Primates’ Meeting by the same; and an enhanced role for the Primates’ Standing Committee in the calling and convening of both Primates’ Meetings and the Lambeth Conference.” These suggestions “fit with the identity and ideals of the Anglican Communion in a post-colonial era. The leadership of the Communion should look like the Communion.” 

What are the Instruments of the Anglican Communion? 

In the Anglican Communion, the ‘Instruments’ are the Lambeth Conference, The Primates Meeting, the Anglican Consultative Council and The Archbishop of Canterbury. Each emerged at a different point in history, as the Anglican family of churches has sought to articulate and deepen its faith and order, in service of wider Christian unity. They all play a role in aiding Anglicans discuss priorities and issues of common concern. They are intended to work for unity and dialogue in the life of the Communion.  

The Right Revd Dr Graham Tomlin
Chair of IASCUFO

“The varied input that we have received has reflected the breadth of perspectives that may be found in the Anglican Communion on the issues that divide us, and the composition of our own Commission reflects the same breadth. Accordingly, we have sought in our meetings to speak frankly, to protect one another’s conscience, and to cultivate a patient charity in discerning next faithful steps. All together, we present the following paper as the product of deep listening and honesty across theological and cultural difference. It proposes a way forward that all members of the Commission are able to commend. I am grateful to the members of the Commission for the generosity of spirit and resilience that they brought to our discussions.”

The Right Revd Anthony Poggo
Secretary General of the Anglican Communion

“The Anglican Consultative Council commissioned IASCUFO’s work in 2023. The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals are the result of international collaboration, representing diverse voices from around the Communion. They are offered to strengthen our global Anglican family. I pray that they will be received with prayerful consideration in the months ahead.”

The Most Revd Dr Samy Shehata
Primate of the Province of Alexandria and IASCUFO member

“As we navigate the complexities of our future as Anglicans, we will do well to remember the importance of empathy, understanding, and collaboration. IASCUFO’s Nairobi-Cairo Proposals is a historical document for such a time as this. It lays the groundwork to continue in fellowship. Even in moments of disagreement, there is always an opportunity for dialogue and mutual respect. I pray for open hearts and minds in seeking common ground and solutions that benefit us all.”

The Revd Dr Katherine Sonderegger
Professor of Theology at Virginia Theological Seminary and IASCUFO member

“The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals exhort us as churches and as a Communion to ‘wait for one another,’ and to seek, under the Spirit’s guidance, the highest form of communion possible among us. The proposals give us the next steps forward, a glimpse of a new, more diverse Communion that will nurture our churches in the midst of serious division. May it be a sign of healing, of reconciliation, and renewal!”