The Australian Church Record (ACR) is deeply grieved by the recent remarks made by the Archbishop of Canterbury in “The Rest is Politics” podcast episode released on 21 October 2024. In the context of the current turbulence in the Church of England over matters related to human sexuality, Archbishop Justin Welby stated that “All sexual activity should be within a committed relationship and whether its straight or gay.” (51:49). Despite the subsequent Lambeth Palace statement issued on 22 October 2024 which defended this interview as merely Archbishop Welby’s “personal view”, this remark represents a serious and public breach of biblical orthodoxy from the most senior representative of world Anglicanism.
Not only has Archbishop Welby undermined the traditional and biblical norm that sexual activity is for man and woman in the context of marriage. He has also articulated a new sexual ethic which affirms the moral rectitude of same-sex sexual activity within certain contexts, and which replaces marriage with the looser category of “committed relationship” as the proper home for sexual activity. The Lambeth Palace statement reveals that this position regarding sexual intimacy is held by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and many other bishops. Such a position places them at odds not only with the official teaching of the Church of England but also the majority of global Anglicans. Indeed, it is contrary to the teaching of Holy Scripture on the sins of porneia (Jn. 8:41; Acts 15:20; Rom. 1:29) and homosexual activity (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
The ACR encourages prayer for faithful Anglicans in the Church of England who rejoice in Jesus Christ’s call to “Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk. 1:15) and who fully accept the Apostle Paul’s trustworthy saying, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Indeed, the ACR calls upon the Archbishop of Canterbury to remember his consecration vows to teach the doctrine of Christ, to refute error, and to hand on the entire faith that has been entrusted to him. The ACR longs for the Archbishop of Canterbury to repent of his affirmation of what God calls sin, and to teach the gospel such that sinners may enter the kingdom of God and confidently know, “That is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:11).