Archbishop Peter Akinola writes an Open letter to
Archbishop Robin Eames, Primate of All Ireland
16th October, 2005

The Most Revd Dr. R.H.A. Eames
Primate of All Ireland
Archbishop of Armagh

Dear Robin,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have noted with profound sadness your recent pronouncements in Virginia, Washington, DC, and Connecticut about the actions of the Church of Nigeria. I was surprised by the harsh tone of your remarks and also that you have chosen to address me personally in a remarkably one-sided conversation through the media. You have always been the one to advocate careful, mutual listening and I wonder about the reason for this sudden change of behaviour. Since, however, you have chosen a public forum for your remarks I will respond accordingly.

Let me say again that the recent actions of the Church of Nigeria were not the “preemptive strike” of a single voice but rather the deliberate, prayerful and unanimous action of the more than 800 members of our General Synod. It was, and is, our intention to make clear our commitment to the faith once delivered to the Saints as expressed in historic Anglicanism and its traditional formularies at a time when these understandings are being challenged and distorted. If you read our recent statements more carefully you will see that we are not making up our own faith nor are we asking others to submit to our own interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. We have made it clear that if others choose to redefine the Faith that we once held in common, and walk alone they will do so without us because we will not, we dare not, follow them. Your comments about a ‘Provincial only’ view of the Faith are precisely what we are seeking to avoid, whereas that is exactly what your friends in ECUSA are seeking to impose upon the rest of the Communion. The rest at titusonenine