|PIC1|The American Anglican Council (AAC) has praised the recent statement from the Global South Steering Committee urging The Episcopal Church (TEC) to repent and change to restore true communion to the worldwide Anglican Churches.

The statement is "a clear warning to both Presiding Bishop Schori and Archbishop Williams," said AAC President and CEO the Rev Canon David C. Anderson.

"The Global South and their 40 million congregants refuse to sit by and watch The Episcopal Church (TEC) defy Communion agreements and legally persecute those US parishes that wish to remain faithful to the Gospel and church teaching," Anderson added.

The Global South Primates recently urged TEC to reconsider its rejection of February's Dar Es Salaam Communiqué which requested the US Church to recommit to the Windsor Report, and called for TEC's "heartfelt repentance and genuine change" in order to restore true communion.

The statement also called the Anglican Church of Canada to task for their declaration that "same-sex blessing is not core doctrine" and their defiance of Windsor Report recommendations.

In addition, the statement made clear the Global South's intention to continue extending pastoral care to US-based churches and to make similar provisions for biblically faithful churches in Canada.

The statement also indicated the Global South's resolve to not attend next year's Lambeth conference unless the Archbishop of Canterbury reconsiders his Lambeth invitations and allows for discipline in the Communion and true reconciliation.

Anderson said the statement "is the best news and the clearest word we have received in a very long while."

The Global South Steering Committee reiterated the Primates' request for TEC to immediately suspend litigation against "congregations and individuals which wish to remain Anglican but are unable to do so within TEC".

It also alluded to a future where orthodox Anglican churches in the US have their own ecclesiastical structure separate from the Episcopal Church.

"This is more than a message of hope for weary Christians; this is a call to action from the Global South Primates. Our plan at the AAC is to act alongside the Global South and fellow orthodox Anglican Christians," Anderson said.