“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV11)

This message proclaimed by the apostle Peter to those who were trying to silence the message about Jesus Christ.   It is also the message that faithful Christians of the Church of Ireland continue to proclaim today.

Tim Anderson, the chairman of Gafcon Ireland, has written to Gafcon Ireland’s supporters expressing gospel partnership with others in the Church of Ireland Ireland who have made a bold stand, contending for the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.

This action was prompted by an address from “a Christian pulpit” by an Islamic politician at an event held by Waterford Cathedral.  The location of the address as “a Christian pulpit” was emphasised by both the diocesan press release and the address itself.  This was not a lecture.  This was a sermon! 

Waterford Cathedral

This event – publicised and promoted by the Church of Ireland diocese of Cashel, Ferns and Ossary – gave the “misleading impression that the Bible and the Quran are different books by the same author.”

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident in the islands that contain the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.  St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast held a service in which prayers were offered by leaders of other faiths, and the Church Times recently reported the invitation of an imam to preach at a service of the Lord’s Supper in St Mary’s Church in Oxford (England).

The Gafcon Ireland letter is both an encouragement and an example for the faithful Anglicans of our global Gafcon movement!  It shows how the wonderful doctrine of Christ’s uniqueness is founded in scripture, reflected in the Thirty Nine articles, and proclaimed in the Gafcon 2018 “Letter to the Churches”.

Please pray for the ongoing work of Gafcon Ireland, asking our Almighty God for:

• humility as we sense again our own need for forgiveness and repentance
• more opportunities to partner with like-minded believers as we “contend for the faith once for all delivered for the saints” (Jude 3)
• for affirmation and proclamation of the historic gospel by bishops of the Church of Ireland and by its synods in the face of such actions
• corporate and personal repentance for allowing this event to be hosted
• salvation for all those lost in the teachings of Islam - asking God that they would join us in submitting to Jesus Christ as the only Lord and saviour
• support and growth of gospel mission on the island of Ireland, where the need is desperate!

Gafcon Ireland is the local branch of the global Gafcon movement in Ireland.  Its mission is to be faithful to the unchanging, transforming gospel of Jesus Christ and proclaiming him in Ireland”.  Gafcon Ireland PROCLAIMS the gospel of Jesus Christ, PARTNERS with other believers, PLANTS new congregations, and PREPARES people for Christian ministry.