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Conservatives split from Australian Anglican church over LGBTQ issues

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A contingent of conservatives who oppose same-sex marriage has separated from the Australian Anglican church to launch a new denomination called the Diocese of the Southern Cross, Church Leaders reports.

The separation is another division in the Anglican church over LGBTQ acceptance, as the denomination has seen similar splits in New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, and the US.

Glenn Davies, the head of the new diocese and former archbishop of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia, said the Southern Cross would be shut down if the Anglican leadership would “repent” and “turn back to the teachings of the Bible.”

In an August 18 statement about the split, the head of the Anglican Church of Australia, Primate Geoffrey Smith, said: “This company, while established by some members of the Anglican Church of Australia and structured to mirror some of the characteristics of an Anglican diocese, has no formal or informal relationship or connection with the Anglican Church of Australia.”

The Southern Cross is part of the Global Anglican Future Conference, a conservative movement within the Anglican Communion formed in 2008, Church Leaders said. According to its website, the Southern Cross is “a new Anglican diocese made up of churches all across Australia dedicated to faithfully proclaiming the gospel…It’s never been more important to stand together and hold to biblical convictions so that we can see healthy, growing & faithful churches.”

Concerning the launch of the Southern Cross, Davies told the Guardian: “This is a sad day, in many ways. If the leadership would repent and turn back to the teachings of the Bible, we wouldn’t need the Diocese of Southern Cross. I’d shut it down and come back.”