Having myself worshipped in one of the Anglican Churches in Cairns a couple of times over the last 4 years, I was interested to learn today that the roving GAFCON bishop in Australia (former Anglican Bishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies) has welcomed into his ‘Diocese of the Southern Cross’ another former Anglican parish congregation; from Cairns, Australia, whose Vicar, Trevor Saggers, has taken a group of his more conservative parishioners with him into the small, newly-formed GAFCON-sponsored entity, which now consists of just 3 former ACA parishes. to form the GAFCON Diocese of The Southern Cross.
Implicit in the news – from the Sydney Diocesan ‘Anglican Church League’s website – is the fact that not all of the parishioners have agreed to the schismatic move away from their original ACA parish church. This means, of course, that the original church buildings will not be handed over to the new entity: Northern Hope Anglican Church, which entity will now have to be responsible for its own worship centre – assisted, perhaps by money from the Anglican Diocese of Sydney.
There can now be little doubt that the Sydney Diocese of the national ACA is part and parcel of GAFCON’s move to alienate its protestant evangelical followers from the national Church. This does pose a practical problem for the Anglican Church in Australia – not just because Sydney is the largest (some might even say the most powerful) diocese of ACA. it also has at its disposal the proceeds of an historical endowment fund which, not so long ago, funded a million-dollar challenge to the Australian Federal Government’s intention to introduce Same-Sex Marriage legislation throughout Australia. That this expenditure of diocesan funds failed to prevent the passing of the legislation, must have angered Sydney Bishops to the extent that they are now more determined than ever to assist the largely Global South Movement (GAFCON) to further its ‘Sola Scriptura’ theological stance on gender and sexuality issues, which the broader Anglican Church – in Australia and in other countries around the world – wants to clarify as being neither anti-Christian nor against a biblical hermeneutical process; allowing a much more pastoral, and broader, understanding of the place of LGBTQI people in the world of our day.
Father Ron Smith, Christchurch, New Zealand
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Northern Hope Anglican Church joins Diocese of the Southern Cross
Posted on January 11, 2023
Filed under Diocese of the Southern Cross (
As of January 2023, Northern Hope Anglican Church in Cairns is the third church to join the Diocese of the Southern Cross. Northern Hope is meeting under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Trevor Saggers.
Please uphold these churches, and Bishop Glenn Davies, bishop of the diocese, in your prayers.
Further from GAFCON:
Northern Hope Anglican Church Launched in Queensland
After 23 years of ministry at a parish church in Cairns, Australia, the Reverend Trevor Saggers decided enough was enough, when his bishop, among other things, was unable to support the Bible’s teaching on same-sex relationships.
When a motion was put to the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia in May 2022 affirming the Bible’s teaching on marriage and declaring the blessing of same-sex marriages to be contrary to the Bible’s teaching, the Bishop of North Queensland could not vote in favour of such a statement. Sadly, he was not alone among the House of Bishops, as a majority of 12 bishops voted against the motion, thus preventing the adoption of the statement addressing the faith of the Church, despite a majority of lay and clerical members of the General Synod voting in favour.
This action precipitated, in part, the formation of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, an extra provincial diocese within Australia, as a lifeboat for faithful Anglicans to join, when they felt they could no longer serve under the jurisdiction of a bishop who did not faithfully teach the doctrine of Christ and his apostles.
On Sunday, 8th January 2023, Bishop Glenn Davies commissioned the Reverend Trevor Saggers as the pastor of Northern Hope Anglican Church and welcomed 120 people who gathered in a rented hall with their pastor to form a new Anglican congregation in Cairns, the third Member Church of the Diocese of the Southern Cross. …”
Kiwianglo's Blog 
Thanks, Fr Ron.
One observation. I think we need to look past the bible rhetoric. The whole purpose of this exercise is twofold.
First is to punish the Bishop of North Queensland. Keith Joseph has been a very effective critic of the GAFCON project, pointing out the problems with their theology and the inherent weaknesses of their ecclesiology. This new entity is effectively about parking a tank on his front lawn after he gave good reasons for not supporting the Sydney motions about marriage at the last General Synod.
Second, you have to ask why we’re seeing the Diocese of the Southern Cross take physical shape with secessions in QLD but nowhere else. Queenslanders have a pretty unique attitude towards authority. Stories will undoubtedly emerge about longstanding issues with the departing minister being a thorn in the side of middle and senior managers. But this aligns with the contrarian character of QLD politics, which tends away from the mainstream of other states. It’s the only way to explain how Peter Dutton can hold a seat in Brisbane while the next door electorate has gone to the Greens. I think similar dynamics could be mapped with church politics.
Good comment, Kieran!
Shades of Queensland’s Bjelke-Peterson’s regime!