Bishop, Diocesan Leaders Participate in London ‘Unity, Faith and Order Seminar’

Having just passed the second anniversary of his consecration as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb is stepping even more fully into his role in the councils of both The Episcopal Church and the broader Anglican Communion. The bishop recently shared a deeper look at the global picture of the church with two established diocesan leaders: the Rev. Chris Rodriguez, rector of Trinity, Vero Beach; and the Rev. Stu Shelby, rector of All Saints, Winter Park. At the invitation of Dr. Christopher Wells, director of Unity, Faith and Order for the Anglican Communion, the three traveled to London for the “Unity, Faith and Order Seminar,” held May 6-8 at the Anglican Communion Office at St. Andrew’s House.

The purpose of the seminar was to pray together and to discuss some of the office’s strategic work, with special attention to Christian and Anglican unity and communion questions. The time together included a one-day seminar on the 44-page paper recently published by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order detailing its “Nairobi-Cairo Proposals.”

“I went because of the gracious invitation of the leaders at the Anglican Communion office and our partnership in support of their ministry,” Holcomb said. “And since they allowed me to bring other leaders in the diocese who care about fostering the relationship with the Anglican Communion, I wanted to bring Father Chris and Father Stu. They have both served the diocese in various capacities, and they both have established relationships in the global Anglican Communion.”

Background: Task Force

Closely connected to this trip is the news of Holcomb’s appointment by the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe to the Task Force on the Anglican Communion and Countering the Colonial Mindset; he will serve until General Convention in 2027. The mandate for the task force comes from Resolution A041 and Resolution A080 from GC81 in 2024.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on this task force established by General Convention,” Holcomb said. “The assignment reflects timely and significant work for The Episcopal Church. The task force will allow us to engage thoughtfully with both the theological and structural realities of our relationships within the wider Communion. These conversations seek to strengthen our bonds across difference, while acknowledging the ways that colonial history has shaped – even distorted – many of our assumptions. My prayer is that this work will help us navigate complex global relationships with humility, candor and a deeper commitment to the unity that Christ himself gives his church.”

Background: Nairobi-Cairo Proposals

The Nairobi-Cairo proposals, put forth by the IASCUFO on Dec. 6, 2024, suggest shifts in how the Anglican Communion is defined and organized to take into account recent changes while encouraging and enhancing shared leadership. They consist of Proposal 1, “Updating the definition of the Anglican Communion,” and Proposal 2, “Broadening how the meetings of the Instruments of Communion [the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates’ Meeting, the Lambeth Conference and the archbishop of Canterbury] are led.” If adopted, they would elevate geographically diverse leaders for the Communion, placing less emphasis on the Church of England and the archbishop of Canterbury as a “focus of unity,” per the proposals. Read more about the proposals, including the entire text of both, at this link.

“The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals represent an important moment of reflection and hope for the Anglican Communion,” Holcomb said. “They speak with theological depth and pastoral honesty about our present divisions, while also offering a constructive way forward. I find myself deeply resonating with the vision articulated by theologians like Ephraim Radner, who see in these proposals a call to renewed conciliarity, a polycentric leadership that better reflects the global nature of Anglicanism and an honest reckoning with both unity and differentiation. The proposals seek neither a false uniformity nor a fractured independence, but a Communion marked by mutual responsibility, differentiated communion and shared apostolic faith. In many ways, this vision reflects what I have witnessed through years of global theological conversation: a church learning to listen to one another across cultures while remaining grounded in scripture and the historic creeds.”

Rectors’ Reflections

Both Rodriguez and Shelby had positive responses to the seminar and to broadening their knowledge of the Anglican Communion. “I was delighted to meet the small but highly effective team at the Anglican Communion Office,” Rodriguez said. “They are a testament to the fact that great work does not require huge teams; it requires unity of purpose and servant-hearted leadership. The trip also reminded me of the rich tapestry of the Anglican faith and its deep historical roots.

“Dr. Wells remarked that one of the hallmarks of Anglicanism is that we ‘meet,’” he said. “During our time together, we shared fellowship, witnessed the Lord’s work both in the Church of England and in the U.S., and saw God’s hand guiding the future of the Anglican Communion. We also observed how the Communion is responding to necessary changes to ecclesiology. It was eye-opening to see both the complexity of the Anglican Communion and the small but devoted team that runs it.

“It’s clear there is a bright future for the Anglican Communion, but with that promise comes the reality of hard work and the inevitable ‘messiness’ of meaningful change,” he said. “Still, it is an exciting and hopeful time to be engaged. I am grateful that Bishop Holcomb (and by extension, our diocese) has been invited into these significant conversations. His active involvement in Communion-wide matters speaks to the importance of the Diocese of Central Florida in the wider Anglican world. To be chosen by the bishop to attend was a tremendous honor, and I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity. His unwavering support, and his invitation to join him, gave me renewed confidence to continue doing the work we are doing at Trinity Episcopal Church and School.”

“Meeting Secretary General Anthony Poggo and reading and reflecting on the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals with Dr. Christopher Wells, Bishop Holcomb, Father Chris Rodriguez, Father Clint Wilson [rector of St. Francis in the Fields, Louisville, Kentucky] and others was a tremendous gift,” Shelby said. “The conversations were honest and full of grace as we reflected on the history of the Anglican Communion, its future, the church and Christ’s gospel. Engaging the proposals in that context helped surface the challenges we face across the Communion and the deep longing for mutual accountability, theological coherence and Christ-centered mission. It invites us to embrace what appeared to be all too easily neglected by previous generations: a shared desire for unity rooted in truth and sustained by love.

“As a priest in the Diocese of Central Florida, I left with a renewed sense of belonging to the wider Communion,” he continued. “The work before us is not institutional or political – not really. It is deeply spiritual. It involves listening well, holding fast to the faith once delivered and walking in charity with those near and far. I came home with greater clarity, a more grounded hope and a deeper commitment to shepherd the people entrusted to me with joy and conviction in Christ’s gospel. I am grateful for the time, the fellowship and the faithful witness of those who gathered. It strengthened my hope for the church.”

The two rectors agreed that their time in London was positive and encouraging. “I saw this meeting as an affirmation that the Anglican Communion Office also recognizes the great work and leadership Bishop Holcomb is offering for our entire diocese,” Rodriguez said. “He is leading with a strong focus on doctrinal clarity and scriptural authority. This is a direction that I, along with like-minded clergy, fully support.”

“Those two [Holcomb and Rodriguez] love the Lord Jesus, their families, the church and our neighbors in Central Florida, and they’re a blast,” Shelby said.

Bishop’s Reflections

Holcomb tied his reflections on the London trip to his longtime relationship with the Communion. “My own journey in the Anglican Communion has been shaped by relationships and experiences across many contexts,” he said. “I was ordained in Sudan in 2006, before the formation of South Sudan. Over the past decade, I’ve been privileged to participate in ongoing theological conversations on multiple continents – meeting regularly with Christian brothers and sisters in Cairo, Nairobi, Chiang Mai, Istanbul and New Delhi. Most recently, I was able to participate in and help lead the Anglican Safe Church and Leadership Conference in Zimbabwe.

“These global relationships have impressed on me both the remarkable diversity of the Anglican Communion and its shared center in the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said. “At its best, the Communion is a living expression of what it means to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic – a fellowship where different cultures and histories can sharpen one another while holding fast to the faith once delivered to the saints. There’s a similarity across the breadth of the Communion in the way we worship and our common prayer. But there’s also diversity in its complexity with 42 different churches and all the different primates as well as the Anglican Consultative Council.

“What I’m committed to – and what the Anglican Communion is committed to – is ‘the faith once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3),” Holcomb said. “How is that faith articulated, and how is worship conducted in various contexts? Instead of the context of the culture shaping the content of our belief, how is the apostolic faith expressed and held faithfully in different cultures, languages and people groups? The goal is not an African theology, an Indian theology, an American theology or any other culturally bound theology, but a catholic and evangelical theology that examines the unique cultural obstacles and insights that shape our reception and interpretation of doctrine.

“We’re in an exciting time of reflecting on what it means to be Anglican,” the bishop said. “We’re trying to do that work together, prayerfully and intentionally, with wisdom and with scripture as our authoritative foundation.”