The first formal gathering of the Global Anglican Communion began Tuesday in the Nigerian capital of Abuja and will continue through Friday, just weeks before Bishop of London Sarah Mullally is slated to be formally installed at Canterbury Cathedral as the 106th and first female archbishop of Canterbury on March 25.
Following the announcement of Mullally’s appointment last fall, the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) announced the launch of the Global Anglican Communion, effectively breaking off from the worldwide Anglican Communion under the spiritual leadership of the archbishop of Canterbury and other Institutes of Communion.
GAFCON, which began in Jerusalem in 2008 amid tensions in the Anglican Communion over same-sex marriage, was one of the first to denounce Mullally’s appointment on Oct. 3, calling on her to repent for supporting same-sex blessings. The organization said at the time that its intention is to “reorder” the Anglican Communion by establishing the Bible as its only foundation.
Historian Diarmaid MacCulloch, who serves as emeritus professor of the history of the Church at Oxford University, noted the move to elect a rival spiritual head in Nigeria is effectively a schism, even if not explicitly labeled as such, according to the BBC.
“This is a schism, even if they don’t want to say that,” MacCulloch said. “This is a set of leaders, all male, going to a conference in Africa to assert [an] identity which no longer satisfies many Anglican churches — that is an all-male episcopate calling the shots.”
Rwandan Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, who serves as chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, said last fall that the Church of England had “chosen a leader who will further divide an already split Communion” and repudiated her spiritual authority.
“For over a century and a half, the Archbishop of Canterbury functioned not only as the Primate of All England but also as a spiritual and moral leader of the Anglican Communion,” Mbanda said. “In more recent times, the See of Canterbury has been described as one of the four ‘instruments of Communion,’ whilst also chairing the other three Instruments, namely the Lambeth Conference, the Primates Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council.”
“However, due to the failure of successive Archbishops of Canterbury to guard the faith, the office can no longer function as a credible leader of Anglicans, let alone a focus of unity,” he continued.
“As we made clear in our Kigali Commitment of 2023, we can ‘no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion’ or the ‘first among equals’ of global Primates.”
Mullally’s formal installation later this month will follow her formal election service last month at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, during which the Rev. Paul Williamson was ejected from the service for shouting his objection to her confirmation.
Last month, the Church of England’s General Synod voted to end plans for stand-alone blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples in churches after extended debate. — Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. jon.brown@christianpost.com
