After decades of fierce debate over sexuality and theology in the Anglican Communion, some A Conservative coalition Let’s say it’s time to separate once and for all from one of the world’s largest long-standing Protestant church families.
This would complete the slow-growing Anglican schism – if it ever comes to pass.
But it remains to be seen how many ecclesiastical provinces will keep pace with this rupture. Some of the largest and fastest-growing churches in Africa belong to the conservative group that announced the breakaway – known as the Global Anglican Future Conference, or Gafcon. But many member churches remained silent about the plan, weeks after it was announced.
Gafcon’s announcement came shortly after October Appointment of Bishop Sarah Molley As the first woman to hold the position of Archbishop of Canterbury, and the symbolic spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion. This was hailed by many in England and other Western countries as a historic breaking of the stained glass ceiling.
But Gafkun leaders criticized the appointment, as did some other bishops. Some have said that only men should be bishops, but their biggest criticism has been her support for some LGBT-inclusive policies — a major fault line in the communion.
Within days of Mulally’s appointment, Gafcon made another announcement. It completely rejected the Anglican Communion as it had historically been organised. This structure included a set of governing and advisory bodies and recognition of the Archbishop of Canterbury as a symbolic “first among equals” among the leaders of the self-governing national churches, known as provinces. Since the provinces are autonomous, the authority of the archbishop is very limited.
“The future has arrived,” Gafcon’s president, Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda, said in his October statement. “We declare that the Anglican Communion will be realigned.” His statement criticized churches that it said had violated a 1998 statement issued by the church’s bishops, in which they opposed same-sex unions and described “homosexual practice as inconsistent with Scripture.”
Gafcon announced what it calls a restructured “Global Anglican Communion.” It will be overseen by a new council of senior national bishops or primates. Whoever is elected president will be “first among equals.”
The question remains: How many Gafcon members actually agree with this plan, and how many of them want to remain in the current Anglican Communion as loyal opposition?
Leaders of Africa’s two largest national provinces, Nigeria and Uganda, joined their Rwandan counterparts in supporting the measure, according to Bishop Paul Donnison, Secretary-General of Gafcon. So do smaller churches extending from Myanmar to the Americas.
Archbishop Henry Ndukuba of Nigeria confirmed his church’s support for the Gafcon plan. He called Mulally’s positions on LGBT issues “devastating.”
“This election is further confirmation that the global Anglican world can no longer accept the leadership of the Church of England and that of the Archbishop of Canterbury,” he said in a statement.
Donnison said the Gafcon statement was drafted at a meeting in Australia, which included several church leaders on Zoom, although many others were not participating. The Gafcon statement said their bishops would “consult and celebrate” the restructuring at their next major meeting scheduled to be held in Nigeria next March.
Among the signatories of the Gafcon Statement was the conservative Anglican Church in North America, which was formed in separation from the more liberal American and Canadian churches.
ACNA Archbishop Stephen Wood, in a statement issued shortly before he made a decision, said Gafcon’s move “will mark a defining moment in the life of the Anglican family.” vacation Amid allegations of sexual and other misconduct, which he denies.
The Anglican Archbishop of Congo is committed to maintaining Anglican relations.
In a statement, Archbishop George Tetri Andi criticized liberal tendencies in some churches, but added: “The Anglican Church in Congo has no intention of leaving the Anglican Communion, but rather continuing to work…to reform, recover and revitalize the Anglican Communion without leaving it.”
The communion consists of churches descending from the Church of England. Anglicanism, with its unique blend of Protestant theology and Catholic liturgy and sacramentsIt spread around the world through colonial and missionary activity. It is especially vibrant in Africa. the London based company It is estimated to have about 85 million members in 165 countries.
Rising tensions in the Anglican Church exploded after 2003, when the US Episcopal Church issued its first of several ordination. Openly gay bishops. Conservatives formed JAFCON and other structures. Large provinces such as Uganda and Nigeria have largely ceased participating in traditional Anglican structures.
The Anglican Communion itself is considering a proposed new structure that would reduce the focus on Canterbury and share leadership roles more broadly.
Bishop Graham Tomlin, chairman of the committee that drafted the proposals, said the proposals “will not resolve all the differences in the Anglican Communion, but they seek to provide a structure within which people with strongly different beliefs can remain in good conscience within that Communion.” The plan will be presented to an advisory board next year.
Bishop Sean Rowe presides The Episcopal Church member said Gafcon’s latest statement was “more of the same” from a subgroup that has largely broken away from the Anglican Communion.
“There’s a very clear agenda here, and I don’t think it has much to do with the church,” he said. “I’m really interested in being in a relationship with people who want to continue our relationships across the company.”
Even if the company remains intact, its deep divisions have come to the surface with Mulally’s appointment.
Mullally emphasized the Church of England’s current definition of church marriage as between a man and a woman, but she supported a plan to bless same-sex couples. I confess “The Damage We Have Caused” as a Church to LGBTQ+ People.
Homosexuality remains taboo in many African countries, and in some cases is criminalized under colonial-era laws or more recent legislation. Uganda enacted legislation in 2023 providing for the death penalty for certain homosexual crimes.
Stephen Kazimba, Archbishop of Uganda, expressed regret for Mulally’s support and defense of unbiblical positions on sexuality.
Kaziimba added in a letter to Anglicans that her appointment had widened “the tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion.”
Bishop Lucas Katinda, leader of the conservative Evangelical Reformed Church of Namibia, a faction allied with Gafcon and independent of the Church of England, dismissed Mulally’s appointment as a “joke.”
“She is not someone who can be exemplary in evangelism, mission, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, winning souls or calling people to repentance,” Katinda told The Namibian.
When the Anglican Diocese of Upper Shire in Malawi shared Gafcon’s statement criticizing Mulally’s appointment on its Facebook page, it attracted approving comments from followers who said “amen.” However, the diocese also republished a statement from the general secretary of the Anglican Communion, urging them to stick together.
In Accra, Ghana, Patrick Okaiga Portier, parish priest of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, said many clergy in his country are dissatisfied with Mulally, particularly because of her support for same-sex blessings.
“It’s worrying,” he said. “If she pushes this agenda, she could end up losing almost everyone.”
Another clergyman in Accra, Georgina Na Anima Collison of St Joseph the Worker Anglican Church, said she supports Mulally’s appointment because I am a “female” but disagrees with her position on same-sex unions.
But in South Africa, Where same-sex marriage is legalArchbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town, head of the Anglican Church in South Africa, offered his “warm congratulations” to Molly. In another statement, Makgoba’s office said he was focused on interfaith peacemaking efforts and had “neither time nor any interest in dealing with these internal Anglican disputes.”
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Contributors include Farai Motsaka in Harare, Zimbabwe; Debkaza Chibayan in Abuja, Nigeria; and Edward Acqua in Accra, Ghana.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP cooperation With The Conversation US, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., the AP is solely responsible for this content.