Group of global Anglican church leaders ousts Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby over gay blessing reform

The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) has said in a statement that it no longer considers Justin Welby to be “leader of the global communion”, and it has “disqualified” the Church of England from being its “mother church”.

Earlier this month, the General Synod – the Church of England’s legislative assembly – passed a motion to allow the blessing of same-sex couples in civil partnerships.

The GSFA said it speaks for 75% of Anglicans around the world, officially representing 25 member provinces – mainly in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

In its statement released on Monday, the group accused the Church of England of “taking the path of false teaching” and going against “the historical biblical faith” by allowing same-sex blessings, adding: “This breaks our hearts.”

They said the archbishop had “sadly led his House of Bishops to make the recommendations (for blessing gay couples) knowing that they run contrary to the faith and order of the orthodox provinces in the communion”.

The GSFA added that this has caused a “leadership crisis” and it is now working to “re-set the communion”.

The signatories include the GSFA’s chair, Archbishop Justin Badi, along with the archbishops of Chile, the Indian Ocean, Congo, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Uganda, Sudan, Alexandria and Melanesia.

Earlier in February, Mr Welby said that in the Church of England, archbishops do not chair the General Synod or organise its debates, and that “many” members had “dismissed” his concerns about recent reforms.

The decision to allow the blessing of same-sex couples only applies in the Church of England.

Asked where the Church of Ireland stands on the motion to allow the blessing of same-sex couples in civil partnerships, a spokesperson said: “The Church of Ireland is a synodical Church and matters such as these are considered by its members at our General Synod. No such item has appeared on the General Synod agenda but if it were to do so, it would be discussed by its members.”