Global Anglican Communion church grouping meet amid disquiet over Sarah Mullally
A powerful global conservative grouping of Anglican Communion churches has been meeting this week in Nigeria, with the intention of seeking to form a leadership to challenge the new Archbishop of Canterbury and the church establishment located in England and other western countries.
New Archbishop Rev Dr Sarah Mullally will be enthroned at Canterbury on Wednesday, March 25, becoming the 106th cleric to occupy the role and, significantly, the first female to be installed at that level.
The Anglican Communion is an all-embracing fellowship of more than 40 independent churches concentrated in the various continents around the world. The churches include the Church of England and Wales and the Church of Ireland and the Episcopal churches in Scotland and the United States.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has, by tradition, headed the Anglican Communion and the international churches, since their formation as a grouping, has treated the Church of England as the 'Mother Church', since its creation in 1867.
Global Anglican Future Conference, known as GAFCON, describes itself as representing “authentic Anglicans, guarding God’s gospel.” Members gathered at Vining Memorial cathedral this week in Nigeria for a four-day meeting.
Formed in its present format in 2008, the group was set up in response to the Church of England seemingly relaxing its traditional stance on same-sex blessings.
GAFCON, reportedly, now plans to elect its own primate to act as a leading bishop and “first among equals,” in direct challenge to the authority of the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury.
Archbishop Mullally's appointment has drawn mixed responses from the global Church, with many conservative Anglicans firmly believing in male leadership.
However, whilst GAFCON asserts it represents the true global church, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and Kenya’s first female bishop, Emily Onyango, welcomed Archbishop Mullally's appointment.
GAFCON previously rejected the leadership of Archbishop of Canterbury Rev Justin Welby over proposals to bless same-sex couples – a perspective which Archbishop Mullally is understood to agree with.
GAFCON general secretary, Canadian-born Rev Paul Donison, says: "Now is the moment to gather together under the Word of God, to prayerfully discern what the Lord’s future for us looks like as we re-order our beloved Communion."
Anglican churches in Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda are particularly conservative in theology.
General secretary of the Anglican Communion and South Sudanese bishop, Rev Anthony Poggo stressed the Anglican Communion is a global family of churches.
"We recognise that there's pain and division in the family, but Christ calls his Church to be one. We have read of GAFCON's intention to pursue alternative approaches to leadership.
"But in the Anglican Communion, decisions about how we define the communion, or approaches to leadership must be taken through the official 'Instruments of Communion', and not outside of them."