The crisis within the global Anglican Church deepened on Friday as conservative leaders announced the creation of a new governing structure, the Global Anglican Council, effectively replacing the GAFCON Primates Council.
The announcement came during the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) held in Abuja from March 3 to 6, which convened more than 500 clerics, including 347 archbishops and 121 lay and clerical Anglican leaders from 27 countries.
The conference was themed “Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve…” and drew participants aligned with the conservative bloc of the church.
Most Rev. Laurent Mbanda, Anglican Archbishop of Rwanda and chairman of the newly formed council, unveiled the decision while presenting a six-page document titled “The Abuja Affirmation.”
Mbanda said conservative Anglican leaders had for over two decades called for repentance from what they described as doctrinal departures within the Anglican Communion.
He accused leaders of traditional Anglican structures, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lambeth Conference, Anglican Consultative Council, and Primates’ Meeting, of failing to uphold biblical teaching and doctrinal discipline.
“Reordering the Anglican Communion is now necessary because a significant number of provinces who claim to be Anglicans have abandoned the authority of Scripture and failed to follow Christ faithfully,” Mbanda said.
He criticised developments within the Church of England, including the blessing of same-sex unions, which he said contradicts the Anglican Communion’s traditional position expressed in Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference.
Mbanda also noted that discussions at the 2022 Lambeth Conference framed human sexuality as a matter over which Christians could disagree while remaining in fellowship, a stance he rejected.
Under the new arrangement, the Global Anglican Council will serve as the principal leadership body for conservative Anglican churches aligned with the movement.
Leaders within this council are expected to disengage from traditional Anglican structures associated with the Archbishop of Canterbury, refraining from future Primates’ Meetings, Lambeth Conferences, and Anglican Consultative Council activities.
Mbanda said the new structure reflects a commitment to preserve doctrinal integrity within the church, underscoring the need for conservative provinces to maintain biblical authority amid rising divisions over theology and church governance.
