Conservative Anglican leaders from the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon) are meeting in Nigeria to discuss a potential historic split from the main Anglican Communion. Divisions stem primarily from Gafcon's opposition to liberal trends, such as same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy, in North American and European Anglican churches. The official Anglican Communion is simultaneously considering a revised restructuring plan aimed at decentralizing leadership away from England to potentially allow cooperation despite theological disagreements. Gafcon, a conservative coalition largely from the Global South, operates outside the official structure but most of its churches remain members of the Communion. The future unity of the Anglican Communion, which comprises 85 million Anglicans worldwide, remains highly uncertain.
2 days ago
Conservative Anglican leaders convened in Abuja, Nigeria, starting March 3, 2026, with 436 delegates from 48 countries representing over 180 dioceses.1 2
The four-day gathering focused on theological disputes, particularly opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ clergy ordination in Western churches.1 2
GAFCON dissolved its Primates Council, replacing it with the Global Anglican Council comprising primates, advisers, and guarantors—all with voting rights.2
Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda was unanimously elected chair, rejecting the current "Instruments of Communion" like the Archbishop of Canterbury's role.1 2
The new structure aims for a "conciliar" leadership, not centered on a "first among equals."2
GAFCON, primarily Global South churches, opposes liberal shifts in Europe and North America, including the U.S. Episcopal Church.1 2
Some national churches have boycotted official Communion gatherings due to these rifts.1 2
Last year, Mbanda called for reordering the Communion into a "Global Anglican Communion."1 2
The historic Anglican Communion announced a revised plan to decentralize leadership, reducing Canterbury's dominance to foster cooperation amid disagreements.1
This "less Canterbury-centric" proposal shares roles with other primates and awaits review by the Anglican Consultative Council.1
Bishop Graham Tomlin emphasized preserving unity despite deep divides.1
New Archbishop Sarah Mullally, the first woman in the role, faces criticism for supporting same-sex blessings, though she upholds traditional marriage definitions.1
The 85-million-member Communion, spanning 165 countries, traces roots to the Church of England and British colonialism.1
GAFCON includes the Anglican Church in North America, formed by U.S. and Canadian breakaways.1
Investigate Catholic responses to Anglican ecclesial schisms
Catholic responses to Anglican divisions have long recognized the original 16th-century schism under Henry VIII as a wound to Christian unity, while viewing subsequent internal Anglican fractures—such as those over doctrine and authority—as confirmations of the instability of the via media (the "middle way" Anglicanism claimed between Catholicism and Protestantism). St. John Henry Newman, in his Apologia Pro Vita Sua, reflected on his Anglican period (1839–1841), noting that Anglicanism bore the "Note of schism" akin to Rome's perceived "Note of idolatry," though he deemed neither fully tenable. Newman anticipated the via media's failure, predicting that without apostolic principles, Anglicanism would dissolve into "some miserable schism, or some more miserable compromise," as Puritanism and Liberalism eroded its foundations. This scholarly insight prefigures modern Catholic analysis, where Anglican doctrinal shifts exemplify Newman's seventh "note of doctrinal development," "chronic vigour": heretical innovations lead to institutional dissolution.
"If the Note of schism, on the one hand, lies against England, an antagonist disgrace lies upon Rome, the Note of idolatry... the Roman Church practises what is so like idolatry, and the English Church makes much of what is so very like schism."
Newman's conversion underscored Catholicism's claim to preserve unity amid such divisions.
The Catholic Church has systematically engaged Anglicanism through bilateral dialogues, prioritizing resolution of ecclesiological differences. The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity lists