Global South Anglicans break with Canterbury to establish their own Council

Anglican Archbishops Miguel Uchoa, Laurent Mbanda, and Bishop Paul Donison. Photo: gafcon.org

From March 3 to 6, 2026, in Abuja, Nigeria, 347 Anglican bishops and 121 leaders from 27 provinces formally confirmed a final break with the administrative center in London. Participants in the GAFCON gathering – the Global Anglican Future Conference – abolished the former Primates Council and established a new governing body, the Global Anglican Council.

The hierarchs of the Global South stated that the so-called Instruments of Canterbury – the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), and the Primates’ Meeting – “have failed to uphold the doctrine and discipline of the Anglican Communion.”

"We are reforming the Communion from within and leaving the Canterbury Instruments behind," the affirmation reads.

In their communique, the leaders accused official London of having “compromised the moral and spiritual authority of Scripture” and replaced the faith with “false teachings.”

Archbishop of Rwanda Laurent Mbanda was unanimously elected chairman of the newly created Council. General Secretary Paul Donison explained that if the Church wants to leave the old structures behind, it must also “leave behind the old titles.” For this reason, the head of the new governing body will no longer bear the title “first among equals” (primus inter pares), effectively abolishing the historic status of the See of Canterbury.

The adopted declaration imposes an obligation of “principled disengagement” from the liberal institutions of England: “Leaders who hold office in the Global Anglican Communion must not attend future Primates’ Meetings called by the Archbishop of Canterbury, nor attend the Lambeth Conference, nor attend ACC meetings or participate in Commissions of the ACC, nor personally approve financial contributions to the ACC.”

The document emphasizes that "the clear and consistent teaching of the New Testament is that those who seek to lead the church astray must not be tolerated and Christians must refuse to have fellowship with those who promote false teaching."

This historic schism is the result of a long-running crisis provoked by the liberal course of the Church of England and the appointment of the first woman archbishop, Sarah Mullally. The conservative wing has now officially proclaimed a return to the “authentic, apostolic form” of Christianity.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Nigeria had separated from the Anglican Church over the new archbishopess.

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