Nigeria’s Anglican Church Rejects Appointment of New Archbishop of Canterbury

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The leadership of Anglican Church in Nigeria has distanced itself from the appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the new Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the church worldwide.

The orthodox group of the Anglican communion, comprising 80 per cent of Anglicans worldwide, including the Church of Nigeria under the auspices Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON), had earlier deplored the appointment of a female – Dame Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

A statement by the Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of the Church of Nigeria, the Most Reverend Henry C. Ndukuba, described news of the appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as insensitive “ to the conviction of the majority of Anglicans who are unable to embrace female headship in the episcopate”.

The statement, which was the response of the Church of Nigeria to the election of the new

Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Rev. Sarah Mullally, said the news of her appointment on Friday, October 3, 2025 as the next Archbishop of Canterbury is a devastating one that ignored the current situation and challenges being faced by the Anglican Communion.

The statement said, ‘It is a double jeopardy; first, in its insensitivity to the conviction of the majority of Anglicans who are unable to embrace female headship in the episcopate, and second, more disturbing that Bishop Sarah Mullally is a strong supporter of same-sex marriage as evidenced in her speech in 2023, after a vote to approve the blessings of homosexuals when she described the result as a moment of hope for the Church.”

The Church of Nigeria added, “It remains to be seen how the same person hopes to mend the already torn fabric of the Anglican Communion by the contentious same-sex marriage, which has caused an enormous crisis across the entire Anglican Communion for over two decades.

“This election is a further confirmation that the global Anglican world could no longer accept the leadership of the Church of England and that of the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

The statement further said, “On our part, as a member of the GAFCON family, the Church of Nigeria affirms, the GAFCON position unreservedly, and reaffirm our earlier stance to uphold the authority of the Scriptures, our historic creeds, evangelism and holy Christian living, irrespective of the ongoing revisionist agenda, believing our Lord Jesus Christ has built His church and ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16 :18).

“We encourage all faithful brothers and sisters in the Church of England who have consistently rejected the aberration called same-sex marriage and other ungodly teachings, by contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

“May the Spirit of the Good Shepherd continue to guide His Church. Amen.”