Conservative Anglicans Meeting in Nigeria Insist on Continuity, Not Division

•Oppose liberal shifts in Anglican communion

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

A grouping of conservative churches which refuses to accept a woman as the titular head of the worldwide Anglican Communion denied yesterday that it was causing a schism, but said it was seeking to uphold continuity in the Church.

The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), grouping conservative churches mainly in Africa and Asia, opposes liberal shifts in parts of the Communion, including the ordination of women and greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ members, a Reuters report said.

Last year’s decision by the Church of England, the Anglican Communion’s “mother church”, to appoint its first woman Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, has particularly upset GAFCON, which plans this week to elect a rival leader, the report added.

Speaking to reporters at the start of a three-day meeting in Nigeria, Reuters quoted GAFCON spokesman, Justin Murff, as saying that the grouping was not seeking to break away from the Anglican Communion but to “reorganise and realign” it around Biblical authority.

“This is not a schism. It is actually a claim to continuity,” Murff said. Formed in 2008, GAFCON said it now represents the majority of practicing Anglicans worldwide.

“Logically, it doesn’t make sense that 20 people in the UK with very little input from the Global South could actually decide who the global leader of the Anglican Church is,” Murff said.

GAFCON’s expansion reflects demographic reality in Anglicanism, with most practising members now in Africa, Asia and Latin America, he added.

The Church of England emerged nearly 500 years ago when King Henry VIII broke from Rome. For centuries, the Archbishop of Canterbury has served as the titular head of 85 million Anglicans in 165 countries.

But that authority, rooted in the British Empire’s missionary reach to former colonies, has been pushed to breaking point in recent decades by splits over women’s ordination and same-sex rights, straining ties between England’s now more progressive church and the more traditional churches in Africa and Asia.

Murff said churches that authorise same-sex blessings or expanded marriage rights have “broken communion”, not those defending traditional doctrine.

The tension between conservative and liberal Anglicans has been rooted in deeper disagreements about biblical authority, theology, morality, and the identity of the Anglican Communion, a worldwide fellowship of churches historically linked to the Church of England.

At the core of the altercation is how Scripture should be interpreted. Conservative Anglicans generally hold to a more traditional and literal reading of the Bible, emphasising continuity with historic Christian doctrine. On the other hand, liberal Anglicans tend to adopt a more contextual or critical approach, arguing that biblical texts must be interpreted in light of modern scholarship, social developments, and evolving understandings of justice and human rights.

The most visible flashpoint has been human sexuality, particularly same-sex relationships and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy. In 2003, the election of Gene Robinson as a bishop in the Episcopal Church intensified global divisions. Many conservative provinces, especially in Africa and parts of Asia, viewed the move as a departure from biblical teaching. Liberal provinces in North America and parts of Europe defended it as an affirmation of inclusion and pastoral responsibility.

The disagreement deepened over the blessing of same-sex unions and same-sex marriage. In 2023, the Church of England approved prayers of blessing for same-sex couples, though it stopped short of endorsing same-sex marriage. This decision led several conservative leaders to declare impaired or broken communion with Canterbury, arguing that the church had compromised biblical orthodoxy.

These disputes have led to structural fractures. In 2008, conservative leaders launched the GAFCON as an alternative platform to what they saw as theological drift in the Communion’s leadership. From this movement emerged the Anglican Church in North America, formed by congregations that separated from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.

Beyond sexuality, other areas of contention include the ordination of women, the nature of biblical authority, interfaith engagement, and how Christianity should respond to secularisation in Western societies.