Anglican conservative group urges a boycott of Canterbury leadership
A significant coalition of conservative Anglicans on Friday called on its members to refrain from attending meetings organized by the Archbishop of Canterbury and to cease any financial support for the current leadership, intensifying an ongoing divide within the church.
The declaration from the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), which consists of conservative churches primarily from Africa and Asia and asserts that it represents a majority of the world’s Anglicans, comes after a decision to form a new council that will compete with the existing leadership.
The recent three-day gathering of GAFCON members in Nigeria has highlighted the significant divisions within the Anglican Communion regarding theological and social matters, such as the ordination of women and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals.
They arrive just weeks before the Communion is set to enthrone Sarah Mullally as its Archbishop of Canterbury, who has until now served as the spiritual leader of the world’s 85 million Anglicans across 165 countries.
Laurent Mbanda, who was appointed on Thursday as chairman of the new rival council, delivered a statement indicating that the Global Anglican Communion necessitated “a principled disengagement” from entities linked to the Church of England. The statement emphasized that “leaders who hold office in the Global Anglican Communion must not attend future Primates’ meetings convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, nor participate in the Lambeth Conference, nor engage in ACC meetings or Commissions of the ACC.”
It stated that leaders “should refrain from personally approving financial contributions to the ACC. “They are also anticipated to refrain from obtaining financial support from compromised sources.
The amount of money involved was not immediately apparent.
The Church of England has yet to provide a response.
IT IS A DIVISION
Established approximately 500 years ago when the Church of England separated from Rome, the Anglican Communion has expanded to various regions across the globe, especially in former British colonies.
In recent decades, certain segments of the Church have experienced liberal shifts, leading to significant debates about theology and social issues, which have created divisions within the Anglican Communion. GAFCON was established in 2008, inspired by the opposition to these changes, particularly in Africa and Asia, where the church is growing most rapidly, as a response to perceived liberal shifts in the Anglican Communion that some members believe threaten traditional beliefs.
On Thursday, a representative from the Anglican Communion Office in London stated that GAFCON was overlooking years of discussions focused on reforming the church, which included various proposals aimed at addressing the concerns of both conservative and liberal factions within the Anglican community.
Diarmaid MacCulloch, emeritus professor of church history at the University of Oxford, stated to Reuters regarding the church’s current division, “Of course it’s a schism.”
However, MacCulloch stated that the rupture does not have to be lasting. “Schisms can eventually be mended when both parties realize that the issues that led to the schism no longer seem as significant,” he remarked.
