For other people like myself who refuse to get news from Youtube, here's the wiki blurb with links to articles. High level summary: "Archbishop of Canterbury is a chick? Ewww gross!"
For other people like myself who refuse to get news from Youtube, here's the wiki blurb with links to articles. High level summary: "Archbishop of Canterbury is a chick? Ewww gross!"
My understanding, from following the disagreements for a while and reading about the current announcement, is that it's a bit more complicated. GAFCON is a collection of groups that are allied by...
"Archbishop of Canterbury is a chick? Ewww gross!"
My understanding, from following the disagreements for a while and reading about the current announcement, is that it's a bit more complicated. GAFCON is a collection of groups that are allied by their social conservatism but are quite theologically different and have different social priorities. Not all of evangelical parts (of which the most significant are likely some of the Churches in Africa) have problems with the ordination of women, and some may ordain women as priests or even as bishops (the Church of Rwanda ordains female priests, for example), but they tend to see the new Archbishop of Canterbury's pro-LGBT views as unacceptable. The more Anglo-Catholic parts are anti-LGBT, but not to the same extent as the evangelical and particularly African parts, and see her as unacceptable because she is a woman.
These differences have caused tensions in GAFCON in the past. For example, the ACNA agreed that, while someone should not be called a "gay Christian", someone with "same-sex attraction" who was celibate could certainly be part of a congregation. Despite it seeming to me like this would be difficult to disagree with from a conservative side, given the basic tenets of Christianity around sin, the head of the Church of Nigeria decried this position as meaning that the 'deadly virus of homosexuality has infiltrated ACNA', and appeared to argue that anyone who is gay is fundamentally irredeemable.
I suspect that GAFCON will struggle as a church on its own. The constituent groups seem defined more by what they oppose, and by the people they hate, than by what they believe in. As a Communion of their own, forced to define what beliefs they share, and without the Anglican Communion to rally against as a common enemy, they seem likely to split into smaller and smaller groups and to struggle to remain relevant.
And for the Anglican Communion, or at least the progressive parts, I have to wonder if this will eventually be a good thing. The communion has struggled with the division of views along national and cultural lines such that embracing more progressive views could only be done through rejecting the voices of larger, predominantly African churches in favor of smaller, richer, predominantly European and North American churches, a problem made even worse by many of those African churches having their roots in European colonialism. If the African churches leave of their own volition, it seems likely that the remaining conservative parts of the church will be a small minority, and without the racial division.
My understanding is that this has been brewing for a long time. GAFCON have been trying to get the Episcopal Church (USA) kicked out of the Anglican Communion for years, and backed the churches...
My understanding is that this has been brewing for a long time. GAFCON have been trying to get the Episcopal Church (USA) kicked out of the Anglican Communion for years, and backed the churches that split from TEC in 2008/2009.
In my imperfect understanding, not just USA. GAFCON rejected Canterbury (UK) https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2025/10/17/gafcon-canterbury-split/ I'm confused. So they reject all four pillars of...
In my imperfect understanding, not just USA. GAFCON rejected Canterbury (UK)
Archbishop Mbanda’s statement made clear that GAFCON has now formally rejected all four “Instruments of Communion” that have historically united Anglicans worldwide — the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), and the Primates’ Meeting.
I'm confused. So they reject all four pillars of Anglicanism, but instead of saying they're leaving, they pulled a "no u" and say they're the OG and it is England's Anglican Church that left.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the Church of England appointed Rt Rev Dame Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury-designate, the first woman to hold the post and an advocate of same-sex marriage, abortion and racial politics.
Earlier this year, the Church in Wales elected Archbishop Cherry Vann, who is in a same-sex relationship — another decision that widened long-standing rifts over Scripture and sexuality across the Communion.
But that's what England and Wales has decided. I understand them leaving, it doesn't make sense to take the label with you. Just be new denom GAFCON or non-denom. Why take the Anglican brand.
Oh absolutely, I just mean they've been throwing their weight around trying to get their way for a while. And it's been very common for the right-wing evangelical branches of mainline...
In my imperfect understanding, not just USA. GAFCON rejected Canterbury (UK)
Oh absolutely, I just mean they've been throwing their weight around trying to get their way for a while. And it's been very common for the right-wing evangelical branches of mainline denominations to try and claim to be the legitimate branch of the church that they're splitting from. It was the case with the "continuing Anglican" movement in the US, as well as the churches that split from the United Methodist churches in the last few years. They don't want to be seen as rejecting the legitimate apostolic authority of those churches, so they need to position themselves as the "true church".
Saw this last night. Protestantism just keeps on splitting on. I liked my Anglican Elementary school, they introduced me to litany style prayers and made young Chocobean feel like grown men in...
Saw this last night. Protestantism just keeps on splitting on.
I liked my Anglican Elementary school, they introduced me to litany style prayers and made young Chocobean feel like grown men in fancy dresses and tall flashy hats look awesome. Didn't like visiting the churches in London too much though. I hope their congregants in little local parishes stay together regardless of overall politics. Some families (like my mom's) never quite heal from Protestantism schisms.
Unfortunately, this split has been many years in the making. It's less that this specific Archbishop of Canterbury was so objectionable, but more that she was the final straw after several decades...
Unfortunately, this split has been many years in the making. It's less that this specific Archbishop of Canterbury was so objectionable, but more that she was the final straw after several decades of disagreements around same-sex marriage, abortion, and the role of women in the church.
This news saddens me most directly because of how it may affect members of the Episcopal congregation I currently attend. Many members and a couple of the supply priests come from Nigeria, and their national Anglican church is the largest member of GAFCON. I'm afraid that they may be required or pressured into no longer engaging in fellowship with us by their national church leadership...
Breaking relationships over doctrine or policy decisions is never clean. This decision will be the source of a lot of grief, and by severing bonds will ultimately weaken the overall Anglican world, simply by depriving us of each other's mutual support through our common life.
For other people like myself who refuse to get news from Youtube, here's the wiki blurb with links to articles. High level summary: "Archbishop of Canterbury is a chick? Ewww gross!"
My understanding, from following the disagreements for a while and reading about the current announcement, is that it's a bit more complicated. GAFCON is a collection of groups that are allied by their social conservatism but are quite theologically different and have different social priorities. Not all of evangelical parts (of which the most significant are likely some of the Churches in Africa) have problems with the ordination of women, and some may ordain women as priests or even as bishops (the Church of Rwanda ordains female priests, for example), but they tend to see the new Archbishop of Canterbury's pro-LGBT views as unacceptable. The more Anglo-Catholic parts are anti-LGBT, but not to the same extent as the evangelical and particularly African parts, and see her as unacceptable because she is a woman.
These differences have caused tensions in GAFCON in the past. For example, the ACNA agreed that, while someone should not be called a "gay Christian", someone with "same-sex attraction" who was celibate could certainly be part of a congregation. Despite it seeming to me like this would be difficult to disagree with from a conservative side, given the basic tenets of Christianity around sin, the head of the Church of Nigeria decried this position as meaning that the 'deadly virus of homosexuality has infiltrated ACNA', and appeared to argue that anyone who is gay is fundamentally irredeemable.
I suspect that GAFCON will struggle as a church on its own. The constituent groups seem defined more by what they oppose, and by the people they hate, than by what they believe in. As a Communion of their own, forced to define what beliefs they share, and without the Anglican Communion to rally against as a common enemy, they seem likely to split into smaller and smaller groups and to struggle to remain relevant.
And for the Anglican Communion, or at least the progressive parts, I have to wonder if this will eventually be a good thing. The communion has struggled with the division of views along national and cultural lines such that embracing more progressive views could only be done through rejecting the voices of larger, predominantly African churches in favor of smaller, richer, predominantly European and North American churches, a problem made even worse by many of those African churches having their roots in European colonialism. If the African churches leave of their own volition, it seems likely that the remaining conservative parts of the church will be a small minority, and without the racial division.
My understanding is that this has been brewing for a long time. GAFCON have been trying to get the Episcopal Church (USA) kicked out of the Anglican Communion for years, and backed the churches that split from TEC in 2008/2009.
In my imperfect understanding, not just USA. GAFCON rejected Canterbury (UK)
https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2025/10/17/gafcon-canterbury-split/
I'm confused. So they reject all four pillars of Anglicanism, but instead of saying they're leaving, they pulled a "no u" and say they're the OG and it is England's Anglican Church that left.
But that's what England and Wales has decided. I understand them leaving, it doesn't make sense to take the label with you. Just be new denom GAFCON or non-denom. Why take the Anglican brand.
Oh absolutely, I just mean they've been throwing their weight around trying to get their way for a while. And it's been very common for the right-wing evangelical branches of mainline denominations to try and claim to be the legitimate branch of the church that they're splitting from. It was the case with the "continuing Anglican" movement in the US, as well as the churches that split from the United Methodist churches in the last few years. They don't want to be seen as rejecting the legitimate apostolic authority of those churches, so they need to position themselves as the "true church".
Saw this last night. Protestantism just keeps on splitting on.
I liked my Anglican Elementary school, they introduced me to litany style prayers and made young Chocobean feel like grown men in fancy dresses and tall flashy hats look awesome. Didn't like visiting the churches in London too much though. I hope their congregants in little local parishes stay together regardless of overall politics. Some families (like my mom's) never quite heal from Protestantism schisms.
Unfortunately, this split has been many years in the making. It's less that this specific Archbishop of Canterbury was so objectionable, but more that she was the final straw after several decades of disagreements around same-sex marriage, abortion, and the role of women in the church.
This news saddens me most directly because of how it may affect members of the Episcopal congregation I currently attend. Many members and a couple of the supply priests come from Nigeria, and their national Anglican church is the largest member of GAFCON. I'm afraid that they may be required or pressured into no longer engaging in fellowship with us by their national church leadership...
Breaking relationships over doctrine or policy decisions is never clean. This decision will be the source of a lot of grief, and by severing bonds will ultimately weaken the overall Anglican world, simply by depriving us of each other's mutual support through our common life.