Conservative Anglicans in Nigeria face a moment of decision over whether they can keep the Communion together
Conservative Anglican leaders are meeting in Nigeria for a four-day gathering intended to address whether the Anglican Communion can remain united, or whether theological divisions have pushed the global church toward a break. The meeting takes place in Abuja and includes numerous primates—national Anglican leaders—along with bishops, clergy and lay participants, according to the reporting.
The talks come as another track of restructuring unfolds within the official Anglican Communion, with representatives announcing a revised plan aimed at shifting leadership roles away from England. Organizers framed the effort as a way to make cooperation possible despite continuing disputes within the Communion.
At the center of the Nigeria debate is a proposal tied to Gafcon, the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a conservative coalition that operates outside the London-based Anglican Communion structure even though many of its churches remain members of the Communion. The outlook for how far the divisions have progressed—and whether they produce schism—was described as uncertain, with outcomes dependent on decisions by primates during the Abuja meeting.
Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda, described as Gafcon’s chairman, previously said the Anglican Communion would need to be reordered. The proposal he backed envisioned a reformulated “Global Anglican Communion,” overseen by a new council led by elected chairmen rather than leaving key authority centered on the archbishop of Canterbury in England.
Gafcon’s approach has been shaped by opposition to what it regards as liberalizing trends in parts of the Communion, including same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly LGBTQ+ clergy in Europe and North America. Over recent decades, the reporting said, the divisions widened enough that some national churches stopped participating in Anglican Communion gatherings.
Bishop Paul Donison, Gafcon’s general secretary, said last year’s proposal was “not the final word” and that it must now be deliberated in Abuja, where leaders can decide whether to adopt the plan, modify it, or reject it. He said the group would do the work “together,” and he suggested that while some primates endorsed Mbanda’s proposal earlier, others remained silent or reaffirmed commitment to keeping ties with the traditional Anglican Communion.
Even amid the conservatism driving the Abuja gathering, organizers described it as a proposal for continued cooperation rather than a claim that reconciliation is impossible. The reporting said it could still move the Anglican Communion closer to a definitive schism if primates approve a final break with Canterbury, though Gafcon leaders characterized their effort as a reformed Communion rather than a new one.
The negotiations coincide with leadership changes in the Church of England that have drawn attention across the Anglican world. The reporting said the Church of England installed Archbishop Sarah Mullally as archbishop of Canterbury, and it described conservative criticism as focused mainly on her stance on LGBTQ+ issues. It said Mullally affirmed the Church of England’s definition of church marriage as between a man and a woman, while she supported a plan for blessings of same-sex couples and acknowledged “the harm that we have done” to LGBTQ+ people.
Alongside the Gafcon meeting, the historic Anglican Communion unveiled its own decentralization effort intended to reduce reliance on Canterbury. A summary of the proposals described the goal as making the Communion “less Canterbury-centric,” reflecting that a majority of Anglicans now live in the Global South rather than in England.
According to the reporting, the proposals are technical and would move toward greater shared leadership roles between the archbishop of Canterbury and primates from other nations. The plan is set to be reviewed by the Anglican Consultative Council, which includes representatives from across the Communion, with review scheduled for this summer.
Bishop Graham Tomlin, who chairs the commission proposing the changes, said he did not know whether the decentralization proposal would affect Gafcon deliberations. He said the goal was continued cooperation while “acknowledging the depth of the disagreements among us,” and he argued that the history of the church shows walls from radical breaks are very hard to mend—describing decentralization as a way of keeping Anglicans together.
AP previously reported in this cluster that conservatism’s internal conflict over Communion structures is increasingly tied to where Anglicans live and how churches govern themselves as global participation shifts.