Global Anglican ties are under stress. It’s unclear if they’re at the breaking point

After decades of fierce controversies over sexuality and theology in the Anglican Communion, conservative leaders are pushing for a definitive break from one of the world’s largest Protestant church families, potentially completing a slow-growing schism within the global Anglican community.

The Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), a conservative coalition within the Anglican Communion, recently announced plans to “reorder” the communion following the October appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the first woman to serve as archbishop of Canterbury, the communion’s symbolic spiritual leader.

While Mullally’s appointment was celebrated in England and other Western countries as a historic breakthrough, Gafcon leaders criticized the decision. Their objections centered not only on traditional views that only men should serve as bishops but more significantly on Mullally’s support for LGBTQ+-inclusive policies – the key fault line dividing the communion.

“The future has arrived,” declared Gafcon’s chairman, Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda, in the October statement. “We declare that the Anglican Communion will be reordered.” Mbanda criticized churches that have violated a 1998 statement by the communion’s bishops opposing same-sex unions and describing “homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture.”

Gafcon’s proposal calls for a restructured “Global Anglican Communion” to be overseen by a new council of top national bishops, or primates. The chairman of this council would serve as “first among equals,” effectively replacing Canterbury’s traditional role.

The potential impact of this break remains unclear. Africa’s two largest Anglican provinces, Nigeria and Uganda, have joined Rwanda in endorsing the measure. Nigeria’s Archbishop Henry Ndukuba confirmed his church’s support, calling Mullally’s stance on same-sex issues “devastating” and stating that “the global Anglican world could no longer accept the leadership of the Church of England and that of the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

However, several Gafcon member churches have remained silent on the plan weeks after its announcement. The Archbishop of Congo, Georges Titre Ande, has explicitly rejected the separation, stating: “The Anglican Church of Congo has no intention to leave the Anglican Communion, rather to keep working… to reform, heal and revitalize the Anglican Communion without leaving it.”

The Anglican Communion, with its unique blend of Protestant theology and Catholic-like ritual, spread worldwide through colonial and missionary activity and is particularly vibrant in Africa. The London-based communion estimates it has approximately 85 million members across 165 countries.

Tensions within Anglicanism escalated dramatically after 2003 when the U.S. Episcopal Church ordained its first openly gay bishop. In response, conservatives formed Gafcon and other structures, and large provinces like Uganda and Nigeria largely stopped participating in traditional Anglican structures.

The Anglican Communion itself is considering a restructuring proposal that would de-emphasize Canterbury’s role and share leadership more broadly. Bishop Graham Tomlin, chair of the committee that drafted the proposals, acknowledged they “won’t solve all the differences in the Anglican Communion, but they do seek to provide a structure within which people of deeply different convictions can remain in good conscience.”

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe of the U.S. Episcopal Church dismissed Gafcon’s latest statement as “more of the same” from a subgroup that has largely disengaged from the communion. “I’m really interested in being in relationship with people who want to continue our relationships across the communion,” he said.

Mullally’s appointment has spotlighted the communion’s profound divisions. While she has affirmed the Church of England’s current definition of marriage as between a man and woman, she supported blessings for same-sex couples and acknowledged “the harm that we have done” as a church to LGBTQ+ people.

This position has provoked strong reactions, particularly in Africa, where homosexuality remains taboo in many countries and is criminalized in some. Uganda’s Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba lamented Mullally’s “support and advocacy for unbiblical positions on sexuality,” adding that her appointment widened “the tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion.”

The controversy reflects not just theological differences but profound cultural divides. In Ghana, Patrick Okaijah-Bortier, parish priest of St. Andrew Anglican Church, warned that if Mullally “pushes this agenda, she may end up losing almost all of us.” By contrast, in South Africa, where same-sex marriages are legal, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town offered “warm congratulations” to Mullally.

Gafcon leaders plan to “confer and celebrate” restructuring at their next major meeting in Nigeria in March, potentially marking a decisive moment for the future of global Anglicanism.