Conservative leaders of the Anglican Church are meeting to elect a rival to the leftist Archbishop of Canterbury.
Clergy from the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon) are gathered in Abuja, Nigeria, where they plan to elect their own leader as a rival to Sarah Mullally, who will be installed as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury later this month.
Gafcon describes itself as a global movement of “authentic Anglicans, guarding God’s gospel,” and was formed in 2008 in response to differences within the Anglican Church about the acceptance of same-sex unions.
The election of Mullally, who has expressed pro-abortion and pro-LGBT views, has deepened the rift between the conservative and progressive wings of the Anglican Church. However, Gafcon had already rejected the leadership of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in 2023 due to his proposal to bless same-sex couples.
“This is a schism, even if they don’t want to say that,” said Diarmaid MacCulloch, emeritus professor of the history of the church at the University of Oxford in England.
Gafcon draws much of its support from Africa, but clergy from North and South America as well as Australia have also joined the group. In October 2025, Gafcon committed to “reorder the Anglican Communion,” refusing to participate in meetings called by the Archbishop of Canterbury and encouraging members to cut remaining ties with the Church of England.
The group argues that it is not in schism but represents the true Anglican Communion, which is made up of 42 provinces in 165 countries worldwide. While all of these provinces have their own systems of governance, they share liturgical and cultural heritage and, until recently, accepted the Archbishop of Canterbury as the “first among equals” of the Anglican leaders.
The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) will discuss proposals to broaden the leadership of the Anglican Church to reflect its global nature in June. However, it may already be too late to heal the division, as Gafcon no longer recognizes the ACC as a legitimate body, and its members will not participate in the meeting.