New Global Anglican Council orders financial, institutional break from Canterbury

Record ID: 2362695

  • Title: New Global Anglican Council orders financial, institutional break from Canterbury
  • Date: 6th March 2026
  • Summary: NEWLY APPOINTED GLOBAL ANGLICAN COUNCIL CHAIRMAN LAURENT MBANDA APPROACHING PODIUM TO SPEAK / PEOPLE CLAPPING (SOUNDBITE) (English) GLOBAL ANGLICAN COUNCIL CHAIRMAN, LAURENT MBANDA, SAYING: "Leaders who hold office in the Global Anglican Communion must not attend future primates meeting called by the Archbishop of Canterbury, nor attend the Lambeth Conference, nor attend t
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: anglican breakout communion diocese gafcon mbanda mullally religion
  • Location: ABUJA, NIGERIA
  • City: ABUJA, NIGERIA
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Africa,Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA002165906032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Conservative Anglican leaders formally severed ties with the Archbishop of Canterbury on Friday (March 6) establishing a new Global Anglican Council and ordering their members to break from the church’s traditional leadership structure.
    Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, newly elected chairman of the Global Anglican Council, told hundreds of bishops and clergy gathered in Nigeria's capital that leaders in their movement must boycott all meetings called by Canterbury and cut financial ties.
    "Leaders who hold office in the Global Anglican Communion must not attend future primates meeting called by the Archbishop of Canterbury, nor attend the Lambeth Conference, nor attend the ACC (Anglican Consultative Council) meetings," Mbanda said as he read the "Abuja Statement" concluding the conference.
    However, Mbanda insisted the conservative faction was not breaking away but rather reclaiming authentic Anglican identity.
    "The Global Anglican Communion is neither a breakaway Communion nor an alternative Communion," he said. "What has occurred instead is a shift of the stewardship of the Anglican Communion from the Canterbury Instruments to the Global Anglican Communion" he added. 
    The statement called on provinces to "amend their constitution to remove any reference to being in communion with the See of Canterbury," though it acknowledged such changes could take time. 
    The gathering of 347 bishops and 121 lay and clerical leaders from 27 provinces represents the culmination of years of tension over human sexuality and biblical interpretation that has divided the global Anglican Communion.
    Mbanda, who previously chaired GAFCON's Primates Council, was elected to lead the new Global Anglican Council alongside Deputy Chair Archbishop Miguel Uchôa. The council will be based on adherence to the Jerusalem Declaration, a 2008 statement of conservative Anglican beliefs.
    (Production: Abraham Aching, Angela Ukomadu)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register