The BBC article also implies that the GAFCON movement is reacting primarily to the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury. Anyone actually present in Abuja would know otherwise. This council was scheduled long before her appointment. On the second day of the gathering, GAFCON General Secretary, the Rt. Rev. Paul Donison, made the point plainly: the issue is not the archbishop\u2019s gender, but the theological direction of the Church of England and other Western provinces that have departed from historic Anglican teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the BBC genuinely believes this moment is about the gender of the Archbishop of Canterbury, it suggests either a serious misunderstanding of the situation or a refusal to listen to what leaders here have repeatedly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The article also quotes Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of Church History at Oxford, who describes the gathering as \u201ca set of leaders, all male, going to a conference in Africa to assert an identity which no longer satisfies many Anglican churches.\u201d That claim raises an obvious question: which Anglican churches, exactly?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reality is that many of the churches represented in Abuja, particularly in Africa, Asia, and the Global South, make up the overwhelming majority of the Anglican Communion\u2019s membership. If anyone is speaking for \u201cmany Anglican churches,\u201d it is the bishops gathered here. The recurring Western media portrayal of GAFCON as a fringe movement \u201ccoming to Africa\u201d ignores a simple fact: it is in Africa because Africa is where the majority of Anglicans live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The BBC also notes that GAFCON \u201csays it speaks for the majority of the world\u2019s Anglicans, although that is contested.\u201d By whom, exactly? The demographic numbers are not difficult to examine. The provinces represented in GAFCON, many of which also belong to the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans, account for the clear majority of practicing Anglicans worldwide. Calling this movement \u201cfringe\u201d does not change that reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professor MacCulloch further describes GAFCON\u2019s actions as \u201cvery aggressive.\u201d But in some Western circles, any refusal to conform to the theological innovations of Western church leadership is labeled \u201caggressive.\u201d Those present in Abuja would struggle to recognize that description. The atmosphere here is marked far more by conviction and confidence than by hostility. The leaders gathered believe they are continuing the Anglican faith as they received it, ironically from the very Western churches now dismissing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> The @BBCNews<\/a> was reporting on @gafconference<\/a> but unfortunately, one of the articles was less than accurate, to be charitable. The majority of the @AnglicanWorld<\/a> is represented here whether they like that or not. https:\/\/t.co\/DaYrR4qfe0<\/a><\/p>— American Anglican (@AnglicanCouncil) March 5, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>