Anglican leaders have disavowed the Archbishop of Canterbury, stating they “no longer recognise” the Archbishop of Canterbury as a “first among equals”. The Church of England’s vote to bless same-sex marriages has ignited controversy among conservative Anglicans. In a statement, the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) declared they wouldn’t recognise the Archbishop as the leader of their Communion.
The GFSA, an association of Anglican bishops from around the world, are a portion of the Anglican Communion, founded in 1867, which recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as their spiritual leader.
The forefront position earns the figurehead the title of “first among equals” among archbishops within the religion.
The recognition extends to the Church of England, the “mother church” of all Anglican churches.
But the GFSA’s statement has seen 12 members declare they won’t recognise the institution as their mother church.
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The statement declared the organisation is “no longer able to recognise the present Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Hon & Most Revd Justin Welby, as the ‘first among equals’ Leader of the global Communion”.
The statement adds that the members pray the Archbishop sees their “withdrawal of support” to lead the Communion as an “admonishment of love”.
The GFSA reasoned that the Church of England has “departed from the historic faith passed down from the Apostles by this innovation in the liturgies of the Church and her pastoral practice”.
They concluded the church has “disqualified herself from leading the Communion as the historic ‘mother’ church”.
The 12 Archbishop signatories include 10 recognised by the Anglican Communion – the Most Rev Justin Badi, the Archbishop of South Sudan, the archbishops of Chile, the Indian Ocean, Congo, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Uganda, Sudan, Alexandria and Melanesia.
The remaining two come from breakaway conservative provinces in the US and Brazil not recognised by the Communion.
Together, they denounced the Church of England as a “revisionist province”, but stopped short of quitting the Communion altogether.
The decision to bless gay and lesbian marriages came earlier this month, following a vote from the General Synod, the church’s legislative body.
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The ruling proved controversial from several angles, with progressive members decrying the failure to make a bolder step forward as officials still prohibit same-sex marriages.
A spokesperson for Lambeth Palace said there was “widespread support” for “working together patiently and constructively to review the Instruments of Communion” from members of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC).
They added: “The Archbishop is in regular contact with his fellow Primates and looks forward to discussing this and other matters with them over the coming period.
“The Archbishop of Canterbury commented last week at the ACC in Ghana that these structures are always able to change with the times.”
“We note the statement issued today by some Anglican Primates and we fully appreciate their position.
“As was reaffirmed in multiple discussions at the ACC in Ghana however, no changes to the formal structures of the Anglican Communion can be made unless they are agreed upon by the Instruments of Communion.
“The deep disagreements that exist across the Anglican Communion on sexuality and marriage are not new. The 42 member Churches of the Anglican Communion are independent and autonomous, but at the same time interdependent.
“It is a fundamental principle of the Anglican Communion that no province can bind another province, and no Instrument of Communion has any jurisdictional authority over any province.”
