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Conservative Anglicans Convene in Abuja to Choose Rival ‘First Among Equals

The official Anglican Communion has advanced a decentralization plan to share leadership beyond Canterbury in a bid to preserve cooperation despite deep doctrinal rifts.

Overview

  • GAFCON says its Global Primates Council will elect a chairman to function as primus inter pares, with the result due Thursday.
  • The move is intended to replace the symbolic leadership role traditionally associated with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
  • More than 400 bishops, clergy and lay delegates are attending the Abuja gathering, with organizers stressing they are asserting an orthodox core rather than quitting the Communion.
  • A separate reform proposal from the historic Communion would make governance less Canterbury-centric and is slated for Anglican Consultative Council review this summer.
  • Fault lines include same-sex marriage, ordination of openly LGBTQ+ clergy and women, and protests over the Church of England’s selection of Sarah Mullally, as GAFCON’s Laurent Mbanda has vowed that the Communion will be reordered.