The General Secretary of Gafcon (Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans) has described a forthcoming “G26” gathering next month as a “kairos” moment for the conservative movement, which claims to represent a majority of the world’s Anglicans and operates outside the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Rt. Rev. Paul Donison made the remarks in a recent announcement about the gathering in Abuja, Nigeria, scheduled for March 3-6. About 400 Anglican leaders — including archbishops, bishops, clergy and laypeople from the biblically orthodox Anglican world — are expected to meet for worship and consultation.
“Now is the moment to gather together under the Word of God, to prayerfully discern what the Lord’s future for us looks like as we reorder our beloved Communion,” Donison said, urging fellow Gafcon members to help shape the body’s future.
“G26 will not be merely a series of speeches, but a truly conciliar, confessional and collaborative council — a global Anglican family seeking deeper unity in the truth of the gospel.”
He described as a prophetic moment the Gafcon Martyrs’ Day Statement issued in October last year, which declared, “The Future Has Arrived,” and marked what leaders said was a decisive break from the Church of England. The move followed Gafcon’s first global gathering in Jerusalem in 2008 and the adoption of the 14-point “Jerusalem Declaration,” which affirms orthodox biblical teaching.
Donison also released a four-minute video calling evangelical Anglicans to attend the Abuja meeting.
He said the gathering represents a global collaboration grounded in biblical authority, not defined by colonialism, personalities or what he described as “failed instruments.”
“Please continue to pray for G26, for those preparing to gather, and for the Lord’s wisdom and courage as we seek to walk faithfully together,” Donison added, asking Christians beyond the Anglican Communion to pray.
“The world is watching,” Donison said, “and by God’s grace the candle lit in Jerusalem in 2008 still burns. We now gather in Abuja to pray, give, participate — walk with us!”
Gafcon, a conservative Anglican movement that claims to represent a majority of Anglicans worldwide, particularly in the Global South, is moving toward a formal reordering of global Anglican leadership following its October renunciation of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s authority.
On Oct. 16, in a declaration known as the “Martyrs’ Day Statement,” Gafcon leaders formally rejected the authority of Dame Sarah Mullally, the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, after she voiced support for same-sex blessings. The statement marked what leaders described as a decisive break from Canterbury-aligned structures and signaled a new phase in the life of the Anglican Communion.
The group has voiced growing concern about what it sees as the mainstream Communion’s departure from biblical teaching, citing recent controversies including the appointment of the Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, who is in a same-sex relationship, as Archbishop of Wales.
