The appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury has drawn sharp criticism from Gafcon, a global Anglican movement, which accused the Church of England of abandoning biblical teaching by choosing a leader who has affirmed blessings for same-sex relationships.
Gafcon leaders said Mullally’s support for introducing prayers of blessing for same-sex marriages and her 2023 comment that some same-sex relationships could be blessed showed she had failed to uphold her consecration vows. They warned that her elevation would deepen divisions in the 85-million-member Anglican Communion and render Canterbury unable to serve as a focus of unity.
In a statement to members of the Gafcon family today (Oct. 3), Most Rev. Dr. Laurent Mbanda, chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, said the news came after “months of prayer and long waiting,” but was received with sorrow. He said the Church of England had “chosen a leader who will further divide an already split Communion.”
“For over a century and a half, the Archbishop of Canterbury functioned not only as the Primate of All England but also as a spiritual and moral leader of the Anglican Communion,” Mbanda said. “In more recent times, the See of Canterbury has been described as one of the four ‘instruments of Communion,’ whilst also chairing the other three Instruments, namely the Lambeth Conference, the Primates Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council.”
“However, due to the failure of successive Archbishops of Canterbury to guard the faith, the office can no longer function as a credible leader of Anglicans, let alone a focus of unity,” he continued. “As we made clear in our Kigali Commitment of 2023, we can ‘no longer recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion’ or the ‘first among equals’ of global Primates.”
Gafcon had hoped that the Church of England would choose someone who could “bring unity to a divided Anglican Communion,” Mbanda said.
“Sadly, they have not done so,” he said. While some would welcome Mullally’s appointment as the first woman to hold the office, he argued that most Anglicans still believe episcopal leadership should be male only. As a result, he said, her selection makes it impossible for Canterbury to function as a unifying role within the Communion.
Mbanda said a greater concern, however, was Mullally’s alleged failure to uphold her consecration vows.
“When she was consecrated in 2015, she took an oath to ‘banish and drive away all strange and erroneous doctrine contrary to God’s Word,’” he said. “And yet, far from banishing such doctrine, Bishop Mullally has repeatedly promoted unbiblical and revisionist teachings regarding marriage and sexual morality.”
He pointed to her 2023 remarks, when asked by a reporter whether sexual intimacy in a same-sex relationship is sinful, in which she said that some such relationships could be blessed. Mbanda added that she also voted in favor of introducing blessings of same-sex marriage into the Church of England.
“Anglicans believe that the church has been given authority by God to establish rites and ceremonies and to settle doctrine controversy, ‘and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word’ (Article XX),” Mbanda said. “The church cannot bless or affirm what God has condemned (Numbers 23:8; 24:13). This, however, is precisely what Bishop Mullally has sought to allow.”
According to the Gafcon chairman, since the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury has failed to guard the faith and is “complicit in introducing practices and beliefs that violate both the ‘plain and canonical sense’ of Scripture and ‘the Church’s historic and consensual’ interpretation of it (Jerusalem Statement), she cannot provide leadership to the Anglican Communion.
“The leadership of the Anglican Communion will pass to those who uphold the truth of the gospel and the authority of Scripture in all areas of life,” he added.
Mbanda recalled that Gafcon first met in Jerusalem in 2008 to restore the Anglican Communion to biblical foundations. He said Mullally’s appointment shows that Canterbury has surrendered its authority to lead, leaving Gafcon to take responsibility for guiding the Communion forward.
Gafcon has summoned global orthodox Anglican bishops to Abuja, Nigeria, from March 3-6, 2026, for the G26 Bishops Assembly to discuss these issues. It is expected to be the most significant gathering of “faithful Anglicans” since 2008, according to Gafcon.
Mbanda, however, also pledged to pray for the new Archbishop of Canterbury despite the concerns.
“Today’s announcement will cause sadness and dismay among Anglicans worldwide. Yet, every morning, Anglicans throughout the world recite the words of Psalm 95: ‘Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts,’” he said.
“Today, that is our prayer for all bishops and leaders within the Anglican Communion, including Bishop Sarah Mullally. We pray that as she takes upon herself the weight of this historic office, she will repent, and earnestly work with the Gafcon leadership to mend the torn fabric of our Anglican Communion.
“May all our hearts be softened to hear the voice of God in Scripture, and may we all be inclined to obey, as we move out in gospel mission to a lost and hurting world, for the glory of God.”
