Statement on the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury 

The Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion (EFAC) joins Anglicans across the world in praying for Bishop Sarah Mullally on the announcement that she is to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

Bishop Sarah takes up her role as the Archbishop of Canterbury at a difficult time for both the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. The Church of England is deeply divided over issues of human sexuality and proposed “Prayers of Love and Faith”. Within the Anglican Communion there has been a significant loss of confidence in the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In both contexts there is a cry for leadership which is consistent with our rich Anglican theological and doctrinal heritage.

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Sarah will have a unique opportunity to lead a process to reset the Anglican Communion and its leadership.

In late 2024 the IASCUFO NAIROBI-CAIRO PROPOSALS (“Renewing the Instruments of the Anglican Communion”) was produced for feedback. EFAC welcomed the opportunity to offer an initial response to this important report. It was clear from the document that the proposals had been produced in response to two interconnected problems:

1. The anachronism of colonial era structures for the Anglican Communion when the vast majority of active members are now found in the Global South.
2. The broken and impaired relationships of the Anglican Communion which have arisen due to doctrinal differences, especially to do with biblical anthropology and marriage. These have been in contention for several decades and been the subject of previous reports offering different paths of renewal. They have become more acute since the Bishops and General Synod of the Church of England in 2023 opened the way for the blessing of same sex relationships. The election as Archbishop of the Church in Wales of a person openly living in a same-sex civil partnership has further complicated the situation.

The IASCUFO Nairobi-Cairo Proposals include the following proposals:

1. That the 1930 Lambeth Conference description of the Anglican Communion be amended, including the deletion of the phrase “in communion with the see of Canterbury” and its replacement with words which include “bound together through … historic connection with the See of Canterbury”.
2. That the existing structures be changed, including a rotating presidency of the Anglican Consultative Council.

EFAC Global believes these changes need urgent implementation. However, these changes alone would not be sufficient. EFAC also believes that the Anglican Communion needs not just structural adjustments, but an agreed coherent theological and doctrinal basis and we strongly urge that consideration be given to the adoption of the Global South Fellowship of Churches Covenantal model. Unless something similar is adopted, many provinces will continue, in conscience, to disengage and there would appear to be no realistic basis for going forward together as a communion. The Lambeth Conference of 1920 put it this way:

“The Churches represented in [the Communion] are indeed independent, but independent with the Christian freedom which recognises the restraints of truth and love. They are not free to deny the truth. They are not free to ignore the fellowship.”

Not all differences can be tolerated. Most people within the Communion do not see how the authorisation of rites of blessing for same sex unions are compatible with the teaching of scripture, tradition and reason. If Anglicans are to walk together, there must be a convergence in our understanding of the truth. If there is no convergence in our understanding of the truth, we will need to begin to learn to walk apart. We earnestly hope and pray that this will not prove necessary. Our prayer is for repentance, healing and restoration.

Like any major change the steps which will be required to enable the Communion to continue to walk together will be challenging and will involve wise and determined leadership and we will pray for Bishop Sarah as she takes up this weighty responsibility.

Bishop Stephen Hale Acting General Secretary