| Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Communion |
| Classification | Protestant[a] |
| Orientation | ConfessingAnglican |
| Scripture | Protestant Bible |
| Theology | Anglican doctrine |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Chairman | Laurent Mbanda |
| Vice Chairmen | Kanishka Raffel,Miguel Uchôa |
| General Secretary | Paul Donison |
| Headquarters | Sheffield, England |
| Origin | 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference,Jerusalem |
| Official website | gafcon.org |
TheGlobal Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded asGAFCON orGafcon after theGlobal Anglican Future Conference) is a communion of conservativeAnglican churches aligned with theConfessing Movement that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in the worldwideAnglican Communion.[1][2] As of 2025, GAFCON claims to represent upwards of 85% of the world's practising Anglicans.[3][4][5] Peer-reviewed research from 2015 and 2016 indicates that the GAFCON-aligned provinces represent closer to 45% of practising Anglicans and just over 54% of members baptised in any of the provinces of theAnglican Communion.[6][7]
Confessing Anglicans met in 2008 at theGlobal Anglican Future Conference, creating the Jerusalem Declaration and establishing theFellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA), which was rebranded as GAFCON in 2017. At its founding, it consisted of the Anglican provinces of Rwanda, Nigeria, Uganda, Alexandria, Chile, Congo, Kenya, Myanmar, South Sudan, and the newly formedAnglican Church in Brazil,Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa, andAnglican Church in North America.[8][3][9]
On October 16, 2025, GAFCON formally declared its intent to possibly break ties with theCanterbury-based Anglican Communion. The chairman of GAFCON,Laurent Mbanda, thePrimate of Rwanda, declared that GAFCON intends to be recognized[by whom?] as theGlobal Anglican Communion, asserting that they have not left the Anglican Communion but instead are the Anglican Communion.[8][3][9]
The Global Anglican Future Conference was held near Jerusalem in June 2008 at the initiative of theologically conservative Anglican leaders, mostly from Africa and Asia,[10][11][12] from across the globe who opposed theordination of homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions by member churches of the Anglican Communion.[13] The meeting came as the culmination of a series of controversies in the Anglican Communion that began in 2003 when the openly non-celibate gay bishopGene Robinson was consecrated by theEpiscopal Church USA.[14] GAFCON was organised as a conservative alternative to the 2008Lambeth Conference, which was boycotted by many traditionalists, except, most notably, Bishop Anis.[15]Mouneer Anis the Presiding Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East (a conservative himself on matters of human sexuality), however, publicly announced he would not be one of the traditionalists attending GAFCON 2008; his observation was that "theGlobal South must not be driven by an exclusively Northern agenda or Northern personalities."[16]
The GAFCON Final Statement produced at the first conference recognises theArchbishop of Canterbury for his historic role in the Anglican Church but denies that his recognition is the cornerstone of Anglican identity. The statement also called for the formation of "A Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans."[17]
GAFCON was instrumental in the formation of theAnglican Church in North America in 2009. The ACNA was formed as an alternative church structure for those disaffected by the official Anglican structures in the United States and Canada. TheAnglican Church of the Southern Cone of America, which covers much of South America, is a key constituent of the GAFCON movement. TheAnglican Diocese of Sydney, Australia, played an important role in forming the FCA and its ArchbishopPeter Jensen was the FCA's first secretary.[18]
On 6 July 2009, GAFCON was launched within the British Isles and by 2016 rebranded itself as GAFCON GB & Europe.[19] Through this branch, theAnglican Network in Europe was created, and theReformed Episcopal Church andFree Church of England have been members of GAFCON GB & Europe since 2008. In 2015,Rod Thomas (a member of the executive ofAMiE) was consecrated theprovincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelical members of the Church of England.
On 3 September 2009, GAFCON's South African branch was established by the initiative of BishopBethlehem Nopece, of theAnglican Diocese of Port Elizabeth. It incorporates Anglicans from three denominations: theAnglican Church of Southern Africa, theReformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH-SA) and theTraditional Anglican Communion.[20] In 2023, REACH-SA was recognized as an "authentic Anglican province" by the Gafcon Primates' Council, and its presiding bishop, Glenn Lyons, was seated on the council.[21]
GAFCON in New Zealand was launched in April 2016 in two conferences that took place in Auckland and Christchurch reuniting nearly 500 members from the entire country. Chairman ArchbishopEliud Wabukala fromKenya sent a message of support read at the conferences. Video greetings were also sent by ArchbishopFoley Beach of theAnglican Church in North America, and BishopRichard Condie of theAnglican Diocese of Tasmania and chairman of GAFCON Australia. Rev. Jay Behan became the chair of GAFCON New Zealand. The creation of GAFCON New Zealand was a result of the passing of Motion 30 by theAnglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia and the subsequent document "A Way Forward", proposing the blessing of same-sex marriages, presented at their General Synod in May 2014.[22] TheChurch of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand was established in 2019 with Behan as the inaugural bishop.[23]
GAFCON helped to form theDiocese of the Southern Cross in 2022, a breakaway from theAnglican Church of Australia as a result of disagreements over same-sex marriage and other issues.[24][25]
On October 16, 2025, in response to the Church of England's announcement ofSarah Mullally as the newArchbishop of Canterbury,[26] the head of GAFCON,Laurent Mbanda, formally declared that GAFCON is the authentic Anglican Communion. He further stated that the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Anglican Communion's Primates Meeting have "failed to uphold the doctrine and discipline of the Anglican Communion".[8] GAFCON's primates also announced their intention to reorganize as the "Global Anglican Communion" in response.[8][9][27][28] They reiterated that they are not leaving the Anglican Communion but have rather reorganized it under themselves as the Anglican Communion.[3] As Mbanda explained, "We cannot continue to have communion with those who advocate the revisionist agenda, which has abandoned the inerrant word of God as the final authority and overturned Resolution I.10, of the 1998 Lambeth Conference."[29]
As of 2025, GAFCON claims to represent upwards of 85% of the world's practising Anglicans.[3][4][5] This claim is disputed.[30] Peer-reviewed research from 2015 and 2016, published in theJournal of Anglican Studies byCambridge University Press, indicates that GAFCON-aligned provinces represent closer to 45% of practising Anglicans and just over 54% of members baptized in any of the provinces of theAnglican Communion.[6][7]
In 2020, additional peer-reviewed research focused on the Church of Nigeria, GAFCON's largest member church, Kenya, and Uganda. GAFCON claims that the Church of Nigeria has 25 million members,[31] and the Church of Nigeria claims 18 million nominal members,[32] but research published in theJournal of Anglican Studies estimated that 7.6 million Nigerians self-identified as Anglicans.[33] The same research estimated the Anglican population in Kenya to be closer to 4.9 million and Uganda to be 10.9 million.[33]
The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans aims to extend the goals of the GAFCON conferences into a movement, to "preach the biblical gospel [...] all over the world" and "provide aid to [...] faithful Anglicans" disaffected from their original churches.[34] The fellowship recognizes the Jerusalem Declaration, written at the 2008 GAFCON meeting, as a "contemporary rule." The fellowship is administered by a "Primates' Council" originally consisting of Primates from the African provinces of theAnglican Communion.[35] GAFCON currently lists 12 provinces, 7 branches, and 2 branches "being formed."[36]
| Branches | Territorial jurisdiction | Membership (in thousands of people) | Other affiliated entities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gafcon Australia | Australia | TBD | Anglican Diocese of Sydney,Anglican Diocese of Tasmania,Diocese of the Southern Cross |
| Gafcon GB and Europe | Great Britain,continental Europe | TBD | Anglican Network in Europe,Free Church of England,Reformed Episcopal Church |
| Gafcon Ghana | Ghana | TBD | Anglican Diocese of Sunyani |
| Gafcon Ireland | Ireland | TBD | |
| Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa New Zealand | New Zealand | TBD | |
| Gafcon Tanzania | Tanzania | TBD | Anglican Church of Tanzania Dioceses ofTabora,Mara,Mpwapwa,Tarime,Kibondo,Mount Kilimanjaro,Rorya,Shinyanga,Lake Rukwa, andWestern Tanganyika[53] |
Theordination of women toholy orders, the offices of deacon, priest (presbyter), and bishop, remains controversial in GAFCON.[54][55] Among the member churches of GAFCON, there is a diversity of approaches to women's ordination. Nigeria only ordains women to the diaconate within limitations; Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda ordain women as priests.[56] Kenya and South Sudan have ordained women as bishops.[57][58]
In 2006, theChurch of Nigeria planned to ordain women to the diaconate, but not as priests or bishops.[59] In 2010, the church moved forward with those plans and began to ordain women as deacons, with limitations "for specific purposes like hospital work and school services".[60] The Church of Nigeria continues to prohibit the ordination of women as priests or bishops.[61]
TheChurch of Uganda has ordained women as deacons since 1973 and as priests since 1983.[62] TheAnglican Church in North America allows each diocese to decide whether to ordain women as deacons or priests but does not permit the ordination of women as bishops.[63] In 2023, theDiocese of the Southern Cross (Australia) welcomed its first female priest.[64]
Women in the episcopacy continues to divide GAFCON.[54] In 2016, theEpiscopal Church of Sudan consecrated the first woman,Elizabeth Awut Ngor, as bishop and the first woman bishop among the GAFCON members.[65] In 2018, the primatial bishops of the GAFCON member churches agreed to a moratorium on further ordinations of women to the episcopate.[66][67] In 2021, theAnglican Church of Kenya consecrated two women as bishops,Emily Onyango was consecrated as an assisting bishop andRose Okeno was consecrated as the diocesan bishop of theDiocese of Butere.[68][69][70] In 2022, Archbishop Kaziimba of the Church of Uganda confirmed that a woman may be ordained a bishop in the Church of Uganda.[71][72]
In 2025, GAFCON opposed the appointment ofSarah Mullally (who expressed liberal views onblessing same-sex couples in theChurch of England) as the nextArchbishop of Canterbury, stating that her appointment was a cause for "sorrow" and demonstrated that the Church of England had "relinquished its authority to lead".[73][74] While some were opposed to the appointee being a woman, the Church of Uganda's Stephen Kaziimba stated his opposition to Sarah Mullally's appointment was based on her views, not her gender.[75][76]
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