Following the recent appointment of Most Revd. Sarah Mullaly as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) has elected a parallel leadership, marking a formal rejection of the authority of the first female primate.
In a statement dated Thursday, 5 March 2026, signed by the GAFCON General Secretary, the Rt. Revd. Paul Donison stated, “I am also pleased to announce that Archbishop Laurent Mbanda was unanimously elected as Chairman of the Global Anglican Council, likewise Archbishop Miguel Uchoa was unanimously elected as Vice – Chairman and myself, Bishop Paul Donison, as General Secretary. Our terms will conclude at the end of GAFCON V in Athens in 2028.”
Archbishop Laurent Mbanda – Chairman of the Global Anglican Council, Archbishop Miguel Uchoa – Vice Chairman, and Bishop Paul Donison – General Secretary
By this, GAFCON dissolved its original Primates Council in favour of a new Global Anglican Council.
“Historic day for the Global Anglican Communion?”
Meanwhile, stressing that “Today is a historic day for the Global Anglican Communion. Indeed, the future has arrived,” in part, the statement further noted that, “As we develop new structures for the Global Anglican Communion, the Gafcon Primates have dissolved the Gafcon Primates Council, which has faithfully led and served the Gafcon movement since 2008.”
Revd. Donison detailed that “The new leadership observed that “In a world where most organizations and individuals are concerned about keeping power and authority, the Gafcon Primates Council has made an unprecedented decision to share its stewardship of the Global Anglican Communion by creating the Global Anglican Council which includes primates, advisors, and guarantors, which will include bishops, clergy, and lay members each with full voting privileges.
Credit: https://anglicanmainstream.org/
Further clarifying the development, the cleric stated that “This expanded Council reflects the willingness of the Primates to share their authority with a wider group of global Anglican leaders, both lay and clergy.
“While the Chairman of the Council will be a Primate, he will not be primus inter pares (first amongst equals).”
The global body of the Anglican Communion disclosed that “the Council determined that Primates who retire from their Provincial office between GAFCON Assemblies may remain on the Council until the conclusion of the next GAFCON Assembly.
“Believing that the current Instruments of Communion no longer meet the needs of the majority of Anglicans around the world, the Global Anglican Communion is to be led by a conciliar structure. The Global Anglican Council has discerned that if we are to move past old structures, we must leave behind old titles as well.”
Most Revd. Sarah Mullally, the first female Archbishop of Canterbury. Credit: Afronewswire.com
GAFCON Vs Canterbury
Founded in 2008 in Israel, where the Jerusalem Declaration had a doctrinal basis, GAFCON claims to represent 85% of the world’s 85 million practicing Anglicans domiciled in the global south, especially Africa, Asia and South America.
There are other Orthodox branches of the new communion in Europe, Australia, Brazil and North America.
Although critics view the move as a schism, the leaders of GAFCON insist that they are “reorganising” the communion in keeping with the Church’s fidelity to Orthodoxy.
The departing line between Canterbury and GAFCON includes adherence to scriptures, the three Creeds, the first four Ecumenical Councils, and the Thirty-nine Articles as authoritative standards of the Anglican faith.
