All The Rage: GAFCON goes. Division multiplies.

At the COAT Facebook page (Catholic Ordinariates of Anglican Tradition), a post highlights the recent reaction from GAFCON (Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans), predominantly made up of African Anglicans, in the wake of the elevation of Sarah Mullally to the Anglican See of Canterbury.

The Most Revd Dr Laurent Mbanda, Chairman, Gafcon Primates’ Council, Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, wrote a response published on Thursday 16th October, 2025.

8 Theses nailed to the internet door of Canterbury.

https://gafcon.org/communique-updates/the-future-has-arrived/

Edited for length. [...] Comments are italicized between parentheses.

The first Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) gathered in 2008 in Jerusalem to prayerfully respond to the abandonment of the Scriptures by some of the most senior leaders of the Anglican Communion, and to seek their repentance.

In the absence of such repentance, we have been prayerfully advancing towards a future for faithful Anglicans, where the Bible is restored to the heart of the Communion.

Today, that future has arrived.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMxOLiS9DOo

Our Gafcon Primates gathered this hour to fulfil our mandate to reform the Anglican Communion, as expressed in the Jerusalem Statement of 2008.

We resolved to reorder the Anglican Communion as follows:

1. We declare that the Anglican Communion will be reordered, with only one foundation of communion, namely the Holy Bible, “translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading” (Jerusalem Declaration, Article II), which reflects Article VI of the 39 Articles of Religion. (Without an authoritative interpreter, Scripture can be twisted to serve practically any agenda. Survey the wide disparities between GAFCON Anglicans and ACoC Anglicans, for starters.)
2. We reject the so-called Instruments of Communion, namely the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), and the Primates Meeting, which have failed to uphold the doctrine and discipline of the Anglican Communion. (Division only leads to more division. When Henry VIII proclaimed himself head of the Church in his realm, he shifted from being Defender of the Faith to a schismatic. Further deviations from the Catholic and Apostolic Faith complicated the Anglicans' ties to Apostolic Christianity, turning Anglicanism into another heretical sect.)
3. 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. ("Revisionist agenda." A tragic irony.)
4. Therefore, Gafcon has re-ordered the Anglican Communion by restoring its original structure as a fellowship of autonomous provinces bound together by the Formularies of the Reformation, as reflected at the first Lambeth Conference in 1867, and we are now the Global Anglican Communion. (That phrasing couldn't be more direct: "We are now the Global Anglican Communion." In other words, you, Canterbury and affiliates, are not.)
5. Provinces of the Global Anglican Communion shall not participate in meetings called by the Archbishop of Canterbury, including the ACC, and shall not make any monetary contribution to the ACC, nor receive any monetary contribution from the ACC or its networks. (Enough said.)
6. Provinces, which have yet to do so, are encouraged to amend their constitution to remove any reference to being in communion with the See of Canterbury and the Church of England. (The full extent of the drift away from Canterbury is yet to be determined. Simply encouraging amendments to respective constitutions doesn’t quite convey the tone of true authority.)
7. To be a member of the Global Anglican Communion, a province or a diocese must assent to the Jerusalem Declaration of 2008, the contemporary standard for Anglican identity. (And what will the standard be next year?)
8. We shall form a Council of Primates of all member provinces to elect a Chairman, as primus inter pares (‘first amongst equals’), to preside over the Council as it continues “to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). (The phrase "first among equals," though used by various groups over the centuries to justify their existence, goes against the authority structure of the Church founded by Christ. There is no room for pride of place in the Church. Instead, as Jesus intended, Peter and his successors serve as the rightful prime ministers of the Church. Christ established the Office of Peter to guide and govern the Church. https://catholiceducation.org/en/education/the-papacy-the-ministry-of-st-peter-in-the-new-testament-2-of-3.html)

As I declared in my statement two weeks ago,“the reset of our beloved Communion is now uniquely in the hands of Gafcon, and we are ready to take the lead.” Reset? That has a strangely Mormon vibe, to put it simply.

Today, Gafcon is leading the Global Anglican Communion. (Sarah Mullally – you're out of a job.)

As has been the case from the very beginning, we have not left the Anglican Communion; we are the Anglican Communion. ("We are the true church!" "No, we are!" "You're wrong—it's us!")

At our upcoming G26 Bishops Conference in Abuja, Nigeria from 3 to 6 March 2026, we will confer and celebrate the Global Anglican Communion. ("Let's have a party!")

Please pray that we will lead our Communion in prayerful submission to the Holy Spirit as we hear the voice of Jesus in his wondrous Scriptures, to the glory of God. (Is not the Holy Spirit the Spirit of unity?)

The statement, "Today, Gafcon is leading the Global Anglican Communion," carries significant weight. Could it be fairly rephrased as, "You're done. We're in charge now"?

The fruit of division is division. Who is the source of division?

Our Anglican brothers and sisters are facing division, with many communities within the Anglican Communion experiencing ongoing turmoil. It's crucial not to exploit others during their most vulnerable moments, but it's equally vital to show compassion and address their struggles. These challenging times call for kindness, empathy, and practical and spiritual support.

The Ordinariate offers a welcoming refuge for those who wish to maintain their Anglican heritage while being in communion with the Catholic Church. If you are an Anglican at a turning point, prayerfully consider this home created for you—a place within the Home established by Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls.

If there is not an Ordinariate community near you, reach out all the same, and in the meantime continue to celebrate Mattins and Evensong.

• North America: https://ordinariate.net/
• The British Isles: https://www.ordinariate.org.uk/
• Asia Pacific: https://www.ordinariate.org.au/

Any of the mentioned Ordinariates can provide an informed perspective for your inclusion. You can seek guidance from any Catholic Bishop in your area.

• https://www.doctrinafidei.va/en.html

O GOD, our loving Father, Thou art privy to the necessities of all, and in Thy mercy dost bestow the grace to endure and seek Thy divine will. Bestow, O Lord, a bounty of succor upon those who invoke Thee for aid. Imbue each and all with a fervent yearning for union with Thy Son in the One Catholic and Apostolic Church, which he didst establish upon the Apostle Peter. Grant this, Father, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.