At the recent Abuja meeting of bishops, Gafcon, a conservative network of Anglicans, called on all leaders in the reset Global Anglican Communion to stay away from events organised by the Canterbury-centred communion. This has been seen as a test of how much support Gafcon has, and whether the other conservative network, the overlapping Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) would stay away.
The first test came within a couple of weeks. Which Primates (national leaders) would stay away from the installation of Sarah Mullally as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in London on March 25?
The Sleuths at the UK website Anglican Futures have compiled a list of which national Anglican leaders passed up the journey to London.
Gafcon’s Primates all stayed away.
| Primate | National church | Gafcon / GSFA |
|---|---|---|
| Samy Fawzy Shehata | Alexandria | Yes / Yes |
| Enrique Lago Zugadi | Chile | Yes / Yes |
| Georges Titre Ande | Congo | Yes / Yes |
| Gilbert Rateloson Rakotondravelo | Indian Ocean | Not listed / Yes |
| Jackson Ole Sapit | Kenya | Yes / Yes |
| Stephen Than Myint Oo | Myanmar | Yes / Yes |
| Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba | Nigeria | Yes / No |
| Laurent Mbanda | Rwanda | Yes (Chair) / No |
| Titus Chung | South East Asia | No / Yes |
| Kondo Kumir Kuku | Sudan | Yes (advisor) / Yes |
| Justin Badi Arama | South Sudan | Yes / Yes |
| Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu | Uganda | Yes /Yes |
All the Gafcon Primates who would have been invited did not go to London. The leaders of “breakaway” churches like the Anglican Church in North America would not have been invited as Anglicans, and likely were not on the invite list at all. At least 8 of a possible 11 GSFA Primates stayed away.
It is possible that travel disruption may have kept some away. However, the Primate of Australia, Bishop Mark Short, made it all the way to London.
Image: The Installation of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury on 25 March, 2026. Image Credit: Neil Turner/ Lambeth Palace
Is there any explanation anywhere as to why only three primates attended in Abuja?
Gafcon has held its main conferences every five years starting with jerusalem in 2008. Abuja was set up as a mini conference, with Gafcon aiming to hold smaller events more often, maybe annually. So it is likely that when it was first called only a few Primates set aside the time in their calendar. A need to amplify last year’s Martyrs’ day staemnet may have boosted its imprtantance somewhat.
There are also some local reasons why Primates chose not to attend Abuja. They were, in many cases, entirely happy to be represented by their bishops.
I agree that is likely in some, but certainly not all cases. Nigeria will not have done that, Uganda and Rwanda too. Others we don’y know. Would be interesting to have an official attendance list. O
Further then, why is it that GAFCON is so careful about publishing who attends these events especially bishops? I’m certainly not persuaded about primatial non-attendance. It is the AC Primates which matter at this moment.
None of this info came from Gafcon
I am not sure what “test” is being talked about it. It is indeed a sad day when the installation of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury is boycotted by a bunch of male clerics.
I would say staying away is a protest. Life is busy, who needs to pay for an over priced plane ticket when you’ve got holy week coming up.