the schism is established, the South asserts itself against the North

The threat of schism had long loomed over the Anglican world; it has now become reality. On Thursday October 16, 2025, Gafcon (Global Anglican Future Conference) declared in a press release that it would “reorganize” the Anglican Communion. An implicit way of announcing its break with the Church of England. The Anglican Communion brings together a group of provinces bringing together 77 million faithful across the world, “in communion” with the headquarters of the Church of England, in Canterbury.

But now, this communion is shattered. Gafcon, which brings together ten Anglican provinces in the world (in Brazil, Nigeria, Kenya, etc.), affirms that it rejects the “instruments of communion” bringing together the different Churches. She therefore announces that she no longer recognizes the function of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a unifying figure at the head of the Church of England. She will not participate in the Lambeth conference (a sort of Anglican council), in Greater London, nor in other assemblies of primates within the Communion, according to the press release.

The statement should, however, be taken with caution. It is signed by the archbishop and primate of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, Laurent Mbanda, on behalf of the primates of Gafcon. But it is difficult to know, at present, whether the primates of each diocese have given their agreement and officially mark the break.

Old fractures

In its press release, the Gafcon network denounces the “revisionist agenda” of part of the Anglican community. On October 3, 2025, the Church of England appointed Sarah Mullally Archbishop of Canterbury, making her the first woman to head the institution. As such, she became primus inter pares (first among equals), among Anglican primates.

Upon his appointment, Gafcon reacted by expressing its “sadness” at a choice which “further divides an already fractured communion”. In fact, the network had been very divided for many years between the provinces of the northern hemisphere (Canada, England, United States, etc.) with a predominantly liberal tendency and the more conservative provinces of the South (Nigeria, India, Uganda, etc.).

In the North, many communities, including the Church of England, permitted the blessing of same-sex couples and the ordination of women. This last vote thus allowed Sarah Mullally to become priest then bishop until his appointment to the see of Canterbury. But the Churches of the South are very largely unfavorable to these decisions and advocate an ecclesial discipline which they consider more faithful to the Bible.

The weight of numbers

Some organizations have threatened several times to leave the Anglican Communion. In 2022, the primates of the communities of Rwanda, Uganda and Nigeria had already refused to participate in the Lambeth conference, which brings together the Anglican Churches approximately every ten years.

Yet few experts truly believed in the possibility of a schism. Certainly, the Churches of the South have many more faithful (the Global South Fellowship and its 22 provinces alone represent 75% of believers) but the Churches of the North finance numerous development projects there. For these communities, the institution of the Anglican Communion also plays a key representational role.

Struggle for influence

Yet today, Gafcon intends to assert its power against the Church of England. “We are not leaving the Anglican Communion because we are the Anglican Communion,” assert its representatives in their press release. They even announce that they will soon form a “council of primates from all the member provinces in order to elect a president as primus inter pares“.

A bishop, necessarily a man, whose appointment would therefore officially delegitimize that of the Archbishop of Canterbury. In addition, several Churches could abandon the ranks of the Communion in favor of the new federation promised by Gafcon. The balance of power is definitely no longer the same in the Anglican world.