The Anglican Church Communion in Nigeria has rejected and condemned the appointment of Bishop Sarah Mullaly as the new Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the church worldwide.
In a statement on Monday, the primate of the Church of Nigeria, Henry Ndukuba, described Ms Mullaly’s election and appointment as a double “jeopardy”, adding that her “election is a further confirmation that the global Anglican world could no longer accept the leadership of the Church of England and that of the Archbishop of Canterbury”.
“It is a double jeopardy; first, in its insensitivity to the conviction of the majority of Anglicans who are unable to embrace female headship in the episcopate,” Mr Ndukuba said.
Citing Ms Mullaly’s support for same sex marriage, Mr Ndukuba said, “More disturbing is that Bishop Sarah Mullaly is a strong supporter of same-sex marriage as evidenced in her speech in 2023, after a vote to approve the blessings of homosexuals when she described the result as a moment of hope for the Church.”
Mr Ndukuba added, “It remains to be seen how the same person hopes to mend the already torn fabric of the Anglican Communion by the contentious same-sex marriage, which has caused an enormous crisis across the entire Anglican Communion for over two decades.”
Calling on Anglicans across the globe to reject and oppose Mrs Mullaly’s leadership of the church, Mr Ndukuba said, “We encourage all faithful brothers and sisters in the Church of England who have consistently rejected the aberration called same-sex marriage and other ungodly teachings, by contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).
“On our part, as a member of the GAFCON family, the Church of Nigeria affirms, the GAFCON position unreservedly, and reaffirm our earlier stance to uphold the authority of the Scriptures, our historic creeds, evangelism and holy Christian living, irrespective of the ongoing revisionist agenda, believing our Lord Jesus Christ has built His church and ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16 :18).”
On Friday, the Church of England announced that Ms. Mullaly will be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first female archbishop of Canterbury to lead the Anglican Communion worldwide.
Ms Mullaly’s appointment comes after her predecessor, Justin Welby, resigned abruptly from the position last November.
Having served as the first female bishop of London since 2018, Ms Mullaly, 63, a former cancer nurse and advocate for women’s leadership in the church, will lead 85 million Anglican faithful worldwide.
