The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has faulted the election of Bishop Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales.
“The recent election of The Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann on Wednesday, 30th July, 2025, as Archbishop of Wales is a further indication and abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints, Bishop Vann being a practising homosexual,” said Henry Ndukuba, the archbishop and primate of the Church of Nigeria, in a statement on Sunday.
Mr Ndukuba further described the election as a further abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints, echoing concerns about the Church of Wales’ trajectory.
“Thus, that an openly lesbian woman is the ‘right leader for the moment’ in the Church of Wales shows how deep the church has sunk,” said the Church of Nigeria primate. “Rather than advocating reconciliation as being championed by the new Archbishop of Wales, the important matter of the moment should be a call for genuine repentance.”
He added, “It is becoming clearer as echoed by Paul in Romans 1:28 in view of what had just happened in the Church of Wales that some in the global Anglican world have ultimately chosen not, ‘…to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting’.”
The archbishop called upon faithful Christians to reject and condemn those who would compromise biblical teachings, demanding a realignment with faithful Anglican bodies, such as GAFCON.
“The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemns, unequivocally rejects, and will not recognise the election of Vann as Archbishop of Wales.
“We will strive to uphold the authority of the Scriptures, our historic creeds, evangelism, and holy Christian living. We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ will build His Church and ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18).
“We call upon faithful Christians of the Anglican fold to denounce, reject, condemn, and expel the rebels in our midst, while we realign ourselves with Anglican remnants scattered in troubled dioceses all over the world,” he said.
The Anglican church also called for prayer for the Church of Wales, hoping that the Church of England would not follow in its steps.
“We should hold them in our prayers with a clear message that hope lies only in true repentance and godliness. Otherwise, the church will lose complete relevance in the divine scheme for the people of Wales, and the leaders in compromise shall not be spared in a time of judgment,” the church said.
