Following the decision to permit the blessing of same-sex couples in England, a number of Anglican church leaders from around the world operating under the auspices of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches dismissed Justin Welby as their leader.
According to Daily Mail, the church leaders declared in a statement that they no longer view Welby as the “head of the worldwide communion” and that this “disqualified” the Church of England from serving as the organization’s “mother church.”
The Church of England’s legislative body, the General Synod, approved a motion earlier in February to permit the blessing of same-sex couples in civil partnerships.
However, the group claimed in a statement made public on Monday that by allowing same-sex blessings, the Church of England was following a false teaching path and going against the historical biblical faith. They added that this action “breaks our hearts.”
According to the organization claiming to speak on behalf of 75% of Anglicans worldwide, the Archbishop “sadly led his House of Bishops to make the recommendations (for blessing gay couples) knowing that they run contrary to the faith and order of the orthodox provinces in the communion.
“We pray that our withdrawal of support for him (Welby) to lead the whole Communion is received by him as an admonishment in love.”
The GSFA added the decision had caused a “leadership crisis” and it is now working to “re-set the communion.”
The 25 member provinces of the GSFA are primarily in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
Against more than 150 years of custom, which has seen the Archbishop of Canterbury regarded as the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion since its creation in 1867, the group of 12 Anglican archbishops’ decision to have the top priest removed.
