A group of Anglican church leaders from around the world, under the aegis of Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, have ousted the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as their head following the decision to allow the blessing of same-sex couples in England.
The church leaders in a statement according to Daily Mail, said they no longer consider Welby to be “leader of the global communion”, and it has “disqualified” the Church of England from being its “mother church.”
Earlier in February, the General Synod, which is the Church of England’s legislative assembly, passed a motion to allow the blessing of same-sex couples in civil partnerships.
However, in its statement released on Monday, the group accused the Church of England of taking the path of false teaching and going against the historical biblical faith by allowing same-sex blessings, saying the action ” breaks our hearts.”
The group which said it speaks for 75 per cent of Anglicans worldwide stated that the Archbishop had “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 GSFA represents 25 member provinces mainly in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
The move by the group of 12 Anglican archbishops to remove the senior cleric goes against more than 150 years of tradition that has seen the Archbishop of Canterbury considered the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion since its formation in 1867.