Global Anglican Leaders condemn Election of Welsh Lesbian Archbishop

Decision to elect Cherry Vann is another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy – Gafcon Chairman Laurent Mbanda

It is a public rejection of biblical teaching and catholic order – Alexandria Archbishop Samy Fawzy

It is a painful departure from the clear teaching of Holy Scripture and the consistent witness of the Church throughout the centuries – Egyptian Archbishop Emeritus Mouneer Anis

It is a different understanding of the Christian faith from that held by faithful Anglicans down the age — Bishop Andy Lines

By David W. Virtue DD

Www.virtueonline.org

August 4, 2025

Orthodox Anglican leaders across the globe are condemning the election of an avowed lesbian to the highest office in the Church in Wales, arguing that it goes against Scripture, 2000 years of church teaching and fractures the Anglican Communion.

Rwanda Archbishop and GAFCON chairman Laurent Mbanda, said the decision by the Church in Wales to elect the Rt Revd Cherry Vann as Archbishop and Primate is another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy.

“By celebrating this election and her immoral same-sex relationship, the Canterbury Communion has again bowed to worldly pressure that subverts God’s good word.

For the Bible is clear about those who “exchange the truth about God for a lie” (Romans 1:25).

For it says that “God gave them over to shameful lusts” as “their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones”, their “men also abandoned natural relations with women” and “committed shameful acts with other men”, and that even though “they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:26-27, 32)

“The Bible predicted there would be “false teachers among you” and that those who follow their depraved conduct “will bring the way of truth into disrepute” (2 Peter 2:1-2). 

“In fact, Jesus himself judged the church in Thyatira and their tolerance of a woman who “misleads my servants into sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:20). 

“We must confront serious error that compromises God’s glorious and authoritative word on human sexuality.

“We must speak up and take a stand.

“As we met to reform and renew the Anglican Communion in 2008, Gafcon delivered the Jerusalem Statement which outlined the true heart of Anglican orthodoxy. 

“We took a stand about the truth of God’s word, and we continue to stand in fellowship with the majority of the world’s Anglicans who grieve this rejection of God’s voice.

“We must stand again against the relentless pressure of Anglican revisionists who blatantly impose their immorality upon Christ’s precious church.

“The Gafcon chairman said he stood with his Anglican brothers and sisters in Wales who are dismayed and disheartened by this act of apostasy.

“We established The Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE) as a home for those who wish to remain authentically Anglican, but whose conscience demands they leave Canterbury.”

“We cannot sit by and let this failure in leadership remain. We cannot sit on our hands and let this apostasy continue. We must take a stand. We stand with authentic Anglicans.”

The Most Rev. Dr. Samy Fawzy Shehata Archbishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria and Bishop of Egypt, blasted the election saying, “This is not a local or private decision. It is a public rejection of biblical teaching and catholic order. Bishops serve not just locally but as part of a global communion. Unity cannot exist without truth. This step by the Church in Wales makes it extremely difficult to find a faithful and lasting resolution to the divisions within the Anglican Communion.”

“While many of us are diligently working to discern a way forward in this painful dilemma, continued action of this nature hinder reconciliation, deepen the fractures and risk rendering our efforts fruitless.”

It is a sad day for the Church, said The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis Archbishop Emeritus Episcopal/Anglican Province of Egypt. “The recent election of the new Archbishop of Wales, who is in a same-sex relationship, marks a painful departure from the clear teaching of Holy Scripture and the consistent witness of the Church throughout the centuries. It is deeply troubling to consider how a bishop makes a vow to guard the faith while openly disregarding a core element of Christian moral teaching.”

“Those who say homosexuality is a secondary matter which has no impact on the essentials of faith. That is absolutely wrong excuse. For marriage between man and woman is the principal metaphor God uses in Scripture for the marriage between His Son and His bride the Church.  To change marriage is to suggest that God was mistaken in his revelation of Christ and the Church.  Therefore, same sex partnerships is heretical rejection of Christian revelation.

“Such an election not only deepens the existing divisions within the Anglican Communion but also diminishes the catholicity of the Church in Wales—its continuity with the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. It isolates the Church in Wales from the wider body of global Christianity, both within and beyond the Anglican tradition.

“This unilateral (autonomous) decision of the church of Wales undermines the interdependence of Anglican Provinces. Without such interdependence we can’t call the group of Anglican churches a “Communion” or a body of churches. 

“This decision further strains our ecumenical relationships and undermines the credibility of our mission, especially in the Islamic world, where fidelity to revealed truth is both respected and expected from Christian leaders.

“It is, indeed, a sad and grievous day for the Church. We pray for clarity, courage, and a renewed commitment to the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

Bishop Andy Lines Missionary Bishop to Europe of the Anglican Church in North America and Bishop Stuart Bell Assistant Bishop in the Anglican Convocation in Europe with primary responsibility for Wales, bemoaned the appointment of Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales.

“The appointment of Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth, as the new Archbishop of Wales has come as a disappointment to many of the faithful followers of Jesus who remain in the Church in Wales. They had hoped and prayed for a leader of the church who would at least be orthodox in Christian belief and lifestyle. The role of a bishop and an archbishop is to teach the Bible and to seek to live an exemplary lifestyle in the light of it. Cherry Vann, as a person in a civil partnership with another woman, has chosen an alternative path which disqualifies her from both roles.

“Sadly, for many who have already left the Church in Wales, this appointment does not come as a surprise. We have no interest in commenting on or criticising Bishop Cherry as a person, by all accounts she is extremely competent. Nor are we highlighting her gender as a problem. Faithful Anglicans take different views among themselves on the ordination and even consecration of women.

“The issue is that Bishop Cherry, from her teaching and lifestyle, has shown consistently that she holds to a different understanding of the Christian faith from that held by faithful Anglicans down the ages. Her understanding is aligned, not with the Bible and the agreed teaching of the church according to the historic Anglican formularies, but with the prevailing ethos and worldview of progressive secularism. Her appointment once again signals clearly that the Church in Wales leadership is confused and has no confidence in the clear moral guidance which the Bible gives to us, and as a result the denomination can only continue to decline, as well as strain and damage relations with much of global Anglicanism.

“To those dismayed by this appointment within the Church in Wales, and to those who have already left the church as a result of the decades-long drift away from the gospel in Canterbury-aligned Anglicanism, we want to emphasise: the choice is not a binary one between liberal, humanistic Anglicanism represented by the appointment of Ms Vann, and Bible-believing churches of other denominations.

“With the formation of the Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE), under the auspices of Gafcon, the global renewal movement of faithful Anglicans, it is possible to remain Anglican without being in the Church in Wales. Our Diocese which operates in Wales, called Anglican Convocation in Europe (ACE), is offering a warm welcome to individuals and fellowships who can no longer be part of the CiW but wish to retain connection with our denominational heritage, and the vibrant and growing Anglicanism found in many regions around the world.”

And what of Lord Williams of Oystermouth, the Welshman who led the Anglican Communion in 2003, where is his nuanced voice in this choice. He came to believe that homosexuals should have a place at the table, openly affirming their behavior as acceptable to God. This is a case of the chickens coming home to roost.

END