Welby’s Failure Left Church of England Forever Fractured

By Precious Tochukwu Alaka * November 10, 2026

Archbishop Justin Welby didn't destroy the Church of England by being evil. He destroyed it by being AFRAID to stand for anything.

He wanted to please the liberals. He wanted to keep the conservatives. In the end, he lost both — and left the Church of England in a mess.

Let's talk facts, not feelings:

He failed on abuse and had to resign in disgrace. In November 2024, Archbishop Justin Welby became the first Archbishop of Canterbury ever to resign in disgrace. Why? The independent Makin Review found the Church covered up the "prolific, brutal and horrific" abuse of John Smyth, over 100 boys and young men abused.

Archbishop Justin Welby was told in 2013. The Review said he "could and should" have formally reported it to police. He didn't. Smyth died without ever facing justice. Victims waited decades while the Archbishop waited for a "good time" to act.

That is not leadership. That is cowardice with a mitre on. He wanted to please everyone at the same time.

He failed on doctrine and split the Communion. He staked his whole legacy on Living in Love and Faith (LLF), promising it would bring peace on same-sex blessings. Instead It did the opposite.

In February 2023, he pushed through blessings for same-sex couples. The result? 10 Archbishops from the Global South representing the majority of Anglicans in the world, publicly rejected his leadership as "false teaching." The Global Anglican Communion fractured under him.

Liberals said he didn't go far enough. Conservatives said he betrayed the Bible. Nobody trusted him. He tried to be everybody's friend and became nobody's leader.

He failed on the Church itself, because the church decline on his watch. Under Archbishop Justin Welby, attendance kept falling, ordinations dropped, churches closed, parishes were left sharing one priest between many churches. He even admitted the decline was a "personal failure."

Yet instead of preaching repentance, evangelism, and revival, he spent millions on managerial projects, culture wars, and a £100 million slavery reparations fund while struggling parishes were dying.

A shepherd who won't feed the sheep, won't protect the lambs, and won't fight the wolves is not a shepherd. He's a hireling.

Archbishop Justin Welby didn't leave a stronger Church in England. He left a divided Church, a disgraced Church, a shrinking Church, and a Church that no longer knows what it believes.

At Lambeth 1998, bishops voted 526-70 that homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture. That was the law of the Communion.

At Lambeth 2022, under Archbishop Justin Welby, there was NO vote. He was too afraid to let bishops vote again, because he knew the conservatives would win again.

So he replaced a vote with a "conversation." He said 1.10 is still valid, but he would never enforce it.

A doctrine you refuse to enforce is not a doctrine. It's just a suggestion.

That is how Archbishop Justin Welby killed Lambeth 1.10 without ever having the courage to repeal it.

Posterity will NOT speak well of him.

Good men who refuse to stand for truth still destroy everything they touch.

He failed. And history will remember him for it.

The LORD preserve HIS Church.

Precious Tochukwu Alaka is a Teaching Pastor in the Diocese of Owerri, in the Anglican Province of Nigeria, recognized for his ministry and pastoral leadership within the Anglican tradition.