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, 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 percent 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.
