
James Uche
The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has announced the termination of its relationship with the Church in Wales, following the election of Bishop Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the new Archbishop of Wales. The announcement was made in a statement released on August 3, 2025, and signed by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Henry C. Ndukuba.
In the statement, the Nigerian Anglican Church made it clear that it does not recognise Bishop Vann’s appointment and cannot remain in communion with a church it believes has departed from foundational biblical teachings. According to the Church, the decision to elect a practising lesbian as Archbishop constitutes a fundamental violation of scriptural principles concerning human sexuality and church leadership.
Primate Ndukuba described the election as a “defiance of God’s order” and “a departure from the faith once delivered to the saints.” The Church of Nigeria formally placed the Church in Wales in a “state of impaired communion,” meaning there will be no official worship, fellowship, or ministerial cooperation between the two bodies moving forward.
The Nigerian Church likened this break to previous separations from the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada, both of which it accused of abandoning scriptural authority on similar grounds. The Primate warned that the Church in Wales has “chosen to walk in the path of spiritual ruin” and that its actions undermine the mission and witness of the broader Anglican tradition.
Reaffirming its allegiance to the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) and other conservative Anglican provinces, the Church of Nigeria vowed to remain steadfast in its commitment to biblical orthodoxy. The statement concluded with a strong warning to Nigerian Anglicans to avoid any form of ministry collaboration or liturgical involvement with the Church in Wales or its representatives.
This development adds to the growing divide within the global Anglican Communion, as more conservative provinces in the Global South push back against liberal reforms in parts of the West. The Church of Nigeria, one of the largest Anglican bodies in the world, continues to position itself as a leading voice for traditional values within global Anglicanism.