The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has strongly condemned the appointment of Rt. Rev’d Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the new Archbishop of Wales, calling it a “serious departure from biblical teaching” and refusing to recognise her election.
In a forceful statement released by its Primate, The Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the Nigerian Anglican Church accused the Church in Wales of abandoning scriptural values and jeopardizing the unity of the global Anglican family.
Quoting 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Ndukuba warned that the move revealed how “many who claim to be members of the body of Christ can’t endure sound doctrine.”
The Primate didn’t mince words in criticizing Bishop Vann, stating she has actively pushed for the normalization of same-sex marriage within the Church, a divisive issue that has pitted liberal and conservative provinces against one another for years.
“The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) will not recognise the election of Rt. Rev’d Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales,” Ndukuba declared. “We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ will build His Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Bishop Vann’s election is historic, making her the first woman, and first openly gay cleric, to lead the Anglican Church in Wales. While hailed as a progressive milestone in the UK, the move has intensified long-standing tensions in the worldwide Anglican Communion, particularly with more conservative regions like Africa.
The Church of Nigeria, one of the largest and most influential provinces in the Communion, has long opposed same-sex unions and LGBT clergy, maintaining a rigidly traditionalist view of scripture and doctrine.
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