The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), has released a statement regarding the appointment of the Rt Rev’d Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.
In a formal response made available to ACNN through the office of the Communications officer of the Church, Mr Korede Akintunde, dated Monday, October 6, 2025, the Most Revd Henry C. Ndukuba, Primate of the Church of Nigeria, who personally signed the letter characterized the news of the appointment as “a devastating one that ignores the current situation and challenges being faced by the Anglican Communion.”
Primate Ndukuba outlined what he termed a “double jeopardy” in the decision. First, he stated the appointment showed insensitivity to the majority of Anglicans who are unable to embrace female headship in the episcopate.
More disturbing, he said, was that Bishop Mullally is a “strong supporter of same-sex marriage,” citing her 2023 speech following a vote to approve the blessings of homosexuals when she described the result as a “moment of hope for the Church.”
“It is a double jeopardy; first, in its insensitivity to the conviction of the majority of Anglicans who are unable to embrace female headship in the episcopate, and second, more disturbing that Bishop Sarah Mullally is a strong supporter of same-sex marriage as evidenced in her speech in 2023, after a vote to approve the blessings of homosexuals when she described the result as a “moment of hope for the Church,” he wrote.
The Primate questioned how the new Archbishop could “hope to mend the already torn fabric of the Anglican Communion by the contentious same-sex marriage, which has caused an enormous crisis across the entire Anglican Communion for over two decades.”
As a member of the GAFCON family, the Church of Nigeria stated re-affirmed its commitment to “uphold the authority of the Scriptures, our historic creeds, evangelism and holy Christian living, irrespective of the ongoing revisionist agenda.”
“On our part, as a member of the GAFCON family, the Church of Nigeria affirms, the GAFCON position unreservedly, and re affirm our earlier stance to uphold the authority of the Scriptures and our historic creeds, believing our Lord Jesus Christ has built His church and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16 :18).”
He concluded the statement saying that the election “is a further confirmation that the global Anglican world could no longer accept the leadership of the Church of England and that of the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Finally, the Church of Nigeria encouraged all “faithful brothers and sisters in the Church of England who have consistently rejected the aberration called same-sex marriage and other ungodly teachings, by contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).”
Read Full Statement Below:
