Church leaders lament ‘grievous’ appointment of openly gay Archbishop of Wales

Anglican leaders have strongly criticised the appointment of a lesbian in a civil partnership as the brand new Archbishop of Wales. 

Cherry Vann has been in a civil partnership with Wendy Diamond since 2015. Vann was elected because the fifteenth Archbishop of Wales by a two-thirds majority within the Electoral College at the top of last month. 

The Most Rev Dr Laurent Mbanda, Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, called her election an “act of apostasy” and a “failure in leadership”.

Writing to Gafcon members, he called on orthodox Anglicans to “take a stand” against the “relentless pressure of Anglican revisionists who blatantly impose their immorality upon Christ’s precious church”. 

“It is with a heavy heart that I write to you of grievous events in our beloved Anglican Communion,” he said. 

“The decision by the Church in Wales to elect the Rt Revd Cherry Vann as Archbishop and Primate is one other painful nail within the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy.

“By celebrating this election and her immoral same-sex relationship, the Canterbury Communion has again bowed to worldly pressure that subverts God’s good word.

“For the Bible is obvious about those that ‘exchange the reality about God for a lie’ (Romans 1:25).” 

He added, “We must confront serious error that compromises God’s glorious and authoritative word on human sexuality.

“We must speak up and take a stand.” 

The Most Rev Dr Justin Badi Arama, Primate of South Sudan and Chair of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, lamented that the “divisive rejection of the historic biblical and Anglican teaching on marriage and human sexuality has been allowed to proceed with none effective restraint” because the election of the openly gay Gene Robinson within the Episcopal Church USA in 2003. 

He said, “Faithful Anglicans of the Global South will grieve that the tear in the material of our beloved Communion is now established at the very best level, but this will even strengthen our resolve to revive the Scriptures to their central place in our life together and construct covenanted relationships through which we’re in a position to gladly recognise each other as partners in mission and members of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” 

Archbishop Vann is to be enthroned at Newport Cathedral in the approaching months. ‍

The Anglican Church of Nigeria said it “condemns, unequivocally rejects and won’t recognize the election of Rt Rev Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales”. 

Nigerian Primate, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, called Vann’s election “a signal that some sections of the worldwide Anglican world have resolved to desert the reality of God’s word by sacrificing the authority of the Scripture for a postmodern agenda that has no divine backing”.

“What is at stake within the election of Bishop Vann as Archbishop of Wales are: salvation of the souls of men, biblical ethics, identity of Anglicans globally, impairment of our credibility to do missions and evangelism, and salvaging the very soul of Anglican orthodoxy,” he said. 

“We have come to the purpose where a clarion call have to be sounded: ‘Who is on the Lord’s side?’

“Like the early Church Apologists and Martyrs of old, faithful church believers must reject heretics and apostates from our midst, strive to redeem our holy scriptures, defend our historic creeds, uphold our Articles of Faith and Catechism, and expel the ‘wolves amongst our sheep.’”

He called for “real repentance” and appealed for prayers because the Church of England – thought to be the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion – moves in the same direction. 

“Therefore, as a matter of urgency, the Church of Nigeria believes that this moment calls for prayer for the Church of Wales, hoping that the Church of England won’t follow in her steps,” he said.

“We should hold them in our prayers with a transparent message that hope lies only in true repentance and godliness, otherwise this church will lose complete relevance within the divine scheme for the people of Wales, and the leaders in compromise shall not be spared in time of judgment.” 

The Most Rev Samy Fawzy, Archbishop of Alexandria, has also expressed his “deep sorrow” over Vann’s appointment. 

“This is just not an area or private decision,” he wrote in a letter to the Diocese of Egypt. 

“It is a public rejection of biblical teaching and catholic order. Bishops serve not only locally but as a part of a worldwide communion.” 

He continued, “Unity cannot exist without truth. This step by the Church in Wales makes it extremely difficult to search out a faithful and lasting resolution to the divisions inside the Anglican Communion. 

“While a lot of us are diligently working to discern a way forward on this painful dilemma, continued actions of this nature hinder reconciliation, deepen the fractures, and risk rendering our efforts fruitless.”