The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has strongly condemned the election of The Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, a practising homosexual, as the Archbishop of Wales. In a statement issued by the Primate, Most Rev’d Henry C. Ndukuba, the Church described the July 30th election as a “further indication of the abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints.”
The Church accused Bishop Vann of playing a passive and complicit role in past controversies surrounding same-sex issues that fractured the Anglican Communion, drawing parallels between her and the tenure of former U.S. Presiding Bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori. Citing concerns over “spiritual decadence” and a “departure from credal orthodoxy,” the Church criticised the Church in Wales for what it described as a deliberate drift into postmodernism at the expense of biblical truth.
“The election of Bishop Vann is not just a theological misstep,” the statement read. “It signals a global shift by some Anglican provinces away from scriptural authority, compromising the soul of Anglican orthodoxy, biblical ethics, and the identity of the church.”
The Church warned that this trend could impair global evangelism efforts, asserting that “a clarion call must be sounded: ‘Who is on the Lord’s side?’” It urged faithful Anglicans to resist what it called “heretics and apostates,” defend historic creeds, and uphold holy Christian living.
The statement further described the Church in Wales as suffering a spiritual decline, referencing past leadership, including Archbishop Rowan Williams and Archbishop Andrew John, who, it claimed, ended his tenure “in a most shameful circumstance.”
Reacting to comments from the Dean of Newport Cathedral, who said Bishop Vann is “the right person for the moment,” the Church of Nigeria responded sharply: “That an openly lesbian woman is the ‘right leader’ reveals how deep the church has sunk.”
In a pointed conclusion, the Nigerian Church officially declared it would not recognize Vann’s election, called on Anglicans globally to reject such decisions, and reaffirmed its commitment to the authority of the Bible and its alliance with orthodox Anglican bodies like GAFCON.
Calling for prayer for the Church in Wales, the statement expressed hope that the Church of England would not follow in its footsteps, warning that without repentance and a return to biblical truth, the Church in Wales “will lose complete relevance in the divine scheme for the people of Wales.”
