Conservative Anglican bishops, who oppose the Church of England for appointing a woman as its head, said yesterday they had created a new body to lead them.

The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) named Laurent Mbanda, the archbishop of Rwanda, as the chairman of the new council in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

A former nurse, Sarah Mullally, is set to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, which has a foothold in about 165 countries, on March 25.

While the nomination of the 63-year-old was hailed as a historic first, several archbishops from Africa criticised the idea of a woman leading the Church of England, the mother church of the 85-million-strong global Anglican Communion.

The Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, said following her nomination in October that “the majority of Anglicans” did not want a woman as the head of their Church.

Nigeria has the second-largest Anglican community after England, with about 18 million members.

The Archbishop of Canterbury typically presides over major royal events such as coronations, weddings and funerals.

The new Global Anglican Communion has three leading members, including Mbanda, 71, who has been the chairman of GAFCON since 2023, GAFCON said in a statement.

The body also has a wider membership that includes clergy and lay members, it added.

GAFCON describes itself as “a global movement, gathering authentic Anglicans, guarding God’s gospel, growing orthodox leaders and generating missional resources.”

It strongly opposed Mullally’s appointment.

The protesting Anglican group is set to elect an alternative to the Archbishop of Canterbury and has denied causing a schism in the Church.

Churches in GAFCON have insisted they are fighting for unity in the Anglican denomination, as they meet in Nigeria for a four-day conference to choose a primate.

The collective refused to acknowledge the Most Rev Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury as their “first among equals,” due to their firm belief in male headship as a biblical doctrine.

GAFCON spokesman, Justin Murff, told newsmen that the grouping was not seeking to break away from the Anglican Communion but to “reorganise and realign” it to scripture.

“This is not a schism. It is actually a claim to continuity,” Murff said.

Formed in 2008, GAFCON says it now represents the majority of practising Anglicans worldwide.

Earlier this week, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Rt Rev. Anthony Poggo, said he recognised “pain and division” in the Church.

“Christ calls his Church to be one,” he insisted. “We have read of GAFCON’s intention to pursue alternative approaches to leadership and electing a chairman. In the Anglican Communion, decisions about how we define the Communion, or approaches to leadership, are taken through the official ‘Instruments of Communion’ and not outside of them.”

He invited GAFCON to engage with the Nairobi-Cairo proposals, which aim to reconcile differences within the Anglican denomination.

“Only by working together and not apart, can we arrive at a deeper place of communion and unity,” Archbishop Anthony added.