The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has strongly criticised the recent election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as the new Archbishop of Wales, describing it as a departure from biblical teachings and a sign of deepening crisis within the global Anglican Communion.
In a statement issued by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Most Rev’d Henry C. Ndukuba, the church declared that it would not recognise Vann’s election, citing her sexual orientation and past stance on same-sex issues as evidence of what it termed the Church in Wales’s "abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints."
Bishop Vann, who is in a civil partnership with Wendy Diamond, was elected Archbishop of Wales on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Her appointment makes her one of the highest-ranking openly homosexual clerics in the global Anglican Communion.
The Nigerian church, in its reaction, accused the Church in Wales of sacrificing biblical authority on the altar of postmodern ideology. "This election is a further indication of the Church in Wales walking away from the truth of God’s word and embracing a worldview that lacks divine approval," the statement read.
Drawing parallels with past controversies, the Nigerian church referenced the tenure of Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church, under whose leadership traditional Anglicans reportedly suffered persecution for resisting liberal theology.
"We recall with sadness Bishop Vann’s passive and complicit role in the same-sex crisis that fractured the Anglican Communion," Ndukuba said. "This is yet another moment when the body of Christ is being tested by teachings that reject sound doctrine in favour of personal preferences and cultural fables."
He further warned that Vann’s elevation to primate status not only threatens the spiritual well-being of believers but also undermines the credibility of the Anglican Church in evangelism and mission work, particularly in the Global South.
"The salvation of souls, biblical ethics, and the core identity of global Anglicanism are now at stake," the statement added. "This is an impairment of our credibility and a threat to the orthodoxy we are called to uphold."
The Church of Nigeria, a leading voice among traditionalist Anglicans, has long opposed liberal shifts in Western Anglican provinces, particularly on matters of human sexuality, and has consistently advocated for a return to what it calls biblical orthodoxy.
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