The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has publicly condemned the election of the Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as the new Archbishop of Wales.
In a statement issued by the Anglican Primate, Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the Church of Nigeria stated that it will not recognize Vann's election.
The statement characterized the election as an "abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints" and a signal that parts of the global Anglican community have chosen a "postmodern agenda" over the authority of Scripture.
Vann, who is openly in a civil partnership with Wendy Diamond, was elected as the 15th Archbishop of Wales on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. She secured a two-thirds majority vote from the Electoral College.
The Church of Nigeria's statement also recalled Vann's "passive and complicit role in the same-sex crisis that tore the Anglican Communion apart."
The Primate compared her election to the tenure of Katherine Jefferts Schori, the former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, who oversaw a period of "severe persecution and opposition" for faithful Anglicans.
The statement calls on Anglicans to "denounce, reject, condemn, and expel the rebels in their midst" and to align with "faithful Anglican Christian bodies like GAFCON."
It also urges prayer for the Church in Wales and the Church of England, expressing hope that the latter will not follow in its steps.
The Church of Nigeria's position is consistent with the stance of GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference), a movement of conservative Anglicans who have repeatedly expressed their opposition to the blessing of same-sex relationships and the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy.
The election of Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales further highlights the deep divisions within the global Anglican Communion on issues of human sexuality and biblical authority.