The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

What does the reordering of the Anglican Communion actually mean for Christians in the Australian Church? 
Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel on what it means for Anglican churches, clergy and church members in Australia.
We explore what ‘principled disengagement’ from the Canterbury Instruments will mean for Australian leaders and other Global Anglican Communion leaders. 
Plus an update on implementing the Sydney Diocean goal of seeing five percent saved through conversion growth each year.  
And Archbishop Raffel responds to criticism over his comments on Pauline Hanson, ‘We must reject hateful words and threats of violence.’ 
Gafcon Communique:
https://gafcon.org/communique-updates/the-abuja-affirmation/

A short clip to show in church where Archbishop Raffel outlines the significance of the reordering for members of Australian Anglican Churches:
https://vimeo.com/1174575894?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci 
 
Archbishop Raffel news release on Pauline Hanson: ‘We must reject hateful words and threats of violence’:
https://sydneyanglicans.net/mediareleases/we-must-reject-hateful-words-and-threats-of-violence

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A refugee boy who walked barefoot from Rwanda to Burundi now leads the Global Anglican Communion. 
In this special episode of The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele speaks with Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda, newly appointed chair of the council guiding newly inaugurated the Global Anglican Communion.
Speaking from Abuja, Nigeria, just days after the historic gathering that launched the new communion, 
Archbishop Mbanda reflects on the extraordinary journey that brought him from displacement and poverty to global church leadership.
He shares the emotion and conviction behind the moment — why many Anglicans believe a new structure was necessary, why unity must be theological rather than geographical, and why the authority of Scripture remains central.
Archbishop Mbanda also responds to narratives circulating in the media — that the new movement is about women bishops or opposition to LGBT people — arguing instead that the central issue is the authority of Scripture and faithfulness to biblical teaching.
Along the way, Mbanda warmly commends Vaughan Roberts’ Lausanne Conference address and new book Full of Grace and Truth, urging churches to hold together biblical conviction and Christ-like grace in their response to questions of sexuality.
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The announcement of the new Global Anglican Communion has triggered an extraordinary wave of reaction from evangelical Anglican leaders gathered in Abuja this week. For many delegates, the moment was deeply emotional. One leader described it as “the privilege of crossing the river and entering the promised land,” capturing the sense that years of theological tension and debate have now led to a decisive new chapter for Anglicans committed to the authority of Scripture.
Inside the conference hall the mood was striking. African bishops began dancing in praise on the platform and in the aisles — a spontaneous expression of joy and thanksgiving to God.
The atmosphere was markedly different from the gathering three years ago in Kigali, where the tone was sombre and reflective as leaders lamented the direction of parts of the Anglican world. In Abuja the feeling was relief, gratitude and renewed confidence about the future.
In this special episode of The Pastor’s Heart, we bring together reactions from senior Anglican leaders across the global church following the release of the Abuja statement and the establishment of the new Global Anglican Council. The conversation explores why many leaders believe communion must be defined confessionally around the Jerusalem Declaration, and why there is now a call for principled disengagement from the historic Canterbury structures.
You’ll hear reflections from Miguel Uchoa, Michael Stead, Julian Dobbs, Alfred Olwa, Emmanuel Egbunu, Vaughan Roberts, John Dunnett, Glenn Davies, Darryl Parker and Richard Condie as they respond to what this moment means for their provinces and for the global Anglican movement. The discussion was recorded for Advent Cable Network Nigeria, where host Promise Njoko-Adebe invited Dominic to co-host the panel.
This episode is brought to you by Anglican Aid.
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In his first interview after being elected chair of the new Global Anglican Council, Archbishop of Rwanda Laurent Mbanda has outlined how leadership will work in the emerging Global Anglican Communion 
The GAFCON Primates have dissolved the GAFCON Primates Council — the body that has guided the movement since 2008 — and in its place established a new Global Anglican Council to help lead what is the emerging Global Anglican Communion.
The Primates have chosen to broaden authority. The new council will include primates alongside bishops, clergy, and lay leaders, all with full voting privileges. 
The structure signals a shift toward a more conciliar model of leadership, reflecting the conviction that the existing Instruments of Communion no longer adequately serve the majority of Anglicans worldwide.
 
Rwandan Primate, Archbishop Laurent Mbunda has been elected to chair the Council, until the Athens Conference in 2028.
In this Pastor’s Heart special from Abuja, Dominic Steele speaks with:
* The newly elected chairman of the Global Anglican Council, Rwanda’s Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, 
* Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel, 
* Former Archbishop of North America and Former Chair of Gafcon, Bishop Foley Beach, 
* John Dunnett from the Church of England Evangelical Council.
Mbunda, Raffel and Beach discuss the reasoning behind the new structures, what they mean for Anglican leadership globally, and how this moment emerged from nearly two decades of GAFCON’s development.

We expore why the Primates have chosen to share authority more widely, how the new council will function, and what the leaders involved hope it will mean for the future of Anglican mission, doctrine, and fellowship across the world.
 
Plus The launch of the New Global Anglican Communion Fund with Anglican AID CEO Tim Swan. 

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The future shape of the Anglican Communion is being debated this week in Abuja, Nigeria.

At the GAFCON conference, more than 400 bishops and global leaders are working through the logic of the proposal that could lead to a new Global Anglican Communion — a fellowship grounded in the authority of Scripture and historic Anglican doctrine.

On Day 2 of the conference, Dominic Steele speaks with key leaders including Vaughan Roberts (Oxford), Julian Dobbs (ACNA), and Richard Condie (Tasmania), along with presenters from Uganda, Brazil and Nigeria.

They discuss:
 • The implications of the Church of England’s current trajectory
 • The logic behind a reordered global communion
 • The mission opportunity for global Anglicans
 • What this could mean for churches in the UK, North America and Australia

This episode is part of The Pastor’s Heart special coverage of GAFCON 2026 in Abuja.

Sponsored by Anglican Aid https://anglicanaid.org

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