Gafcon is led by a Council of Primates, set up in 2008 by the first Global Anglican Future Conference at its meeting in Jerusalem. It is now supported by the Gafcon Guarantors who ensure continuity of vision, strategy and resources and the Gafcon Trustees who monitor legal and operational compliance.
The Primates Council is served by a Secretariat led by the General Secretary and includes the Global Operations Manager and the Director of the Gafcon Bishops Training Institute. Global co-ordination is achieved through Liaison Officers in Gafcon affiliated Provinces and elsewhere through a growing network of regional branches.
Primates Council
The Most Revd Dr Laurent Mbanda
Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, Chairman of Gafcon since 2023
Archbishop Laurent Mbanda was born in 1954.
While he was born in Rwanda, he spent a large part of his childhood in Burundi as a refugee. He graduated at the Kenya Highlands Bible College, in Kericho, Kenya, before returning to Burundi, where he was ordained an Anglican priest. He moved to the United States in 1984, where he completed an M.A. in Missiology at the Fuller Seminary’s School of World Missions, in Pasadena, USA, an M.A. in Christian Education at Denver Seminary, USA and a PhD at Trinity International University, in Deerfield, Illinois, USA.
He was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Shyiria in March 2010. He was then elected the fourth Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda on 17 January 2018. His enthronement took place on 10 June 2018. He is a longtime supporter of GAFCON.
He is the author of the book ‘Committed to Conflict: The Destruction of the Church in Rwanda’ (1997), co-written with Steve Wamberg, about the Rwandan Genocide. He has also written an autobiography ‘From Barefoot to Bishop’ (2017). Archbishop Laurent Mbanda assumed his position as Chairman on 21 April 2023.
The Most Revd Miguel Uchôa Calvacanti
Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Brazil, Vice Chairman
Miguel Uchoa is the Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in Brazil, Bishop of the Diocese of Recife, and is founder and rector of Holy Spirit Church, Great Recife, a thriving congregation and the largest Anglican Church in Latin America.
He has a post-graduate degree in Theology, and is passionate about the expansion of the Church among the next generation. Archbishop Miguel is married to Juliane. He has two sons, Gabriel and Matheus. His hobbies include surfing! Archbishop Miguel Uchoa assumed his position as Vice Chairman on 21 April 2023.
The Right Revd Paul Donison
General Secretary
Bishop Paul is the Rector and Dean of Christ Church Plano. Ordained in 2004, he served in several Canadian parishes before being called to Texas in 2016 with his wife, Monika, and their four daughters.
In 2023 he was elected by the Gafcon Primates as General Secretary, and consecrated as a Bishop in Rwanda in 2024. Bishop Paul also serves as Vicar General (Area Bishop) for the Texas Deanery of the Anglican Diocese of the South.
He holds a B.F.A in Theatre from the University of Victoria, a Dp.C.S. and M.Div from Regent College, and has done doctoral work at Trinity School for Ministry. He serves on the boards of Trinity School for Ministry and East African Christian College (Kigali, Rwanda).
As a retired stage actor Bishop Paul continues to memorize and dramatically storytell the Scriptures when he preaches.
The Most Revd Steve Wood
Archbishop, Anglican Church in North America
Archbishop Steve Wood was elected as the first Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas by the College of Bishops on June 5, 2012. He was consecrated Bishop at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC by Archbishop Robert Duncan on August 25, 2013. Co-Consecrators included ACNA Bishops Roger Ames, Alphonza Gadsen, and John Guernsey. He was installed as Rector of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC by Bishop Edward L. Salmon, XIII Bishop of South Carolina, on September 1, 2000. Under Bishop Wood’s leadership, St. Andrew’s was described by the Charleston Post & Courier as, “one of the Lowcountry’s biggest church success stories,” growing to a membership of more than 3200 and planting new churches in Goose Creek, SC, and downtown Charleston.
He married Jacqueline Elizabeth (Benner) Wood on February 1, 1986. Together, they have four sons and eight grandchildren.
The Most Revd Jackson Ole Sapit
Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya
Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit was born in 1964. He was converted as a young man while working as a translator for a CMS missionary and was ordained deacon in 1991 and priest in 1992.
After theological study to degree level in Kenya he attended Reading University in England and has an MA in Social Development and Sustainability. Following his return to Kenya, he was Diocesan Mission and Development Coordinator for the Diocese of Nakuru and then in 2005 he was consecrated as Suffragan Bishop in Kericho Diocese in Western Kenya, becoming the Diocesan Bishop in 2008.
As a bishop, he was particularly concerned for youth outreach while his development interests led to him becoming Chairman of the Anglican Church of Kenyan’s development arm, Anglican Development Services in 2012. He was consecrated as the sixth Archbishop of Kenya on Sunday 3rd July 2016.
The Most Revd Stephen Than Myint Oo
Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Myanmar
Stephen Than Myint Oo was born in 1958. He has been the Primate and Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Myanmar and Bishop of Yangon since 2008.
He studied at the Trinity Theological College in Singapore before returning to Myanmar. He was first a parish priest, then becoming lecturer and then Dean of the Holy Cross Theological College, Yangon in 1993.
He was elected bishop of the Diocese of Hpa-An in 2005. He was in office until his election as the 6th Archbishop of Myanmar, at the general synod held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Yangon on 15 January 2008. His enthronement took place on 17 February 2008 when he was also enthroned the 13th Bishop of Yangon.
He is also the global trustee of the Anglican Relief and Development Fund.
The Most Revd Justin Badi Arama
Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan
Archbishop Justin Badi Arama was born in 1964 in Maridi, South Sudan.
He was confirmed in the Anglican faith when was 16 years old and was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1995. He served as Cathedral Dean, Archdeacon and Diocesan Secretary before being elected the second bishop of the Diocese of Maridi in 2001. He was elected Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan on 20 January 2018. His enthronement took place on 22 April 2018.
He married his wife, Modi Joyice in 1984 and they have four children, two boys and two girls.
The Most Revd Hector Zavala Muñoz
Archbishop of Chile
He was raised in a nominal Roman Catholic family but he wasn’t particularly religious. He attended a Roman Catholic School and received the sacraments of Baptism and the First Communion. He was 17 years old when a friend invited him to visit an Anglican church, and it was there that he heard the Gospel clearly preached for the first time. He converted to Anglicanism and studied at the Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, in Pittsburgh, United States. In 2000 he became bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Chile, comprising the entire country of Chile. In November 2010 He was elected unanimously to be the first Latin merican and Chilean Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church in the Southern Cone of America, at the Synod held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at their 10th Provincial Meeting. He served for three years and was reelected in 2013.
He has been a keen supporter and member of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans and the Global South Primates Council. He attended the GAFCON II meeting, in Nairobi, Kenya, at 21–26 October 2013, and GAFCON III 18th – 22nd June 2018 in Jerusalem.
The Most Revd Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba
Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
Archbishop Henry was ordained in 1984 at the age of 23 – the minimum age for ordination in the Church of Nigeria. He was made a Canon after five years, aged 28; and became an archdeacon just three years later. He was elected bishop at the age of 38 and was confirmed as the Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) on 25th March 2020.
The Most Revd Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu
Primate of the Church of Uganda
Kaziimba was ordained in December 1990 by Bishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo. He served as Assistant Vicar at Nakibizzi Parish, Buikwe District, from 1990 to 1994. He then served as parish priest at Katente Parish from 1997 to 2000. From 2000, he was the Vicar of Mukono Cathedral. On 1st March 2020 he was enthroned as the Primate of the Church of Uganda and Bishop of Kampala.
Primate Advisors
The Most Revd Kanishka Raffel
Archbishop of the Diocese of Sydney
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel was born in London to Sri Lankan parents and was raised as a Buddhist. As a young child, the family moved to Australia and in later years, Kanishka studied Law at the University of Sydney. While at University, a friend gave him a copy of the Gospel according to John and he subsequently became a Christian.
He was ordained deacon in 1996 in Sydney and priest in 1996 in Canberra-Goulburn and has ministered in Sydney, Canberra and Perth. He was consecrated as the thirteenth Archbishop of Sydney in May 2021.
The Most Revd James Wong Yin Song
Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Province of the Indian Ocean, and 4th Bishop of The Seychelles
Archbishop James Wong Yin Song was born in 1960.
He was previously the Archdeacon of Mauritius and the Rector of St Thomas’ Beau Bassin. Wong was granted Seychelles citizenship on 11 May 2017. He was elected Archbishop of the Province of the Indian Ocean on 26 August 2017, assuming office the following day.
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