(LONDON) – Archbishop Justin Badi, the Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Chairman of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), has urged Anglican believers not to abandon the Church of England amid growing internal divisions over the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality.
His remarks were made during a visit to the United Kingdom where he, along with other senior GSFA leaders, addressed over 300 clergy and lay leaders at a high-profile Anglican gathering on Friday, 18 July.
The GSFA leaders – Archbishop Badi, Deputy Chairman Archbishop Samy Shehata of Alexandria, and Honorary Secretary Archbishop Titus Chung of South East Asia – travelled to the UK at the invitation of the Alliance, a movement made up of orthodox Anglicans committed to upholding historic Christian teaching. The movement seeks to resist what it sees as a departure by Church of England bishops from two thousand years of biblical tradition on marriage and human sexuality.
The Global South primates, who represent the majority of the world’s Anglican population, came with a message of encouragement and solidarity. In a public interview conducted by the Revd Nicky Gumbel of Alpha, Archbishop Badi reminded the audience of the deep missionary ties that bind the Church of England with Anglican provinces like South Sudan. He said that the ancestors of those in the room had made significant sacrifices to bring the gospel to Africa, and now it was the duty of the Global South to stand with their “spiritual grandchildren” in the UK.
“This is not the time to walk away from the Church of England,” Archbishop Badi stated. “It is the time to stand together and help recover it for gospel witness and mission.”
Archbishop Titus Chung echoed this call by emphasising the importance of unity among orthodox believers, while Archbishop Samy Shehata added that faithfulness often comes at a cost, drawing on the example of the 21 Coptic Christians martyred by extremists in Libya in 2015.
The visit concluded with Archbishop Badi preaching at All Souls Church, Langham Place, one of London’s most prominent Anglican congregations on Sunday. Launching a new sermon series marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, he encouraged believers to “examine themselves” as urged in 2 Corinthians 13:5 and to reignite the fire of apostolic faith.
In his sermon, Archbishop Badi drew an analogy from South Sudanese life, noting that while many people in South Sudan still live in traditional grass huts, or tukuls, they do not abandon the hut when a snake enters.
“They remove the snake and stay,” he said. “Likewise, we must not abandon the Church. We must stay and restore it.”
His message highlighted the cultural humility of Global South leaders and their growing influence in global Anglicanism. What was once a relationship of dependence has now evolved into a mutual and mission focused partnership. The Anglican communion, traditionally led from the UK, is witnessing a shift where leadership and spiritual energy are increasingly coming from places like South Sudan.
Observers have described the level of unity seen among orthodox Anglicans in the UK and their alignment with Global South leaders as unprecedented.
Archbishop Badi’s intervention is seen as a significant moment for South Sudan’s role in the global Church, offering both moral leadership and a vision for renewal rooted in shared history and spiritual conviction.