IASCUFO shares learnings and supplement to The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals in preparation for ACC-19

2 March 2026 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=5525

IASCUFO members, consultants, and Anglican Communion Office staff on a rooftop in Rome, with St Peter’s Basilica behind them, during their December gathering for prayer, reflection, and ecumenical engagement (11 Dec. 2025). Photo: Neil Vigers/ACO

The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE to become 106th Archbishop of Canterbury (2 Oct. 2025). Photo: Lambeth Palace

The Rt Revd Graham Tomlin, Chair of IASCUFO. Photo: ACNS

The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo. Photo: Neil Turner/ACO

This June in Belfast, the 19th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council will be invited to consider resolutions emerging from The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals and a Supplement Paper of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO). Developed as an ‘offer’ to the Communion, the NCPs is a theological paper that offers a framework for fostering Christian unity and deepening communion amid difference. The proposals seek to encourage Anglican churches to ‘make room for one another’ and to recall their commitment to the unity and healing of the whole Church.

The Anglican Consultative Council facilitates the cooperative work of the member churches of the Anglican Communion in the areas of mission and unity. Every member church of the Anglican Communion is entitled to send 2-3 representatives to meetings, which include bishops, clergy and lay people.

Chaired by Rt Revd Dr Graham Tomlin, IASCUFO is a permanent commission of the Anglican Communion, composed of Anglican theologians from around the world. The commission is charged with advising the member churches and Instruments of Communion on all matters of faith, order, and ecumenism with the intention of promoting ‘common understanding, consistency, and convergence.’

At the last ACC meeting in 2023, IASCUFO was asked ‘to explore theological questions regarding structure and decision-making to help address our differences in the Anglican Communion’ in service of ‘seeking to walk together to the highest degree possible.’ The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals, published in Advent 2024, fulfilled this assignment.

Since publishing its original paper, IASCUFO has engaged in a period of listening to responses, with an eye to presenting revised proposals for ACC-19. This has entailed careful consideration of various published responses, online consultations with bishops and members of the ACC, ecumenical consultations, and several conversations with the Standing Committee of the Communion and with Archbishop Mullally.

Today, the commission has published its ‘Supplement’ to The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals along with a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) text and a short film.

The Supplement reviews the principal proposals of The Nairobi-Cairo paper and seeks both to clarify and develop them. The first proposal offers an updated description of the Anglican Communion to both reflect its current structure and enable all Anglicans to ‘speak truly and honestly about the faith, ministry, and mission that we share.’ The second proposal calls for a broadening of leadership in the Anglican Communion, better to reflect the diversity of the Communion.

The supplementary paper adds two ‘refinements’ to the second proposal, following the lead of the Primates’ Meeting in 2024, which asked whether the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ministry in the Communion might be ‘assisted and broadened’ with the support of the regional primates.

In lieu of a ‘rotating presidency of the ACC’ as previously proposed, IASCUFO suggests instead that the Archbishop of Canterbury might convene a collegial council composed of the regional primates. This would provide a more ‘diversified face of the Communion.’ The council could also ‘share the pastoral ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury as the first Instrument’ and ‘represent the Communion (as the Archbishop of Canterbury does) in different settings, such as at the inauguration of a new province or the installation of a new primate.’ The Archbishop of Canterbury could continue ‘to serve as the presumptive representative’ of the Communion in ecumenical settings, with the option of calling upon others.

As a second refinement, IASCUFO believes, upon further reflection with the ACC Standing Committee, that the role of President of the ACC may no longer be needed. ‘Largely symbolic and ex officio’ by design, a simplification of the structure of the ACC will enable the ACC to ‘clarify the role of the Chair.’ Such a change ‘fits with IASCUFO’s proposals and rationale regarding strengthened lay leadership on the Standing Committee.’ The commission recommends that the Archbishop of Canterbury ‘remain an ex officio member of the ACC and its Standing Committee, with both voice and vote, alongside the five other primatial members of that Standing Committee.’

Resolutions emerging from this supplement will be presented as part of the conference programme at ACC-19 this June.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Sarah Mullally, will attend ACC-19, as her first official meeting of the Anglican Communion. In anticipation of the conversations, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: ‘In a fractured world, and an often divided church, the Anglican Communion is such a profound gift. As I begin my ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury, I am so grateful for this global community of Anglicans, all bound by our shared faith in Jesus Christ. I am looking forward to spending time at the Anglican Consultative Council with bishops, clergy and laity from across the world, celebrating our common ministry, enriching one another’s faith, and looking for new ways to walk together. In this spirit of collaboration, I return to my favourite proverb: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ I believe that by working together, and with God’s help, the Anglican Communion can offer good news to a world in great need. I also look forward to considering IASCUFO’s Nairobi-Cairo Proposals, as we seek to respond to God’s call for the Church to be one and explore ways of walking together to the highest degree possible.’

The Rt Revd Graham Tomlin, Chair of IASCUFO, said: ‘The work and thinking of The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals on the identity and structures of the Anglican Communion remind us that the Church is called to navigate differences in the light of Christ’s call to unity. The proposals also seek to respond faithfully to the fast-changing Anglican Communion in a post-colonial age. As we prepare for ACC, I look forward to sharing the fruit of IASCUFO’s labours as presented in The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals and our supplementary paper. In the power of God’s Spirit, I pray that we may have the courage and honesty to attend to deeply held disagreements within our communion, with the conviction and obedience to respond to Christ’s call.’

The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, said: ‘IASCUFO’s Nairobi-Cairo Proposals mark an important moment in the history of the Anglican Communion. Since the last ACC in Ghana, members of IASCUFO have worked prayerfully, collegially and faithfully to produce this important theological paper. Representing diverse perspectives, The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals seek to uphold our unity in diversity and to help us navigate our differences. I hope and pray that every member church of the Communion will send its representatives to the Anglican Consultative Council in Belfast, so that every voice is heard when we discuss the proposals.’