The Instruments of Communion
The Primates’ Meeting:
A Forum for Fellowship and Consultation
As one of the four Instruments of Communion, The Primates’ Meeting plays a unique and pivotal role in the life of the Anglican Communion. It brings together the senior bishops, archbishops, and moderators—known as ‘Primates’—from the autonomous member churches of the Anglican Communion and provides a forum for these senior leaders to consult on shared challenges and opportunities.
Structure and Convening
The Primates’ Meeting operates through a distinct structure:
Walking together
Established in 1978 by the 101st Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggan, the meeting’s original vision was primarily pastoral and relational. It was conceived as an intimate forum for leaders of the rapidly diversifying global family of churches to offer mutual support and discern God’s mission together. The meetings are rooted in “prayer, conversation, Bible study, and fellowship,” providing a space where spiritual leaders can share their vision.
The Meeting’s history reflects the nature of “relational authority” within a decentralized global body. It has been the primary venue where the Communion’s leadership has faithfully addressed different perspectives on significant issues.
The Primates’ Meeting continues to be a vital forum for encounter, with the 2024 Primates’ Meeting in Rome deliberating on the wide ranging changes considered in the IASCUFO paper “The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals” as well as iincluding a shared pilgrimage and a historic meeting with Pope Francis.
The ACO also acknowledges that not all primates have attended recent gatherings, reflecting the different ways provinces are navigating disagreement within the Communion.
2027 Primates’ Meeting
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, has called the next Primates’ Meeting, to be held from 28 February – 5 March in Johannesburg, hosted by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Formal notification of dates has been sent to the Primates from Lambeth Palace.
The agenda, which will explore mission, service and advocacy, will be developed in consultation with the regional primates in the months ahead.
Primates who have been installed since May 2024 are invited to arrive on 27 February 2027 to participate in an induction session.
A summary of the schedule is on the Events page.
Regional Primates
At formal Primates’ Meetings, the Primates of each region elect a Regional Primate to represent them on the Standing Committee of the ACC and to serve as a Standing Committee of the Primates’ Meeting. In recent years, Regional Primates have also helped to provide pastoral support within their regions when such support was requested, in coordination with the Anglican Communion Office and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Americas
The Most Revd Marinez Bassotto (Brazil)
Africa
The Most Revd Jackson Ole Sapit (Kenya)
Middle East & South Asia
The Most Revd Azad Marshall (Pakistan)
Oceania & East Asia
The Most Revd Leonard Dawea (Melanesia)
Europe
The Most Revd John McDowell (Ireland)
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Learn More About the Instruments of Communion:
Learn more about the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC)
The ACC is the Communion’s representative body, gathering laity, clergy, and bishops to guide cooperative work.
Discover the work and outcomes of The Lambeth Conference
A global gathering of bishops, convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury to shape the Communion’s mission.
Meet the Archbishop of Canterbury: A Focus for Unity
The Archbishop is the spiritual head and a personal ‘focus of unity’ for the global Anglican Communion.
