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.
Archbishop Sarah met many of the Anglican Primates at her Installation in March 2026, but this will be the first formal Primates’ meeting of her ministry. The last Primates’ Meeting took place in Rome, in 2024.
The Primates’ Meeting is an ‘Instrument of Communion’ that seeks to foster unity and collaboration between Anglican churches around the world. The meeting provides space for prayer, fellowship and consultation on shared priorities in church and world affairs.
The agenda, which will explore mission, service and advocacy, will be developed in consultation with the regional primates in the months ahead. A range of topics is expected to feature, including peace and reconciliation, migration and refugee crises, the environment and safeguarding. Resolutions and outcomes from ACC-19 (the 2026 meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council) will also be discussed, including the church planting initiative Vision36 and the next steps in conversations about The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals.
Looking ahead to the Primates’ Meeting, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: ‘I am delighted that the Primates’ meeting will take place in Johannesburg in 2027. I look forward to gathering with fellow Primates in prayer, worship and conversation. Together, we will share in the hope of the Gospel, learn from one another’s ministry and discuss matters of common concern in the life of the Anglican Communion. As we prepare for this meeting, I give thanks to Archbishop Thabo and the Anglican Church of Southern Africa for their hospitality.’
The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo said: ‘The Primates’ Meeting is an important opportunity for Primates to pray and seek one another’s counsel in the service of God’s church. We give thanks for the Anglican Church in Southern Africa and look forward to worshipping with Anglican sisters and brothers in Johannesburg during our programme in 2027.’
The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba, theArchbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan said: ‘I am delighted that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Anthony Poggo and the ACC Standing Committee, in their discernment and reflection have asked us to host the Primates’ Meeting. The last time this happened was in 1993, before South Africa won its freedom as an independent democracy. Now the Primates will visit a democratic South Africa, for which we are so grateful. I have spoken to the Bishop of Johannesburg, who is equally delighted that the meeting will be in his Diocese. We are very much looking forward to hosting the Primates.’
More information about the meeting will be shared in the months ahead.