The Rt Revd Dr Graham Tomlin, Chair of IASCUFO, outlines the heart of The Nairobi Cairo Proposals and how they might help Anglicans ‘to make room for one another’, in addressing differences and working towards the unity of God’s church.

The proposals will be discussed by the Anglican Consultative Council meeting 'ACC-19', which will gather in Belfast in 2026. The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals (NCPs) were developed by IASCUFO at the request of ACC members, through a resolution at ACC-18, in Ghana.

How can we make room for one another? 

It is no secret that the Anglican Communion has faced challenges in recent years. Deep disagreements over issues such as the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate, and differences over human sexuality have strained relationships within the Communion over the last 20 years or more.

The Lambeth Conference of 2022, in The Lambeth Call on Anglican Identity called for work on the question of 'to what extent might some (or all) of the Instruments be reconfigured to serve the Communion of today and the future?' This was a task that needed picking up in subsequent years.

The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) is a permanent commission of the Anglican Communion and reports to the Anglican Consultative Council. Its brief is to advise the instruments of communion and member churches on matters of doctrine, ecclesiology, liturgy, canon law and ecumenical relations.

At the ACC in Ghana in 2023, IASCUFO was tasked with a renewed exploration of ‘structure and decision-making to help address our differences in the Anglican Communion.’ This exploration would affirm ‘the importance of seeking to walk together to the highest degree possible and learning from our ecumenical conversations how to accommodate differentiation patiently and respectfully.’

And so, over the past two and a half years, IASCUFO has been working on these issues, producing a report: The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals which were published in December 2024, having been discussed at the Primates Meeting in Rome in April / May 2024.

The Nairobi Cairo Proposals seek to respond to three questions. The first, assuming that the Anglican Communion is a gift to the worldwide church and to those of us within the Anglican family, is: ‘How can we strengthen the bonds of unity within the Anglican Communion?’ The second, trying to avoid too easy a glossing over the depths of our disagreements, is: ‘How can we be honest about our differences’, or in other words, how can we handle them in a godly and holy way? The third, recognising that the structures of the Anglican Communion emerged in the colonial period, asks ‘How can we update our self-understanding to reflect better what we are today, in a way that reflects the maturing and growth of the Communion?’

In a diverse, global Communion, there is a wide range of theological and doctrinal perspectives. There are also deeply held differences and disagreements, which strain and wound the Communion. This is why The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals are important. They face these differences directly, not to resolve them, but to encourage all Anglicans to ‘make room for one another.’ Jesus prayed that ‘they may all be one’ (John 17.11). To persist in – imperfect, impaired – communion is to commit to work at this task together, and not apart.

The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals won't solve all the differences in the Anglican Communion, but they do seek to provide a structure within which people of deeply different convictions can remain in good conscience within that Communion. They offer an updated definition of the Anglican Communion which celebrates a historic connection to Canterbury, without making ‘full communion’ with Canterbury a requirement for membership. 

They also suggest diversifying the leadership exercised by the Archbishop of Canterbury within the Communion, involving the Primates of the five regions of the Communion. This would retain the pastoral role of the Archbishop of Canterbury as one of the 'instruments of communion’, while broadening and sharing their leadership responsibilities within the Communion.

As requested in Ghana in 2023, these proposals will be brought to ACC-19 in Belfast in July 2026. The ACC will be invited to discuss the proposals and to decide whether they should be adopted and if so, in what form. In the months leading up to ACC-19, member churches around the Communion are encouraged to discuss the proposals and to help shape the discussion that will take place in Belfast next year.

For example, in October 2025 ACC members were invited to join a Zoom call with the Chair and other members of IASCUFO to discuss and seek to understand the proposals and their applications for the Communion more deeply. Some member churches have set up groups to discuss the proposals and feed them into IASCUFO. Meanwhile conversations will continue with the new Archbishop of Canterbury when she takes up her new role, and with the ACC’s Standing Committee, in preparation for discussions at ACC-19.

In short: The Nairobi Cairo Proposals are about honouring the Communion's heritage while adapting for the future in a post-colonial world.  They are offered to the wider communion for deep consideration as they seek to find a way to address our disagreements, and yet also to fit the Communion to respond to God’s call to share the good news of Jesus Christ in our different contexts in the twenty-first century.

For more information

Read more about The Nairobi Cairo Proposals and download the document

Read more about ACC-19 - the next in person meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council