When Cherry Vann was elected Archbishop of Wales in July 2025, she made history on two fronts: she became the world’s first openly gay archbishop and the United Kingdom’s first female archbishop. Her appointment was hailed by some as a landmark moment for inclusion within the Anglican Communion. Yet, as the months have unfolded, it’s become clear that her leadership has also stirred deep divisions within the Church in Wales and the broader Anglican world.
Vann’s election arrived at a turbulent time for the Church in Wales. Her predecessor had stepped down amid a flurry of scandals, including safeguarding failures, excessive drinking, and sexual misconduct. Against this backdrop, Vann’s ascension was seen by many as a chance for renewal and a signal that the church was ready to confront difficult issues head-on. But as Vann herself has since acknowledged, her openness about her sexuality has not been universally welcomed.
In a candid interview with BBC Wales on December 23, 2025, Vann addressed the elephant in the room: “Some, sadly, have felt the need to leave, and I take that very seriously.” She didn’t mince words about the pain caused by such departures, adding, “It can be very hurtful. It feels like an attack on who I am and who God has made me to be.” Yet, she was quick to emphasize her commitment to unity, saying, “We have to find a way as a church to respect one another’s views and find a commonality in our faith in Christ, despite our differences.”
Vann’s approach to leadership is marked by a balancing act—on the one hand, she’s determined to create a more welcoming environment for LGBT+ people; on the other, she recognizes the discomfort this causes for some within her flock. “The Church in Wales is working hard to welcome LGBT+ people, but also I respect that there are people in the Church in Wales who find that really difficult,” she told BBC Wales. This duality, she insists, is not about silencing dissent but about fostering mutual respect: “I don’t want people to feel shut down or silenced just because I hold a different view.”
For Vann, her sexuality isn’t something to be hidden or apologized for. In an August 2025 conversation with Premier Christian News, she spoke openly about her lifelong awareness of being gay, saying, “I have never heard God say to me, who you are is wrong. Who you love is wrong. You are living in sin. I have never heard that from God, and that’s all I can say.” Her words, deeply personal and rooted in her faith, have resonated with many who have long felt excluded by the church’s traditional teachings on sexuality.
But not everyone is convinced. The response from conservative Anglican circles has been swift and unsparing. The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon), a group representing traditionalist voices within the global Anglican community, described Vann’s appointment as “another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy.” For them, Vann’s leadership is emblematic of a broader theological drift—a move away from what they see as clear biblical teachings on sexual morality.
James Lasher, a writer and editor at Charisma Media, articulated this perspective in a recent commentary. “Christianity has never been vague about sexual morality. Not once,” Lasher wrote. “Sexual intimacy outside of God’s design for marriage is consistently identified in Scripture as sin. That includes homosexuality, just as it includes adultery, fornication, and every other sexual expression outside biblical marriage.” Lasher’s critique goes beyond Vann’s personal life, touching on what he sees as the church’s abandonment of repentance and biblical authority. “When a church blesses what God forbids, faithful believers will walk away. That is not cruelty. That is Holy Spirit conviction.”
It’s a view echoed by many who have chosen to leave the Church in Wales since Vann’s appointment. For these parishioners, the issue is not simply about inclusion or tolerance. It’s about what they perceive as a fundamental shift in the church’s understanding of scripture and leadership. As Lasher puts it, “The problem is unrepentant behavior, especially in church leadership.”
Yet, Vann’s supporters argue that her leadership represents a long-overdue step toward justice and authenticity. They point to the church’s historical marginalization of LGBT+ people and see Vann’s openness as a corrective to past wrongs. Her willingness to acknowledge the pain caused by her appointment—both to those who feel alienated and those who feel finally seen—has earned her respect even among some critics. “There are still patches all over the place where people continue to struggle with women in leadership and I have to respect that,” she said, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by both women and LGBT+ leaders in the church.
The debate, of course, is not confined to Wales. Across the Anglican Communion, questions about sexuality, gender, and leadership have sparked fierce disagreements. Some provinces have moved toward greater inclusion, while others have doubled down on traditional teachings. The result has been a patchwork of policies and practices, with unity often feeling elusive.
For the Church in Wales, the stakes are high. Like many mainline denominations in the West, it faces declining attendance and growing secularization. The controversy surrounding Vann’s leadership has, if nothing else, forced the church to confront uncomfortable truths about its identity and future. As Vann herself admitted, “I think there is a big cultural issue in the Church.”
Whether Vann’s tenure will ultimately heal or deepen the church’s divisions remains to be seen. What’s clear is that she is not shying away from the challenge. Her message to critics is not one of defiance but of hope: “We are commanded to pray for her. Pray for repentance, restoration and truth. The hope should be that she turns away from a path that contradicts God’s Word and returns to the narrow road that leads to life.” For Vann and her supporters, however, the path forward is about expanding the circle of belonging without sacrificing the church’s core commitments.
As the Church in Wales navigates this fraught moment, it stands at a crossroads—between tradition and change, exclusion and embrace, certainty and humility. The outcome will shape not only its own future but also the broader conversation about faith, identity, and leadership in the 21st century.
For now, Cherry Vann remains undeterred, committed to leading a church where, as she puts it, “we respect one another’s views and find a commonality in our faith in Christ, despite our differences.” Whether that vision can hold the church together is a question only time will answer.
