Global Anglican Leaders Gather in Belfast for ACC-19, Focused on Reconciliation and “One Hope”

By Cyril Jones- Okai. (Adoa News Ghana)

The global Anglican Communion has convened in Belfast for its 19th Consultative Council meeting (ACC-19), marking a historic first for the Church of Ireland and the first major gathering for the new Archbishop of Canterbury. With the theme “Called to One Hope,” the week-long conference is set to address global crises while drawing on the host nation’s powerful history of peace-building.

Bells will ring out from St. Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast this Sunday as the Church of Ireland officially opens the doors to hundreds of international delegates, including bishops, clergy, and laity from Anglican provinces across the globe . This is a significant moment for the host church, which Archbishop John McDowell described as a “fruitful opportunity to take stock of the widely diverse Anglican family” .

The meeting is the first official duty for the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, who succeeds Justin Welby. Her attendance follows a joint peace pilgrimage in the Holy Land with Vice-Chair Most Revd Hosam Naoum, signaling a strong personal commitment to the Communion’s role in global conflict resolution .

The agenda for ACC-19 is both broad and ambitious. According to Archbishop McDowell, discussions will cover discipleship and evangelism, the migration crisis, peace and conflict, environmental stewardship, and Christian unity . A particularly striking item is a “church planting” initiative that aims to start or revive one million churches in the next decade .

However, the spiritual and practical heart of the conference may be its focus on reconciliation, a theme powerfully illustrated by a day-long pilgrimage through the city of Derry/Londonderry. Hosted by Bishop Andrew Forster, this “living encounter” will guide delegates through sites of historic and symbolic significance from Northern Ireland’s Troubles .

This experience is designed to be a practical resource. “Many delegates attending ACC-19 come from countries currently experiencing armed conflict, political instability or post-conflict transition,” a church spokesperson noted . The hope is that by walking the path of Northern Ireland’s journey from conflict to peace, they can glean valuable lessons to apply in their own contexts.

A key moment of the pilgrimage will be an interview with Richard Moore, a man blinded by a rubber bullet during the Troubles, followed by a short liturgy in St. Columb’s Cathedral . For the global Church, the experience is meant to offer a “practical resource for the global Church in reconciliation ministry” .

The conference runs from Sunday, June 28 to Saturday, July 4, with public services bookending the event at St. Anne’s Cathedral . As the delegates deliberate on the future of the Anglican Communion, the eyes of the world are on Belfast to see how a church with ancient roots in a modern state can offer a model for healing a fractured world.