Secretary General of Anglican Communion to attend General Synod

General Synod 2026 will welcome a special guest this year, with the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion attending the three-day meeting in Stirling.

As Secretary General, the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, serves as an ambassador for the Communion’s member churches, and oversees the work of the Anglican Communion Office (ACO), which is the official Secretariat to the worldwide communion. He will be the first Secretary General to attend General Synod in 21 years.

This year’s General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church takes place at the University of Stirling campus from 11 to 13 June, and Bishop Poggo will address members on the final day, when he will discuss the Anglican Communion’s relationship with its members.

“I am delighted that the Rt Rev Anthony Poggo will be joining us for our meeting of the General Synod,” said the Primus. “Bishop Poggo and I meet regularly at Primates and Communion engagements, and the Secretary General indicated a desire to visit General Synod. I was happy to extend an invitation to him.

“He is coming to share with us his view of the life of the Anglican Communion, and to hear what the communion means to us here in Scotland.

“As a church we treasure our membership, identity, and unique history within the Communion and I really look forward to sharing that with Bishop Anthony during his time with us in Scotland.”

Looking forward to his visit, the Secretary General said: “Every Church in the Anglican Communion is valued for its individuality and unique passions. I am greatly looking forward to spending time in fellowship with laypersons, clergy and leadership from the Episcopal Church of Scotland in the coming weeks and I thank Primus Mark for inviting me to observe the Church’s synod.

“I am particularly excited to learn more about their ongoing ministry and priorities for the province going forward.”

The Secretary General and ACO staff work to support the instruments of the Anglican Communion, which are the the Anglican Consultative Council, Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates’ Meeting and the Lambeth Conference. The team is currently preparing for the 19^th in-person meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council, ACC-19, which will meet in Belfast June-July, hosted by the Church of Ireland.

The last Secretary General of the Anglican Communion to attend General Synod was the Rev Canon Kenneth Kieron, who was a guest at the 2005 General Synod meeting held in Glasgow.

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