The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has hit back at a suggestion by the chair of the conservative GAFCON group that to be part of the Anglican Communion is 'not determined simply by relationship with the Archbishop of Canterbury'.

The Primate of Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh, used his Advent letter to GAFCON supporters to back the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), which ordained nine men outside the Church of England, claiming the CofE was compromised by liberal theology.

However, Idowu-Fearon flatly contradicted him in an article posted by the Anglican Communion News Service: 'The See of Canterbury is one of the unique features which binds us together. At the Primates' Meeting in October it was clear just how much Canterbury meant to those who came. For Anglicans, communion with the See of Canterbury – and with its Archbishop – is the visible expression of our communion with one another.'

He continued, 'the relationship with the See of Canterbury is essential for Anglicans. You cannot be in the Anglican Communion without it.'

Idowu-Fearon referred to the 1930 Lambeth Conference which explicitly defined the Communion as made up of bodies 'in communion with the See of Canterbury' and the constitution of the Anglican Consultative Council.

He said: 'Of course individual member churches and Provinces of the Anglican Communion are free to enter into relationships of communion with non-Anglican churches. However this does not make those churches members of the Anglican Communion.'

He concluded by praying for 'peace and unity among all Christians, especially those who were once part of the Communion'.

Idowu-Fearon's article will be seen as a direct challenge both to GAFCON and to AMiE with its bishop Andy Lines, who have been positioning themselves to challenge the traditional organisational structure of the Anglican Communion. At stake is how an Anglican is defined, with competing visions fought out very publicly.