NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Five African Anglican women bishops said they will attend the historic installation of the first female archbishop of Canterbury, even as GAFCON, an alliance of conservative primates strongly represented in Africa, has urged a “principled disengagement” from the traditional center of Anglican power in England.

The Most Rev. Sarah Mullally, a 63-year-old former nurse, will be installed on Wednesday (March 25) at Canterbury Cathedral in England, the final step in making her the head of the Church of England and the convener of the worldwide Anglican Communion. She is ​the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the office in the church’s 1,400-year history.

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“We are standing in solidarity with the archbishop of Canterbury,” the Rt. Rev.…