Edwin Mbanda, the 33-year-old son of Laurent Mbanda, the Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, has passed on while in his sleep in the United States, it has emerged.

The news was shared on Tuesday, April 18, by Reverend Foley Beach, the Chairman of the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon), who is currently in Rwanda for the movement's international gathering.

"It is with great sadness that I share with you the tragic news that Archbishop Laurent Mbanda’s son, Edwin (Eddie) Mbanda, has unexpectedly passed away in his sleep in the United States," reads Reverend Beach's statement tweeted via the Gafcon’s page.

"As you can imagine, this is shocking and heartbreaking news. I, together with the GAFCON family, extend my deepest condolences to Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, his wife Chantal, and their children Eric and Erica," he added.

Archbishop Beach asked believers to pray for the Mbanda family "at this difficult time".

No further details were readily available about circumstances surrounding Edwin’s death.

The development came at a time Mbanda was leading the local Anglican church in hosting the GAFCON conference underway this week in the capital Kigali, bringing together more than 1300 delegates from 53 nations.

The conference aims to draw together Anglicans from around the world who are seeking to guard the unchanging, transforming gospel of Jesus Christ and to proclaim Him to the world.

This is a developing story...