An official statement from Archbishop Henry Orombi says:
107 Ugandan Anglicans going to Jerusalem
Thirty-four Bishops from the Church of Uganda and their wives will travel to Jerusalem later this month for the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). Also in the delegation, there will be thirty clergy and lay leaders from around the country with experience in different areas of ministry.
1,000 people from around the worldwide Anglican Communion, including more than 280 bishops, will participate in this Pilgrimage, and the Church of Uganda will be more than ten percent…
A news report in New Vision says Orombi wants pro-gay bishops to apologise. (Another copy here.) The full text of the news article is below the fold.
PRO-GAY bishops must apologise and renounce their support for sexual perversion in order to reunite the Church. The Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi, made the appeal on Wednesday, while addressing journalists at the provincial headquarters in Namirembe, Kampala.
He was announcing the departure of a team of Church of Uganda bishops to the Anglican Communion scheduled for June 22-29 in Jerusalem.
According to Orombi, conservative Christians worldwide, who believe in the Bible, will meet in Jerusalem to “prepare for an Anglican future in which the gospel is uncompromised and a Christ-centred mission is a top priority.”
There was need to understand the identity of Christians and create opportunity for fellowship and networking, Orombi added.
“The rift in the Church can only be bridged if the liberal bishops, espousing sexual perversion, repent and return to Christ’s teachings.”
Over 1,000 bishops are boycotting the Lambeth conference, the highest doctrine and policy setting assembly of the Anglican Church, in protest over the invitation of pro-gay bishops. The meeting is slated for August in Westminster, the UK.
“We do not want to pretend over very serious issues. Our not going to Lambeth is a statement. If we went there, we would be doing much more damage to the Church,” Orombi observed.
The archbishop added that the two sides had been in dialogue, but as long as the issues that split them were not resolved, the meeting would be a waste of time. “For us to come back together, it will take repentance and for them to abide by the Lambeth Resolution 10 of 1998 on sexuality,” Orombi said.
“The resolution states that the Anglican Communion upholds the Biblical view on sexuality, but when these people went back to the US, they decided to disown it and do their own things.”
Jesus, he pointed out, was very clear on divorce. “He says divorce is because of the hardness of your hearts. The Bible completely forbids same- sex unions.” The sharp rift started when an American bishop, Gene Robinson, divorced his wife and took on a male partner. The Episcopal Church consecrated him in 2003.
The Church in Uganda was not shutting out gays, but believes that they can change, the archbishop explained. “We believe in the transforming power of Jesus and that homosexuals can change.”
Besides, there were other issues dividing the Church, Orombi stated, citing the assertion that Jesus was not the only way to God and His birth was not of a virgin nature.
Who’s paying for all this, in a nation where the per-capita GDP is $300?
‘Over 1,000 bishops are boycotting the Lambeth conference’
There were less than 1000 at the last lambeth conf, has the communion grown that much, is there stacking of the bishops benches by certain provinces or is there a certain amount of embroidery going on here?
http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/003078.html suggests the last.
“According to Orombi, conservative Christians worldwide, who believe in the Bible” This is, I think, a secular publication. Notice what this reveals about secular assumptions about the Church un Uganda: First, there is the idea of “conservative Christians”, not Anglicans, Christians. True, but it certainly gives the impression of a much further reaching group than it actually is. There are literally billions of conservative Christians who not only will not be represented at this conference and whose beliefs on other issues are radically different from those of the GAFFEPRONE. Second, notice the secular assumption that only conservative Christians believe the… Read more »
Robert
That paragraph is just silly. Not only is the number of boycotting bishops claimed greater than the total number invited, but the meeting is not in Westminster and never has been (Lambeth Palace has never been in Westminster, never mind Canterbury being the modern venue) and most of the conference is in July not in August.
Much I do sometimes lean to a conservative view on homosexuality (and sometimes to a more liberal view – I actually don’t have a clue) I have to say that GAFCON is not going to help anyone.
Looks like the “orthodox brethren” who pay Orombi “so much money” have come through for him again.
His Grace Henry Luke revels in exaggeration (and misinformation) when he states that “over 1,000 bishops are boycotting the Lambeth conference, the highest doctrine and policy setting assembly of the Anglican Church, in protest over the invitation of pro-gay bishops. The meeting is slated for August in Westminster, the UK.”
Alas Orombi and company are dead-set on flat earthing, even past the looming future point that round vs flat earth cosmologies remain difficult enough to generate the heat needed for GAFCONS and the like.
Still, I do not wish him prohibited from worship or from that blessed table we share in God’s kingdom feast. I can even stand for him to keep believing in a flat earth, so long as he gently refrains from mapping out my own spiritual pilgrimage in excruciatingly heterosexuals only daily life details.
Lord have mercy.
John Henry
I do not see any reason in this article to attribute that erroneous paragraph to the archbishop. It is far more likely to have been added by a journalist who simply had no clue. This is a distraction from the main thrust of the article.
I quite agree that the absurd quotes about the Lambeth Conference, its size, nature and location come from the pen of a very poor journalist, and not from the Primate. That said, the official statement above claims that 107 Ugandans are going to GafCon, comprising 34 bishops, plus their wives, plus 30 clergy and lay leaders. So, 34 bishops plus 34 wives plus 30 clergy and laity equal 98. I presume the other 9 must be in the unnumbered group of episcopal wives, which means what, precisely? Just asking.
“I presume the other 9 must be in the unnumbered group of episcopal wives, which means what, precisely?”
That no-one will think any of them are gay?