KAMPALA, Uganda – The Church of Uganda has publicly and forcefully rejected the appointment of Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullaly as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, calling it a “grievous development” that deepens the rift within the global Anglican Communion.
In a strong statement issued hours after the historic appointment was announced, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, stated that the decision severs the symbolic leadership of the Communion from the vast majority of its members.
“Our sadness about this appointment is her support and advocacy for unbiblical positions on sexuality and same-sex marriage that reveal her departure from the historic Anglican positions that uphold the authority of Scripture for faith and life,” Archbishop Kaziimba said.
He framed the appointment as the latest and most significant step in a schism that began in 2003 with the consecration of a gay bishop in The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the United States. “The tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion has now reached the highest level of the Communion with no repentance seen in insight any time soon,” he stated.
As a founding member of the conservative GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference) fellowship, the Church of Uganda has long been at odds with the more progressive leanings of the Church of England. With this decision, Archbishop Kaziimba declared a formal break from the centuries-old authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“We no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as having global authority and the office is certainly no longer an ‘Instrument of Communion,’” he asserted, referencing a previous declaration from the 2023 GAFCON meeting in Kigali. “The Archbishop of Canterbury is reduced simply to the Primate of All England.”
Despite the rupture, Archbishop Kaziimba sought to reassure Anglicans in Uganda and like-minded believers in England, extending a “hand of fellowship” through GAFCON and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans. He emphasized that the Church of Uganda remains committed to “proclaiming the historic and Biblical faith of Anglicanism, faithfulness to Christ and submission to the authority of Scripture.”
The appointment of Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullaly is historic, marking the first time a woman has been chosen for the role. However, her progressive stance on LGBTQ+ inclusion has galvanized opposition from traditionalist provinces in Africa and Asia, who hold that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman. The move sets the stage for a significant reconfiguration of the world’s third-largest Christian communion.
