Archbishop Henry Orombi's press statement
on the Primates Meeting
21st February 2007
THANK YOU
First, I want to thank all the members of the Church of Uganda and others who
were praying so fervently during this meeting of the Primates of the Anglican
Communion. It was the most intense meeting I have ever attended. Even until the
last night of our meeting, we were in a deadlock. But, the Lord has prevailed.
Biblical authority is being restored, and from that, we are hopeful that
Biblical mission will be the result. Thank you for upholding me and all of the
Primates in your prayers.
ACTIONS TOWARD TEC
In 2003, the Episcopal Church USA, now abbreviated as TEC (T – E – C),
culminated years of their theological revision by consecrating as Bishop a
divorced man living in a same-sex relationship. This was a blatant action in
violation of Scripture and the historic teaching of the Church.
As the Primates wrote at the end of an emergency meeting in October 2003,
this action has torn the fabric of the Anglican Communion at its deepest level.
In fact, the Church of Uganda, along with 21 other Provinces of the 38 Provinces
in the Anglican Communion, broke communion with TEC. Accordingly, I have not
received Holy Communion at any Primates meeting since then – I did not receive
Holy Communion in 2005 in Dromantine, Northern Ireland, and the two times we
celebrated Holy Communion at this meeting in Tanzania, I did not receive Holy
Communion.
Scripture teaches that before coming to sit with one another at the Lord's
Table we must be reconciled. (Matthew 5:23-26 and 1 Corinthians 11:27-29)*. I,
along with several other of my brother Primates, were unable to come to the Holy
Table with the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church because to do so would
be a violation of Scriptural teaching and the traditional Anglican understanding
of Holy Communion. The Prayer Book invitation to Holy Communion makes this very
clear. It says, "Ye that do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are
in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to lead a new life,
following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways;
Draw near with faith." (Book of Common Prayer)
The Primates Communiqué from our last meeting in 2005 in Dromatine, Northern
Ireland, put in place several recommendations in order for trust to be restored
within the Communion, which TEC was supposed to address at its General
Convention in June of 2006. While TEC may have done the best they could at the
time, it was not good enough. We need reassurance that they are really serious.
So, we have asked for two simple things before 30th September.
1. The House of Bishops of TEC needs to make an unequivocal common covenant
that the bishops will not authorise any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in
their dioceses or through General Convention
2. The House of Bishops of TEC needs to make a statement that all its members
will definitely NOT consent to the consecration of any person as a Bishop who is
living in a same-sex union
If they do not give these assurances, it will have "consequences for the full
participation of [their] Church in the life of the [Anglican] Communion." TEC's
Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, signed this Communiqué. We pray
that she will take it more seriously than her predecessor did when he signed our
Communiqués but proceeded to denounce and violate them.
The Church of Uganda remains in broken communion with TEC until they
demonstrate true repentance. We continue to reject funds from official TEC
sources and from American dioceses who have revised historic and Biblical faith
and morality.
Once again, I take this opportunity to urge our Church to embrace this season
as a God-given opportunity to vigorously pursue self-sustainability for our
Church. We are a strong, healthy, and vibrant Church. We have tremendous assets
– natural and human resources. I urge us to pray and work for the release of our
God-given creativity to harness these resources not only for the
self-sustainability of God's Church here in Uganda, but for it to thrive and
even support the mission of God's Church in our neighbouring countries. God has
blessed us in Uganda. And, when God blesses, we have a spiritual obligation to
be a blessing to others.
OUR PARTNERS
Since the dramatic and unbiblical decision of TEC in 2003, a number of
congregations in America have appealed to the Church of Uganda to provide a safe
place of refuge for them. Ten of our Bishops are now providing ecclesiastical
oversight to more than 20 congregations in America. I want to assure our Bishops
here and our congregations in America that we stand with you. You are safe and
secure in the Church of Uganda. We will not abandon you or repatriate you until
there is truly a safe and Biblically faithful ecclesial entity in America. That
has been our promise, and we stand by it.
We continue in full fellowship and Communion with the members of the Anglican
Communion Network, the Anglican Mission in the Americas (a mission initiative of
the Church of Rwanda), the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (a mission
initiative of the Church of Nigeria), and on an individual basis with those
Bishops and Dioceses who have explicitly put policies in place that prohibit the
blessing of same-sex unions and the consecration of bishops in same-sex
relationships, according to the Windsor Report.
THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION
I want to thank my brother Primates from Africa who have elected me to represent
them on the Primates Standing Committee; it is an honour and a huge
responsibility. We are comprised of five Primates from the five main regions of
the world in which the Anglican Communion is present, and chaired by the
Archbishop of Canterbury.
This Primates meeting has not solved the current crisis in the Anglican
Communion. We hope we have clarified the steps needed for trust to be restored,
healing to take place, and for our full bonds of affection to once again
flourish.
Anglicanism has always stood for a Biblical faith grounded in Holy Scripture
as its primary source of authority. In the 16th century, British church leaders
were martyred for this faith. In Uganda, our children were martyred at the hands
of Kabaka Mwanga. Our former Archbishop, Janani Luwum, who we honoured last
Friday, stood up for the Gospel in the face of unbiblical tyranny.
Not only will I honour the memory of these Anglican ancestors on the Primates
Standing Committee; not only will I represent Africa, but my greater
responsibility will be our Lord Jesus Christ, who "was delivered over to death
for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." (Romans 4.25).
I want to take this opportunity to highlight, once again, the appointment of
one of our own to be the Anglican Observer to the United Nations. Hellen Wangusa,
a former member of our Provincial Staff, was installed on Sunday during a
service we held in Zanzibar. Hellen represents Uganda and all of us in the
Global South who seek to see the fulfillment of the UN's Millennium Development
Goals for our people, so many of whom are suffering the ravages of extreme
poverty, preventable diseases, and lack of access to education. Together with
our grassroots efforts and Hellen's work at a governmental and policy level, we
pray for God's Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in
heaven.
It is not enough, however, to "make poverty history." We must also "make
greed history." That is why it is not enough to substitute support for the
Millennium Development Goals for the fullness of the Biblical understanding of
God's mission in the world. Evangelism, repentance, a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ, and Biblical discipleship are as much a key to the fulfillment of
the Millennium Development Goals as all the programmes and strategies we will
put in place. And we have and will continue to put them in place. But, the whole
counsel of God in Scripture must be proclaimed and embraced as the only way to
the full and abundant life that Jesus promises.
CONCLUSION
I want to restate what the Church of Uganda stands for:
1. The Church of Uganda upholds the biblical teaching on sexuality, namely
that sexual intimacy is reserved for a husband and wife in lifelong,
heterosexual, monogamous marriage. For us in Uganda, this is a matter of life
and death. For our own good, the Bible teaches abstinence before marriage, and
faithfulness in marriage. And, marriage is defined as between one man and one
woman.
2. Therefore, the Church of Uganda also supports the 1998 Lambeth Resolution,
which states that "homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture."
3. At the same time the Church of Uganda is committed to providing pastoral
care for those struggling with sexual temptation, for example, homosexual urges,
heterosexual pornography, pre-marital sex, and post-marital adultery. There is
no sin too big for God. Sadly, many of our girls have also been defiled and
sinned against, and they grow up with confusion about Godly sexuality. The
gospel of Jesus Christ offers the only way to a transformed life, including a
transformed sexuality. The gospel of Jesus Christ is about transformation, not
inclusion. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, "Go and sin no more," not,
"Go and sin some more." For the North American church, pastoral care means
providing services for the blessing of same-sex unions. We do not mean that. For
us in Uganda, pastoral care means leading people into the fully transformed life
that Jesus promises to those who call upon His name. We welcome all those
struggling with sexual temptation, and those suffering from sexual violation, to
find healing and deliverance through Jesus Christ.
4. I call upon our government leaders to uphold marriage between one man and
one woman, and the family they produce, as a foundational building block for our
society and our country. This part of our African culture is affirmed in the
Bible and we must not let Western influence pressure us into abandoning this
part of our heritage.
In my Charge at my Enthronement, I said, "I desire to see the Church rise and
shine. Isaiah 60:1 says, "Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of
the Lord rises upon you." Three years later, that is still my desire. I have a
lot of hope for the Church in Uganda, and, if our recommendations are taken
seriously, I have hope that the Anglican Communion can be put back on its
Biblical foundations, for that is the only place where it can flourish.
* Matthew 5:23-26 23 "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in
the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24
leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person.
Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. 25 "When you are on the way to court
with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser
may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you
will be thrown into prison. 26 And if that happens, you surely won't be free
again until you have paid the last penny.
1 Corinthians 11:27-29 27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of
the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking
the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body
of Christ, you are eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself.
Love
God, neighbor and enemy. 
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