Anti-gay Ugandan archbishop to U.S. church: Get lost!

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

The progressive Episcopal Church is considering whether to adopt a plan “to build relationships with African Anglican scholars and activists who are working to advance generous understandings of the Bible” that affirm the dignity of LGBTI people.

The conservative archbishop of Uganda wants none of it, calling the proposal “an extension of [The Episcopal Church]s arrogance and imperialism toward the rest of the world.” He labels such proposals for dialogue to be “Trojan Horses” and vows that “we are not participating.”

The following is the full response of Archbishop Stanley Ntagali to the proposal, currently under consideration by the U.S.-based church’s General Convention, as reported by the conservative website Virtue Online:

“The Church of Uganda broke communion with TEC [The Episcopal Church] twelve years ago in 2003 because of their unilateral decision to change the Church’s teaching on marriage, sexuality, and ordination, which they had no right to do. Though it makes us sad, this resolution in 2015 does not surprise us. It is merely an extension of TEC’s arrogance and imperialism toward the rest of the world and the churches of the Anglican Communion.

“The Church of Uganda is united in our commitment to the Jerusalem Declaration of GAFCON [which includes “We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed”], to the plain sense meaning of the Bible’s teaching on marriage as a lifelong relationship between one man and one woman, and the marriage relationship as the only place for sexual intimacy.

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“Should TEC try to come in and influence our Bible scholars away from the clear and plain sense meaning of Scripture, we shall consider them a wolf who has invaded our flock in order to pick off individuals with the intent to steal, kill, and destroy the Church of Uganda.

“We consider TEC’s draft resolution to be in line with the Anglican Communion’s “Bible in the Life of the Church” project and Continuing Indaba (or Facilitated Conversations) — they are all Trojan Horses intent on violating Anglicanism’s historic understanding of the authority of Scripture and we are not participating. We have better things to do with our time and limited resources. TEC’s proposed resolution simply gives it an official mandate to do what they’ve already been doing unofficially, namely bringing down the rest of the Anglican Communion in the same way they have led to their own decline. We will resist these efforts, and God will judge all of us.”