Fourth African Archbishop Taking U.S. Churches Under His Wing

By Lillian Kwon, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, June 23, 2007

A fourth Anglican archbishop from Africa has announced plans to appoint an American bishop to take conservative U.S. churches under its wing.

The archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, reaffirmed on Thursday that he will consecrate the Rev. John A.M. Guernsey, rector of All Saints Church in Dale City, Va., as a bishop in the Church of Uganda. Guernsey will provide local oversight to the 26 congregations in the United States that are already part of the Church of Uganda.

Orombi's announcement comes a week after Kenya's Anglican archbishop, Benjamin Nzimbi, said he will install Canon Bill Atwood as suffragan bishop of All Saints' Cathedral Diocese, Nairobi, to provide a "safe haven" for Anglicans seeking to remain faithful to historic Anglican faith.

The heads of Anglican provinces, called primates, began providing oversight to U.S. congregations leaving The Episcopal Church, particularly since its consecration of an openly gay bishop in 2003 which widened rifts. The primates have so far taken 200 to 250 U.S. congregations under their authority, according to The Washington Post. There are more than 7,000 congregations in The Episcopal Church, the U.S. wing of Anglicanism.

The Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, who was recently installed by Nigerian Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola to oversee over 34 U.S. congregations in CANA (Convocation of Anglicans in North America), welcomed the planned consecration by the Church of Uganda.

"They (Church of Uganda and Church of Kenya) demonstrate the willingness of various provinces in the Anglican Communion to support the mission and ministry of Anglicans in North America who can no longer be part of The Episcopal Church," said Minns in a statement Friday.

Minns had denied claims that the African Anglican leaders are competing for leadership, prestige or donations in U.S. churches, according to The Washington Post, and said they are working together to help U.S. Anglicans who want to remain faithful to Anglican orthodoxy.

"This is not just one province sticking its nose in," he said, according to the Post. "It's the Global South collectively saying 'We've got to do something' because of the crisis in the U.S. church."

Kenya's Nzimbi also confirmed that it is not a competition but a collaboration.

"It is a new day for the pastoral and episcopal care of the orthodox congregations in America," said Nzimbi. "We look forward to working with our Ugandan neighbors in mutual collaboration in providing apostolic and missional support to our orthodox brothers and sisters in America."

As Nigeria's Akinola has said, the primates are there to make sure God's people have a spiritual home, considering the number of congregations that feel they cannot serve and grow as Anglicans in The Episcopal Church.

The archbishop of Rwanda, the Most Rev. Emmanuel Kolini, and the archbishop of Southeast Asia, Moses Tay, set the precedent of establishing a missionary branch in the United States in 2000. They formed the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) which now claims about 120 congregations.

CANA – the mission initiative of the Church of Nigeria – now claims about 40 congregations. After Atwood's installation in August as bishop in the Church of Kenya, Atwood says he will oversee about 35 U.S. churches.

Meanwhile, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, has plans to initiate discussion on creating an "Anglican Union" which would be a step toward forming a separate Anglican structure from The Episcopal Church. Duncan has called for a Sept. 25-28 meeting with such splinter groups as CANA and AMiA to up the level of their Common Cause Partnership. Duncan also invited Guernsey, who will be installed in September, to attend.