The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, His Grace Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit has cautioned Christians on homosexuality.
Archbishop Sapit was on Monday speaking as the guest preacher at the Anglican Shrine in Nakiyanja-Namugongo were thousands converged to commemorate this year’s Martyrs’ day.
The Church of Uganda (CoU) celebrates 23 Martyrs while the Catholics were 22 converts to Christianity in Buganda Kingdom who were executed between 31st January 1885 and 27th January 1887. They were killed on orders of then Kabaka Mwanga II.
The lead five organising dioceses for this year’s Martyrs’ Day are Mityana, Luweero, West Buganda, Central Buganda and Mukono.
The theme for this year’s celebrations is “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” The theme is derived from the scriptures of Mathew 10:28.
In his sermon, Sapit challenged Christians to be on the lookout of the new evil practices being pushed to the Church.
Describing the gods as human sexuality, money and corruption, Sapit said that these gods of the day must be denounced by the true Church of God.
“The homosexuals say they want to be ordained in the Church, I don’t know which religious leader will ordain them! We must be committed to the Christian faith, “said Archbishop Sapit an outspoken critic of homosexuality.
He appealed to the faithful, to always be reminded of the martyrs who walked in faith and kept their determination.
Earlier, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali reaffirmed to Christians that the CoU House of Bishops had resolved to boycott the 2020 Lambeth Conference, in protest of the endorsement of same-sex marriages and the admission of gay clergy by Canterbury, the seat of Anglican Church worldwide.
Ntagali thanked Sapit for standing firm against homosexuality and for a good neighbour to Uganda.
The decision was made during the 3rd international gathering of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) that took place last year in Jerusalem, Israel.
The Ugandan House of Bishops resolved to boycott the Lambeth Conference saying that the Anglican Communion had not shown strong leadership on the issue of homosexuality also noting that they will not attend any meetings called by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
This pronouncement comes as a blow to attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to unite the Anglican Communion ahead of 2020’s Lambeth Conference, in London. The decennial conference brings together bishops from across the world.
It comes at the backdrop of divisions between conservatives and liberals in the worldwide Communion over the issue of homosexuality. Groups such as the Scottish Episcopal Church and the US Episcopal Church have endorsed same-sex marriages and admitted gay clergy.
But members of the GAFCON movement, a group of conservative Anglicans, maintain that such church groups are moving away from what the Bible teaches.
The Lambeth Conference 2020 is scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 3 at the University of Kent in Canterbury. The meeting, to be attended by more than 900 Bishops and their spouses, will be held under the theme, “God’s Church for God’s World: walking, listening and witnessing together”.
Former Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi refused to attend, the last conference held in 2008 accusing the Archbishop of Canterbury of betrayal.
In his statement, Orombi said; “Those who violate biblical teaching must show repentance and regret before we can share communion with them.”
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