Archbishop Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu has announced that the Church of Uganda does not recognize the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally. He stated that her office is no longer considered an “Instrument of Communion.”
Yesterday, the Church of England named Sarah Mullally as the Archbishop of Canterbury-designate, making her the first woman ever appointed to the role.
A former NHS Chief Nurse, the 63-year-old was ordained in 2006 and made history in 2018 when she became the first female Bishop of London, the third most senior position in the Church of England.
The position of Archbishop of Canterbury had remained vacant for nearly a year following Justin Welby’s resignation, which was prompted by a major safeguarding scandal. Welby stepped down after a damning report revealed that he could and should have reported prolific abuser John Smyth to the police in 2013. Smyth was found to have abused numerous boys and young men with ties to the Church.
During the interim period, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell assumed many of Welby’s responsibilities.
In a 2023 GAFCON statement issued in Kigali, the Church of Uganda declared that it no longer recognizes the Archbishop of Canterbury as having global authority. The office, the statement said, is no longer an Instrument of Communion following the Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex marriages.
“Our sadness about this appointment stems from her support and advocacy for unbiblical positions on sexuality and same-sex marriage, which reveal her departure from the historic Anglican positions that uphold the authority of Scripture for faith and life,” Archbishop Kaziimba said.
He emphasized that as a founding member of GAFCON, the Church of Uganda views this appointment as a deepening of the division within the Anglican Communion a tear that began in 2003 when The Episcopal Church in the United States consecrated as bishop a divorced father of two who was living in a same-sex relationship.
“The tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion has now reached the highest level. There appears to be no repentance. Make no mistake this is a grievous decision by the highest levels of the Church of England to separate itself from the vast majority of the global Anglican Communion,” Kaziimba said.
He added that with this appointment, the Archbishop of Canterbury is now reduced to being merely the Primate of All England.
Archbishop Kaziimba reassured Christians in the Church of Uganda that through GAFCON and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans, they remain part of a worldwide communion that continues to proclaim the historic and biblical faith of Anglicanism marked by faithfulness to Christ and submission to the authority of Scripture.
