The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Dr. Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu. COURTESY PHOTO.
Archbishop of Church of Uganda (CoU), the Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba has condemned Church of England’s decision to bless the civil marriages of same-sex couples, urging that this goes against the Word of God.
In a statement released Friday, Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba said the Church of England has departed from the Bible and “their new message is the opposite message of the Bible.”
Kaziimba stated that what the Church of England is doing now is promoting sin, telling people to “go, and sin some more.”
“God cannot bless what He calls sin,” Dr Kaziimba said. “As Church of Uganda we cannot accept that.”
“The Church of England has departed from the Anglican faith and are now false teachers,” he went on.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in England and Wales since 2013. But when the law changed, the Church did not change its teaching.
However, on Thursday, after an impassioned debate lasting more than eight hours, the Church of England national assembly, the General Synod, voted by 250 votes to 181 to back a proposal by bishops intended to promote full equality for LGBTQ+ Christians.
Media reports indicate that the Church of England national assembly agreed that gay couples joined together in a civil marriage by the British government can then go to the church to receive prayers of blessing.
Reports indicate that the synod also agreed that the Church of England will apologise for “the harm it has caused to LGBTQ+ people.” Further more, it welcomed a forthcoming review of a ban on clergy entering into same-sex civil marriages and a celibacy rule for clergy in same-sex relationships, reports indicate.
“From the first page of the Bible in the book of Genesis to the last page of the Bible in the book of Revelation, it is clear that God’s design for human flourishing is that we are part of a family – a family that is defined as one man and one woman united in holy matrimony for life and, God willing, a union that produces children,” the Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba said.
“Exclusive marriage between one man and one woman is the only context for sexual relationships, the Bible calls any other kind of sexual relationship a sin. Whether it is adultery, or fornication, or polygamy, or homosexual relationships. They are all sin and they all separate us from God,” he went on.
“Yes, God can forgive you, but it requires that you come before God, confess that you have done wrong, and make a commitment to change your way of life – in other words, to repent – and walk in God’s ways,” he said. “There is a lot of sexual sin in Uganda. I know that, and you know that. Nevertheless, we haven’t changed our message. Our message is the message of the Bible, which is, “Go, and sin no more.”
Dr Kaziimba was quick to point out the story of the Uganda Martyrs, who he said stood firm and refused to engage in homosexual sex with their leaders.
“They stood firm in their Christian faith and were martyred for it. We cannot betray them or our Lord Jesus Christ. We will not betray the Word of God or His ways. The Bible tells us that Jesus alone is “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that he is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” Jesus does not change his mind about what is sinful. Instead, Jesus gives us a way out of a bondage to sin by putting our trust and faith in him as our Saviour and Lord. That’s why it’s possible for us to “Go, and sin no more.”
Regarding claims that the Church of England still hold to the traditional definition of marriage, Kaziimba said they are “very good at making contradictory statements and expecting everyone to believe both can be true at the same time.”
“The only significant difference between a wedding and a service of “blessing” is the terminology used. The Church of England insists it is not changing its doctrine of marriage. But, in practice, they are doing precisely that. You may read various articles, opinions, and commentaries on this decision that try to justify its action. But, what I want you to know is that if it looks like a wedding, and sounds like a wedding… it is a wedding,” he said.
The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba said the Church of Uganda has more than 200 members traveling to Kigali in April for the 4th Global Gafcon meeting.
“We will be there with many Bible-believing Archbishops, Bishops, and Anglicans from all over Africa and the world. These are the ones who have not bowed their knee to Baal. (1 Kings 19.18). We shall pray, and sit together, and discern the mind of Christ for the way forward. I ask your prayers for wisdom, for, indeed, we need the wisdom of Solomon to know how to faithfully respond to the crisis at hand,” he said.
