Anglican Church Of Uganda
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The Church of Uganda is a member province of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
. Currently there are 37
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
s which make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. Each diocese is divided into
archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
ries, each headed by a senior
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
known as an archdeacon. The archdeaconries are further subdivided into
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
es, headed by a parish priest. Parishes are subdivided into sub-parishes, headed by
lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral and teaching f ...
s. As of the 2014 Census, 32% of Ugandans consider themselves affiliated with the church, down from 36.7% at the 2002 Census. According to a
peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
study in the ''
Journal of Anglican Studies The ''Journal of Anglican Studies'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal focusing on the history, theology and practice of Anglicanism. It was established in Australia in 2003, and was initially published by Continuum Publishers. It is now ...
'' published in 2016 by the ''
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
'', the Church of Uganda has more than 8 million members and approximately 795,000 active baptised members.


Archbishop

The current
primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
and
metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
is
Stephen Kaziimba Samuel Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu (called Stephen Kaziimba; also spelled Kazima; born 15 August 1962) is a Ugandan Anglican bishop. On 28 August 2019, he was elected to serve as the ninth Archbishop of Uganda and Bishop of Kampala, effective 1 Mar ...
, who was enthroned in March 2020. The
Diocese of Kampala The Anglican dioceses of Buganda are the Anglican presence in the Central Region, Uganda (equivalent to the old Buganda kingdom); they are part of the Church of Uganda. The remaining dioceses of the Church are in the areas of Eastern Uganda, of N ...
is the fixed
episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
of the archbishop, but unlike many other fixed metropolitical sees, the incumbent is not officially known as ''Archbishop of Kampala'', but bears the longer title ''Archbishop of Uganda and Bishop of Kampala''.


History


Early developments (1877–1897)

Shergold Smith and C. T. Wilson of the
Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
(CMS) were the first European Anglican missionaries to Uganda when they arrived in June 1877. They, along with others who arrived later, were based in the court of the
Kabaka of Buganda the kabaka Palace in kireka Kabaka is the title of the king of the Kingdom of Buganda.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, According to the traditions of the Baganda they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and ...
near present-day
Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
. Kabaka Mutesa I was known for his brutality and used the rivalries of the
Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...
,
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
against each other to try to balance the influences of the powers that backed each group. His successor, Kabaka Mwanga II, took a more aggressive approach by expelling missionaries and insisting Christian converts abandon their faith on pain of torture or death. In 1885, three Anglican Ugandans were killed and the arriving Archbishop of the Province of Eastern Equatorial Africa,
James Hannington James Hannington (3 September 1847 – 29 October 1885) was an English Anglican missionary and martyr. He was the first Anglican bishop of East Africa. Early life Hannington was born on 3 September 1847 at Hurstpierpoint in Sussex, England, ...
, together with his party were arrested, detained and later executed at the orders of the Kabaka.
Joseph Mukasa Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe (1860 – 15 November 1885) was a Ugandan Catholic martyr and the majordomo at the court of Mwanga II of Buganda, recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. The Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa came to Uganda in ...
, a Roman Catholic priest and an official of the Bugandan court, rebuked the deed and was arrested and beheaded. This was the precursor to the large scale persecutions and killings from 1886 to 1887 of Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Those who were killed in that period are remembered as the
Martyrs of Uganda The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887. They were killed on orders of Mwang ...
. This incident brought about the interference of
Imperial British East Africa Company The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) was a commercial association founded to develop African trade in the areas controlled by the British Empire. The company was incorporated in London on 18 April 1888 and granted a royal charter by Q ...
who backed a rebellion against Mwanga II by Christian and Muslim groups. Mwanga II was eventually overthrown in 1888 and was replaced by his half brother, Kiwewa. Kiwewa himself was overthrown by the Muslim faction in the court and was replaced by his Muslim brother,
Kalema Kalema is a settlement in Kenya's Rift Valley Province. References

Populated places in Kajiado County {{RiftValleyKE-geo-stub ...
. British forces forced Kalema to abdicate and restored the throne to Mwanga II who in 1894 acceded to Uganda's status as a British
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
. These incidences guaranteed the long term viability of the Anglican church in Uganda.


Diocese of Uganda (1897–1961)

Alfred Robert Tucker was made the third bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa in 1890 and in 1899, the Diocese of Uganda was created and Tucker became the first
Bishop of Uganda The Anglican dioceses of Buganda are the Anglican Communion, Anglican presence in the Central Region, Uganda (equivalent to the old Buganda kingdom); they are part of the Church of Uganda. The remaining dioceses of the Church are in the areas Angli ...
. In 1893 the first Ugandans were ordained and Buganda was established as a centre for evangelisation in the Great Lakes Area. One of the most celebrated indigenous Anglicans of that period is
Apolo Kivebulaya Apolo Kivebulaya (c. 1864 - 30 May 1933) was a Ugandan Anglican priest and evangelist. He is sometimes referred to as the "apostle to the pygmies" for his work among the Bambuti people of the Ituri forest in eastern Congo. Apolo is considered th ...
, who is also known as the "Apostle to the Pygmies" for his work among the
Pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
people in eastern Congo. Anglican growth in Uganda thrived by the turn of the 20th century and among the most notable contribution of the Anglican church was in the area of education. The first elementary schools were established in the 1890s. In 1913, the Bishop Tucker Theological College was established in Mukono and this institution was eventually expanded into what is now today the
Uganda Christian University Uganda Christian University (UCU) is a private church-founded university administered by the Church of Uganda. It was the first private University in Uganda to be awarded a charter by the Government of Uganda. Location UCU's main campus, with a ...
. Likewise the CMS took a lead in public health with the establishment of the Mengo Hospital in 1897. Tucker proposed controversial measures to the Church constitution that would grant considerable power to the indigenous Anglicans in what was known as the Native Anglican Church. These radical proposals were opposed by the missionaries which resulted in a church hierarchy that was primarily expatriate until the independence of Uganda decades later. The domination of the CMS, and its later offshoot BCMS, led to a low church tradition in the Church.
Revivalism Revivalism may refer to: * Christian revival, increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect * Revivalism (architecture), the use of visual styles that consciously ...
was also made a hallmark of the Church with the outbreak of the
East African Revival The East African Revival ( lg, Okulokoka) was a movement of renewal in the Church in East Africa during the late 1920s and 1930s. It began on a hill called Gahini in then Belgian Ruanda-Urundi in 1929, then spreading to the eastern mountains of ...
that began in Rwanda in 1936. In the 1950s, the emergence of a generation of Ugandan Church leaders began to replace the expatriate hierarchy.
Festo Kivengere Festo Kivengere (1919–1988) was a Ugandan Anglican leader sometimes referred to as "the Billy Graham of Africa". He played a huge role in a Christian revival in southwestern Uganda, but had to flee in 1973 to neighboring Kenya in fear for his li ...
, who later became the Bishop of
Kigezi Kigezi District once covered what are now Kabale District, Kanungu District, Kisoro District and Rukungiri District, in southwest Uganda. Its terraced fields are what gives this part of Uganda its distinctive character. Kigezi was popularly known ...
in 1972, travelled to Europe as an evangelist for the first time. As an international figure he was a joint founder of African Evangelistic Enterprise.


Province of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi (1961–1980)

In 1961, the growth of the Church of Uganda was recognised in the Anglican Communion with the establishment of the Province of Uganda and Ruanda-Urundi (later Province of Uganda,
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
and
Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
); the new province was inaugurated by
Geoffrey Fisher Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Marlb ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, on 16 April 1961 at
Namirembe Cathedral Saint Paul's Cathedral Namirembe, commonly referred to as Namirembe Cathedral, is the oldest cathedral in Uganda. It serves as the provincial cathedral of the Anglican Church of Uganda and the diocesan cathedral for Namirembe Diocese, the first d ...
. Leslie Brown, Bishop of Namirembe (
Bishop of Uganda The Anglican dioceses of Buganda are the Anglican Communion, Anglican presence in the Central Region, Uganda (equivalent to the old Buganda kingdom); they are part of the Church of Uganda. The remaining dioceses of the Church are in the areas Angli ...
until 1960), was elected in 1960) and installed (at the province's inauguration service) as first Primate, metropolitan, and archbishop. Brown was succeeded in 1966 by the first Ugandan archbishop,
Erica Sabiti Erica Sabiti was Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire from 1966 to 1974. Kagwisagye Sabiti was born in 1907 in Nkore (later known as Ankole) in today's South-Western Uganda. He was educated at King's College Budo and Makerere Col ...
. Relationships between the Anglicans and Roman Catholics that have been strained since the fighting of 1892 saw a new turn with the establishment of Uganda Joint Christian Council. This has included the small Orthodox Church of Uganda. In 1971,
Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
gained power in a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
and was initially greeted with enthusiasm by the general population of Uganda. The brutal and corrupt nature of the regime became evident soon and with the consecration of Janani Jakaliya Luwum as the new archbishop in 1974, the Anglican Church became more outspoken in opposition to the policies of Amin. This led to the 1977 execution of the Archbishop on Amin's orders.


Province of Uganda (1980–present)

The overthrowing of Amin in 1979 saw the gradual resumption of normal life in Uganda although peace remained elusive in northern Uganda with the insurgency by the
Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Co ...
(LRA). In 1997, Winifred Ochola, the wife of the first Bishop of
Kitgum Kitgum is a municipality in Kitgum District in the Northern Region of Uganda. The town is administered by Kitgum Municipality Council, an urban local government. It is the largest metropolitan area in the district and the site of the district ...
was killed by a landmine. Bishop Ochola has however continued to be committed in working towards peace and reconciliation in northern Uganda In 1980, Rwanda and Burundi were elevated to a separate province. The Church of Uganda has played an active role in promoting AIDS awareness and prevention in Uganda. As a result of these efforts and others in the country, Uganda has begun reversing the effects of AIDS on her society. On 28 September 2011, the House of Bishops elected the first bishop for the new diocese of South Ankole, which was created from parts of the dioceses of Ankole and West Ankole.Anglican Communion – Uganda elects bishop for new diocese
/ref>


Dioceses


Ecumenical relations

Like many other Anglican churches, the Anglican Church of Uganda is a member of the ecumenical
World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
. In October 2009, the Ugandan Church's leadership reacted to the Vatican's proposed creation of
personal ordinariate A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." ...
s for disaffected traditionalist Anglicans by saying that although he welcomed
ecumenical dialogue Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
and shared
moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...
with the Catholic Church, the current
GAFCON The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a global network of conservative Anglicanism, Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to an ongoing theological crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion. ...
structures already meet the spiritual and pastoral needs of conservative Anglicans in Africa.


Ordination of women

The Church of Uganda has ordained women to the
diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
since 1973 and to the
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
hood since 1983. The first woman to serve as a Cathedral Provost was appointed and installed in 2019. In 2022, Archbishop Kaziimba announced his support for the ordination of women to the episcopate and confirmed that a woman may be ordained a bishop in the Church of Uganda.


Anglican realignment

The Church of Uganda has been active in the
Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...
, both at the
Global South The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...
and the
Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a global network of conservative Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to an ongoing theological crisis in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Conservative ...
. They are one of the African churches which broke communion with the Episcopal Church of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
due to their acceptance of non-celibate
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
, and have agreed to provide pastoral oversight and support to new Anglican churches in North America in the ongoing Anglican realignment. However, as of 2021, the
Episcopal Diocese of West Texas The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America whose territory comprises the southernmost part of the state of Texas. Territory The see city is San Antonio, and the diocese includes the ...
shares ministry partnerships with the Ugandan dioceses of Kampala, Bunyoro-Kitara, and Nebbi. In 2005, Archbishop Henry Orombi, then the Primate, also criticised the Church of England's acceptance of clergy in same-sex civil partnerships. On 2 September 2007, the Ugandan church consecrated an American bishop,
John Guernsey John A. M. Guernsey (born 1953) is an American bishop in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Previously an Episcopalian priest, he was consecrated as a bishop of the Church of Uganda in September 2007 as part of the Anglican realignment, ...
, from Virginia, to oversee many of the American parishes which it supports.Church of Uganda Consecrates Two Bishops
/ref> The Church of Uganda declared itself in full communion with the
Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
, a denomination formed by American and Canadian Anglicans opposed to their national churches' actions regarding homosexuality, on 23 June 2009. In 2013, Archbishop Ntagali disapproved of the Church of England's decision to allow clergy in civil partnerships to become bishops. He said, "It is very discouraging to hear that the Church of England, which once brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Uganda, has taken such a significant step away from that very gospel that brought life, light, and hope to us." Archbishop Ntagali also reiterated his opposition to similar decisions made by other western Anglican provinces. “Sadly we must also declare that if the Church of England continues in this contrary direction we must further separate ourselves from it and we are prepared to take the same actions as those prompted by the decisions of The Episcopal Church (USA) and the
Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...
ten years ago.” The Church of Uganda was represented at GAFCON III, held in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, on 17–22 June 2018, by a large 272 members delegation, including Archbishop
Stanley Ntagali Stanley Ntagali (born 1 March 1955) is a Ugandan Bishop of the Anglican Church who served as Former Chancellor of Uganda Christian University and former Archbishop of Kampala from 2012 to 2020.He also served as Bishop of Masindi-Kitara from 2 ...
.GAFCON III largest pan-Anglican gathering since Toronto Congress of 1963, Anglican Ink, 20 June 2018
/ref>


References


External links

*
Anglican Communion Office website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uganda, Church of 1961 establishments in Uganda Anglican Communion church bodies
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
Anglican realignment denominations Christian denominations established in the 20th century
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
Religion in the British Empire Christian organizations established in 1961