Emmanuel Mbona Kolini (born
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
, 1945) is a Congolese-Rwandan Anglican bishop. He was the second Primate of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, named
Anglican Church of Rwanda
The Anglican Church of Rwanda (French: ''Église anglicane du Rwanda'') is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 11 dioceses in Rwanda. The primate of the province is Laurent Mbanda, consecrated on 10 June 2018.
Official names
The Provi ...
in 2007, from 1998 to 2011. He is married and a father of eight children. Kolini currently serves as the rector of the
Anglican Mission in the Americas College of Consultors.
Ecclesiastical career
He studied at Canon Warner Memorial College, Bishop Tucker College, in
Mukono
Mukono Town is a municipality in Mukono District in the Central Region of Uganda. The town is administered by the Mukono Town Council. The district headquarters are located in this town.
Location
Mukono Municipality is 21 km east of ...
,
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
, now known as the Uganda Christian University, and the Balya Bible College, also in Uganda. He worked as a primary school teacher and headmaster in some refugee schools in
Bunyoro
Bunyoro or Bunyoro-Kitara is a Bantu kingdom in Western Uganda. It was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Central and East Africa from the 13th century to the 19th century. It is ruled by the King ('' Omukama'') of Bunyoro-Kitara. The cur ...
, Uganda. He has a degree in theology from the Virginia Theological University in 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 territori ...
.
Kolini was ordained an Anglican priest in 1969. He was consecrated as the assistant bishop of
Bukavu
Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu pro ...
,
Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
, in 1980. He was the bishop of the
Diocese of Katanga, in Zaire, from 1986 to 1997. Kolini was called to be the second Primate of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda in 1998, being also Bishop of the Diocese of Kigali, the capital of
Rwanda. He was in office until 2011.
He had an important role in the pacification of the post-genocidal Rwanda. In September 2007, Kolini intervened to prevent
from speaking at All Souls Anglican Church, in Wheaton,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, an AMiA parish, allegedly by pressure of Rwandan President
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...
.
He has been a leading name 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 ...
, as a member of the
Global South 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 ...
. On April 20, 2010, at the Global South meeting in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, he called for a new Anglican Ecumenical Council, modeled by the first Ecumenical Councils of the Christian Church. Archbishop Kolini stated that: "We are standing at the crossroads. I say let my people go. This is the 4th trumpet call. The Holy Spirit led the first Council of Jerusalem. He will lead ours. We have what the biblical structure offers us we have the tradition of 2000 years." He expressed his full support for a renewed
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 ...
: "Moses led God's people out of Egypt (Exodus 3). Now is a time for bold action. Let my people go. We need to declare to the world let my people go. We need a renewed communion, dependent on the Holy Spirit not resolutions. Singapore is a new Sinai."
Support for M23
The United Nations Group of Experts on the
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(DRC) issued a report on 27 June 2012, which implicated Kolini (misspelled as "Coline") with leading a meeting for the
National Congress for the Defence of the People
The National Congress for the Defence of the People (french: Congrès national pour la défense du peuple, CNDP) is a political armed militia established by Laurent Nkunda in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in December 20 ...
(CNDP) politicians in support of the
March 23 Movement
The March 23 Movement (french: Mouvement du 23 mars), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (''Armée révolutionnaire du Congo''), is a rebel military group that is for the most part formed of ethnic Tutsi. ...
(M23) rebel group, operating in the DRC.
"Addendum to the interim report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2012/348) concerning violations of the arms embargo and sanctions regime by the Government of Rwanda"
/ref> The UN report stated that: "Another similar M23 meeting with Rwandan authorities took place on 26 May 2012 in Ruhengeri, Rwanda, at Hotel Ishema. According to intelligence sources and to politicians with close ties to Kigali, the RDF organized the meeting for CNDP politicians, which was chaired by Bishops John Rucyahana and Coline, both senior RPF party leaders. The aim of the meeting was to convey the message that the Rwandan Government supports M23 politically and militarily. All Rwandophone politicians and officers were instructed to join M23, or otherwise leave the Kivus. In particular, CNDP politicians have been asked to resign from the North Kivu Governorate and to withdraw from the Presidential Majority."
Works
He co-wrote, with Peter R. Holmes, ''Christ Walks Where Evil Reigned'' (2007), about the Rwanda genocide, and ''Rethinking Life: What the Church Can Learn from Africa'' (2010).
He is the subject of the book ''Emmanuel Kolini: The Unlikely Archbishop of Rwanda'' (2008), by Mary Weeks Millard.
References
External links
Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolini, Emmanuel
1945 births
Living people
Democratic Republic of the Congo Anglicans
Rwandan Anglicans
20th-century Anglican bishops in Africa
20th-century Anglican archbishops
21st-century Anglican bishops in Africa
21st-century Anglican archbishops
Alumni of Bishop Balya Theological College
Rwandan bishops
Anglican archbishops of Rwanda
Anglican bishops of Kigali
Anglican bishops of Katanga
Anglican bishops of Bukavu
Anglican realignment people