Bishop Christopher ( secular name Ruben Spartas Mukasa, born Reuben Mukasa Mugimba Sobanja; 1899 – 4 June 1982) was an early-20th-century religious reformer in Uganda. He had been part of the King's African Rifles of the British Army, but came to feel that there needed to be an end to colonial rule in Africa and that this must be obtained through a religious rejuvenation with independent Christian Churches. Mukasa formed the

African Progressive Association African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Et ...

, the

Christian Army for the Salvation of Africa Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

and he also formed a branch of the African Orthodox Church in Uganda. That later came about in 1932 when Mukasa was ordained a priest by a bishop under Marcus Garvey. However Mukasa later learned that the African Orthodox Church was not in line with the

Ethiopian Orthodox Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

and the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

. Mukasa split with the western Church and went to Alexandria where he was ordained by

Patriarch Christophoros II Christopher II (Kharalambos Danielidis, modern Greek: Χαράλαμπος Δανιηλίδης; 17 January 1876, Madytos - 23 June 1967) served as the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria between 1939 and 1966. References * 20th- ...

. Patriarch Christophoros was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria thus putting Mukasa into the Eastern Orthodox group present mainly in Εastern Europe, a different religious tradition from the

Oriental Orthodox Church The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...

that the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches are part of. Bishop Christopher died in 1982.

Sources

* Boahnen, A. Abu. ''African Under Colonial Rule'' Vol. 7 in the History of Africa Series (Paris: UNESCO, 1990) p. 223.
2006 article on Orthodoxy in Uganda
* :orthodoxwiki:Christopher Reuben Spartas {{DEFAULTSORT:Mukasa, Ruben Spartas Ugandan clergy Eastern Orthodox Christians from Uganda Bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy 1899 births 1982 deaths