Keypoints:
- Uganda Church condemns Mullally’s appointment
- Says her same-sex stance is ‘unbiblical’
- Warns move deepens Anglican divisions
THE Church of Uganda has denounced the appointment of Sarah Mullally as the first female head of the Anglican Church, describing the announcement as ‘sad news’ and warning that it will widen long-standing rifts within the global communion.
In a letter dated October 3 and seen by AFP, Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu said Mullally’s support for blessing same-sex unions and her feminist convictions marked ‘a departure from the historic Anglican positions that uphold the authority of Scripture for faith and life’.
Mullally, a 63-year-old former midwife and the outgoing Bishop of London, was confirmed on Friday as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, making her the most senior cleric in the Church of England — the mother church of the 85-million-strong Anglican Communion.
Rift over doctrine and family values
Divisions within the Anglican family have simmered for decades, particularly between conservative provinces in Africa and more liberal churches in the West. Disputes over women’s ordination and same-sex marriage have tested unity across the Communion’s 42 provinces.
Mullally, who has described herself as a feminist, publicly welcomed the Church of England’s 2023 decision allowing priests to bless same-sex couples — a move that provoked strong opposition among African bishops.
‘The Church of Uganda considers this appointment to further deepen the tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion,’ Archbishop Kaziimba wrote. ‘There appears to be no repentance. Make no mistake, this is a grievous decision at the highest levels of the Church of England to separate itself from the vast majority of the global Anglican Communion.’
Conservatives form rival alliance
Uganda’s Anglican leadership is part of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), a coalition of conservative provinces formed in 2023 that declared it no longer recognised the Archbishop of Canterbury’s global authority, viewing the role instead as confined to the Church of England.
In a separate statement issued on Friday, GAFCON said the decision ‘abandons Anglicans who remain faithful to Scripture’ and warned it would ‘further divide an already split Communion’.
‘Though some will welcome Bishop Mullally’s appointment as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, the majority of the Anglican Communion still believes the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy,’ the statement added.
Reform and resistance
Mullally succeeds Justin Welby, who resigned earlier this year following a church abuse scandal. Her elevation has been hailed by supporters as a milestone for gender equality and reform in the Church of England.
Yet for African and conservative Anglicans, it underscores a growing theological gulf with their Western counterparts — one that now threatens to redefine leadership and fellowship within the world’s third-largest Christian denomination.
