The Anglican Church of Kenya has barred all its 28 dioceses from having any involvement with Gene Robinson, the new bishop of New Hampshire in the United States — and the first openly gay clergyman.
Robinson’s consecration on November 2 has threatened to split the global Anglican community. Robinson has lived with his partner for the past 13 years.
“With his consecration, we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put (in) jeopardy. In this case, the Anglican Church of Kenya will not recognise the ministry of this one bishop,” said a letter, which was copied to Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Williams is the leader of the world’s 70-million Anglicans, in 164 countries. Of these, about 38-million are Africans.
The Anglican Church of Kenya has also severed ties with any diocese associating itself with the Episcopal Church — the US arm of the Anglican Church. “Those agreeing with Robinson, we have no fellowship with them,” Rt. Rev. William Waqo, a personal assistant to Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, said in a telephone interview.
In addition, the Anglican Church in neighbouring Uganda has cut ties with the New Hampshire Diocese.
“We are sad that the church in the United States has gone ahead to defy the Lambeth Conference that outlawed homosexuality.With this, they have cut themselves from the agreed procedure,” Rev. Canon Jackson Turyagenda, provincial communications secretary was quoted as saying by local newspapers in Uganda.
A split is envisaged in the Anglican Church, as most clergymen from developing countries are opposed to the appointment of Robinson, throwing the 450-year-old church into the biggest dilemma of its time.
The controversy surrounding homosexuality in the church increased at the start of August, when Robinson was elected bishop of New Hampshire diocese.
African Archbishops threatened to cut off links with member churches practicing homosexuality, but a crisis meeting involving all African churches was held in Kenya’s capital Nairobi last month, to try and resolve the problem.
The meeting of over 50 clergymen including bishops and pastors affirmed that the Robinson controversy would not break the Anglican community in Africa. “On the contrary, it will strengthen us,” noted Archbishop of the Church of Nigeria, Peter Akinola.
But it is dividing, rather than uniting them. During Robinson’s consecration, Akinola, leader of 17,5-million-strong Anglicans in the West Africa nation, remarked in statement: “We cannot and will not recognise the office or ministry of canon Gene Robinson as bishop. We deplore the act of those bishops who have taken part in the consecration, which has now divided the church.”
An emergency meeting bringing together church leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America will be held in Nairobi on November 17. It is expected to salvage the Anglican Communion from imminent collapse.
The consecration of Robinson has, however, been applauded by Kenya’s gay community, which still leads a largely clandestine existence. A day after the US bishop’s consecration, a group of gay men attended a secret meeting in Nairobi, where they clapped and shouted “Bravo Robinson,” as footage of the ceremony was shown by a local television station.
“By consecrating Robinson, the world has demonstrated that it is beginning to recognise the existence of the gay community,” said a gay Kenyan, who requested anonymity. – IPS