|
Tanzania Anglicans attend UK meet as others boycott
2008-07-18 10:41:32
By Rose Mwalongo
The Anglican Church in Tanzania has defended its decision to send a delegation to the Lambeth conference in the UK, which has been boycotted by a quarter of the world`s Anglicans.
At the centre of the controversy is the ordination of gay bishops.
Executive Secretary for the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, Richard Maruso told The Guardian in an exclusive interview that they had sent their team to air their discontent on the ordination of homosexual clerics, which goes against biblical teachings.
Media reports indicated yesterday that 230 out of the 800 bishops in the Anglican worldwide communion were staying away from the English cathedral city of Canterbury, spiritual home of the deeply divided church.
Bishops from Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda who boast some of the fastest expanding congregations in the Anglican Church were said to be among those who pledged to snub the conference.
Asked on reasons for Tanzania’s failure to appear on the boycott list, Maruso said the Tanzanian delegation had gone there specifically to air their discontent over the issue, and growing cold feet would have meant failing to speak against the vice.
``Our Bishop Yohana Mkavu has gone to the meeting with a strong message from us to denounce homosexuality because it is against the biblical teachings,`` said Maruso.
Liberal and conservative clergy have been brought to the brink of split over ordination of Gene Robinson in New Hampshire, the first openly gay bishop in the church’s 450 year history.
Conservative Anglican leaders staged their own conference in Jerusalem last month at which they pledged to form councils of bishop to provide an alternative to churches preaching a ``false gospel`` of sexual immorality.
|
