The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) has refused to acknowledge a decision by the Church of England allowing priests to preside over same sex couples.
The Church of England is the mother church to ACK and its decisions are expected to be automatically naturalised by all its churches in the world.
The move to legalise same sex marriages by the Church of England however has been protested by its branches especially from Africa starting with Nigeria and Uganda plus now Kenya.
ACK has in a letter written by archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit to the Church of England, made it clear that it will not follow in the steps of its mother church in England.
Having lost all theological and doctrinal legitimacy, the liberal churches are using their political dominance to secularise the church by normalising all manner of sin,” read the letter.
The Kenyan church maintained that the decision by the Church of England cannot force them to follow a doctrine they do not subscribe to.
“The general synod of the Church of England makes legislation for the Church of England and their resolutions apply only to the Church of England,” the ACK said
“We do not recognise any teachings that are extra biblical or contrary to the teachings of the bible, his grace affirms that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, monogamous and heterosexual.”
ACK’s decision to distance itself from a policy made by it’s mother church came just a day after the Anglican Church of Uganda a process to officially split from Canterbury, the seat of the Anglican Church worldwide.
Rev Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda told journalists that the resolutions by the General Synod of the Church of England are of great concern to the Church of Uganda.
“From the first page of the Bible in the book of Genesis to the last page of the Bible in the book of Revelation, it is clear that God’s design for human flourishing is that we are part of a family – a family that is defined as one man and one woman united in holy matrimony for life and, God willing, a union that produces children. God’s Word has said that the only context for sexual relationships is in the context of a marriage of one man and one woman,” the Archbishop said.
Kaziimba noted that any other kind of marriage that is not between one man and one woman is a sin.
He criticized the Church of England for changing the message of the Bible and providing opposite teachings to the people.
“We now want to ask the Church of England, do you have the integrity to step out of the Anglican Communion because you have departed from the Anglican faith?” God called you to preach a Gospel of repentance and faith. Instead, you’re like Jonah. You have disobeyed and are running in the opposite direction. There is no way we are walking together,” Kaziimba said.
