Pioneering work from across the province ”“ from support for orphan-headed households in Malawi to peace-building in Zimbabwe ”“ was highlighted as delegates made a reality of the Anglican Alliance mission to build the church’s mission to the poor and oppressed.

Delegates from Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe came together in a highly successful consultation led by the Archbishop of Central Africa, the Most Rev Albert Chama and spearheaded by provincial secretary Bishop William Muchombo and Ms Grace Phiri Mazala, national programmes director for the Zambia Anglican Council.

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Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on 7 October discussed the Anglican church’s involvement in economic and agriculture projects with Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika.

“I talked about how sustainable agriculture methods should be developed and I am glad our church is involved in this,” said Williams, who is visiting Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia from 5-13 October.

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“It is reaffirmed that the CPCA position regarding homosexuality is crystal clear. In terms of Canon 22, marriage is between one man and one woman and in consequence, homosexuality is not acceptable in the CPCA which comprises Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” Reverend Clifford Dzavo, the secretary for the diocese of Harare said in a statement.

“We therefore reiterate that the CPCA does not condone homosexuality. Whatever happens in other Provinces worldwide does not affect us as we do not necessarily share the same views with them.”

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Anglican Church head Rowan Williams on Saturday praised pioneer missionaries to Malawi for ending the slave trade, at a service to mark their arrival in the country 150 years ago.

“The missionaries devoted their lives to liberation and challenged the evil of slavery,” Williams said at Magomero, northeast of Blantyre, at a colourful ceremony attended by President Bingu wa Mutharika and hundreds of worshippers.

The slave trade “degraded everyone and everything it touched,” the Archbishop of Canterbury said, adding, “The Church has done a great job in Africa.”

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams is today embarking on a week-long pastoral visit to the Church in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia at the invitation of the Archbishop of the Province of Central Africa, the Rt Revd Albert Chama.

During the course of the week Dr Williams will meet with bishops, clergy and parishioners to celebrate the life and ministry of the Anglican Church in the region.

The visit will begin in Malawi with a special service of celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of the Anglican Church in Malawi before going on to look at a number of Church initiatives set up to help vulnerable groups in the local communities….

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On the other side of the table the extra-parliamentary dialogue group ”“ also led by an Anglican bishop ”“ has been consciously constructed to accommodate government sensitivities. To avoid antagonising [President Bingu wa] Mutharika’s government, key activists Undule Mwakasungula (Malawi Centre for Human Rights and Reconciliation), Rafik Hajat (Institute for Policy Interaction) and cleric Moses Mkandawire (Church and Society) have been kept out of the six-person team.

It is headed by current Anglican Bishop James Tengatenga and includes: Martha Kwataine (Malawi Health Equity Network), Robert Mkwezalamba (Malawi Congress of Trade Unions), Dorothy Ngoma (Nurses’ Union), Robert Phiri (Public Affairs Committee) and group spokesperson Voice Mhone (Council of NGOs of Malawi).

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Clergy and pilgrims hoping to visit the Arthur Shearly Cripps Shrine last week were once again frustrated by excommunicated bishop Dr Norbert Kunonga who now claims to be in charge of the shrine and 78 Anglican churches in Masvingo Diocese.

The Anglican Diocese of Masvingo said its leaders advised Anglican worshippers against taking part in this year’s Shearly Cripps celebrations, scheduled for 29 to 31 July, after a court ruled that Dr Kunonga could not be prevented from attending the shrine.

A diocesan spokesperson told ACNS, “Kunonga got wind of the Diocesan preparations for commemoration of Arthur Shearly Cripps by pilgrims at the Arthur Shearly Cripps Shrine this month end, and he began to counter these efforts.

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Homosexual relations are a sin, the Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Central Africa said last week, releasing a statement clarifying the province’s stand on the issue dividing the Anglican Communion.

Archbishop Albert Chama also said that his church’s continued interaction with those portions of the Anglican Communion that have sought to normalize same-sex relations should not be construed to mean the Central African church had endorsed the innovation.

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The installation of the sixth Archbishop of the Church of the Province of Central Africa, Albert Chama who is also Bishop of Northern Zambia, took place on Sunday 20 March 2011.

The installation service which took place at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka, Zambia was taken by Bishop Ishmael Mukuwanda, Bishop of Central Zimbabwe. Bishop Ishmael, being the senior bishop in the Province, also gave a charge to Archbishop Albert in his homily (attached below).

The Archbishop of Canterbury was represented by the USPG General Secretary Bishop Michael Doe who delivered greetings to the Province and to Archbishop Albert. The Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katherine Schori was represented by Bishop Herbert Donovan who also brought fraternal greetings from TEC and the Presiding Bishop. The Diocese of Bath and Wells which is linked to the Zambian dioceses was represented by Mrs Jenny Humphreys who is the World Mission Advisor. Other representatives came from Trinity Church Wall Street represented by Canon Benjamin Lubege-Musoke and Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa which was represented by its General Secretary Canon Grace Kaiso.

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(ACNS) A statement from Bishop William Mchombo, Acting Provincial Secretary of the Church of the Province of Central Africa.

“The Electoral College of the Church of the Province of Central Africa that was held in Harare on 17 February 2011, Bishop Albert Chama of the Diocese of Northern Zambia was elected as the Archbishop of Central Africa. Archbishop Chama until yesterday has been acting as the Dean of the Province since the then Archbishop Bernard Malango resigned four years ago.

The installation of the new Archbishop of the Province shall be held at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross at an appropriate time.

Please pray for Archbishop Chama for wisdom and strength in his new role.”

The former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, in South Africa, Desmond Tutu arrives in Ghana on Thursday for a three-day visit. He is visiting Ghana at the instance of Anglo-Gold Ashanti. South Africa and Ghana are joint share holders in Anglo-Gold Ashanti.

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The Court of Confirmation of the Church of the Province of Central Africa has rejected the election of the Rev Leslie Mtekateka as Bishop of Northern Malawi. A new election to succeed the Rt Rev Christopher Boyle, who has returned to England to serve as Assistant Bishop of Leicester, has been scheduled for June 26.

Rector of St Timothy’s, Chitipa, Fr Mtekateka was the sole candidate on the ballot in Northern Malawi, and is the son of the Rt Rev Josiah Mtekateka, the first African bishop of Malawi, who was consecrated in 1965 as Suffragan Bishop of Nyasaland, and in 1971 as the first Bishop of Lake Malawi.

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The Right Reverend Emmanuel Anyidana Arongo, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Tamale, has called on Ghanaians, especially party supporters, to stop complaining and rally behind the leadership of the country.

He condemned actions of supporters of parties, especially NDC foot soldiers, for their impatience and their penchant to go on the rampage to settle scores.

“Such approach diverts the attention of the presidency and people in authority in fine-tuning the already fragile economy,” the Rt Rev Arongo said during the opening of the Sixth Diocesan Synod of the Church on Wednesday.

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The Reverend Justice Akrofi, President of the Bible Society of Ghana (BSG) has called on African leaders to turn to the Bible as a source of strength and wisdom as they strived to find solutions to the continent’s problems.

He said “The Bible has been a transformer and a unifying force bringing people of different races, colour, profession among other things together in mutual respect”, a condition necessary for overall development of the continent.

He said about 300,000 books are printed yearly, but all of them only inform, adding that “it is only the Bible that transforms”.

The Reverend Akrofi, who is also the Archbishop of the West Africa Province of the Anglican Church, said this when he opened a four-day conference organized by the African Bible Society in Accra on Wednesday to discuss contemporary religious, political and economic issues and to see how best to address them.

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Anglican Diocese of eastern Zambia Bishop William Mchombo has challenged those in leadership to do away with corrupt activities as well as abuse of power.

In an interview, Bishop Mchombo said the resurrection of Jesus Christ challenged all Christians to live the Jesus’ way of renewed hope in spite of the many challenges they faced.

“We are all called to humble service, especially those of us in leadership. We are further challenged to do away with corrupt activities as well as abuse of power. A life of compromise for political expedience or for purely selfish motives is not a Jesus’ way,” Bishop Mchombo said in his Easter message to the country. “The power of the resurrection leads us to renewal and gives us a desire of wishing each other peace. It challenges us to be concerned with any dehumanising conditions such as poverty in the face of abundant wealth in form of natural resources in the country. We are challenged to take care of each other.”

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Was Pope Benedict XVI inspired by Cardinal John Henry Newman, whom it is hoped he will beatify in England next year, when he suddenly threw open the gates of Rome to disaffected Anglicans on Tuesday morning?

The official website for Newman’s Cause hinted as much when it greeted the announcement with a reminder of Newman’s support for a proposal to establish an Anglican Uniate Church for converts, similar to that provided for Byzantine-rite Catholics. The plan was conceived by Ambrose Phillips de Lisle and Newman rightly guessed that it would be unworkable. But if it could be made to work, he said, he was all in favour. As he wrote to de Lisle in 1876:

“Nothing will rejoice me more than to find that the Holy See considers it safe and promising to sanction some such plan as the Pamphlet suggests. I give my best prayers, such as they are, that some means of drawing to us so many good people, who are now shivering at our gates, may be discovered.”

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The Very Reverend Father Seth Yaw Amoako-Adu, a graduate of University of Hull, United Kingdom, was on Sunday installed as the third Dean of the Saint Peter’s Anglican Cathedral at a special service at Koforidua.

The installation service was celebrated by Rt. Rev. Francis Benjamin Quashie, Bishop of the Koforidua Diocese of the Anglican Church.

Very Rev. Amoako-Adu was ordained into the priesthood in 1987 at Obo Kwahu St. Paul’s Anglican Church and had served various congregations of the Anglican Church in Ghana, the Cameroon where he rose to the rank of an Archdeacon, and the United Kingdom.

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(ACNS) At a lawfully constituted Elective Assembly of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) in August 2009, at which the majority of electors present were from the Diocese of Lake Malawi, over two thirds of the voters were in favour of the Revd Francis Kaulanda being appointed bishop of that Diocese.

The ecclesiastical laws insist that despite a vote in favour of the appointment of a person as bishop notice of the recommendation has to be affixed to the Cathedral door and other churches and proclaimed during two consecutive Sundays to give everyone in the parishes the opportunity to lodge any objections. The grounds of the objections are specified in the church laws. No objections were forthcoming.
To ensure transparency and give a final chance to come forward with specified objections, a Court of Confirmation is convened consisting of the bishops of the CPCA (Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) or their commissaries. It is an Open Court to determine the eligibility of the recommended bishop. Anyone can appear to oppose the confirmation of the election of such person as a bishop of the Anglican Communion Worldwide. The confirmation can be held at any convenient place in any of the four countries mentioned above.

The Dean of the CPCA chose Lilongwe for the venue and gave notice accordingly. The court was lawfully convened on the 22nd September 2009. Various written objections had been lodged. The court called for the opposers to present themselves to give evidence.

The first witness was Mr Charles Wemba of Lingadzi Parish. Instead of giving evidence as he was entitled to he presented the court with an injunction order given in the High Court, Lilongwe, on 22nd September ”“ the date of the sitting of the confirmation Court. The order refers to an affidavit which was not served on the Defendant named as The Registered Trustees of the Church of the Province of Central Africa. The plaintiff is named as Charles Wemba and 149 others. It will be interesting to learn how the registrar/judge of the High Court came to be satisfied that there were 149 other plaintiffs and that they were all represented by Wemba. Giving false evidence to a court is a serious offence.

On being questioned Wemba stated he and his legal counsel were very familiar with the Canons (laws) of the Diocese. He explained the High Court action was brought against the CPCA trustees as they are responsible for the convening of the Court. It was pointed out they are not and not one trustee of the CPCA attends a Court of Confirmation. Wemba said he had not received an invitation to be present as an objector. It was pointed out the Canons do not provide invitations but allow objectors to appear before its Court of Confirmation. Wemba accepted that this was an Open Court and that he could in fact have presented his objections without the need for an injunction.

The injunction orders that the trustees of the CPCA and “others whatsoever” be restrained from confirming Bishop-Elect Francis Kaulanda “until the objections raised by the plaintiffs (Wemba and the 149 people he alleges he represents) are sufficiently disposed of in Open Court. As no objections are contained in the order the Court of Confirmation assumed they were the same as those contained in a letter of 17th August 2009 which cites Wemba as one of the objectors giving notice in terms of Canon 7.4 which sets the grounds available for objection. Wemba stated that the assumption was correct and he was aware of the letter written over a month prior to the present hearing.

The Court of Confirmation suggested that as Wemba was prepared to give evidence he should obtain a letter from his lawyer agreeing that the injunction be removed; that the Court of Confirmation is an “Open Court” which conforms with the wording of the injunction order; that Wemba and his witnesses could give evidence in respect of the written objections already with the Court of Confirmation; and that adopting this procedure would not be construed as contempt of court.

Wemba and one other left the venue to speak to their lawyer. They soon returned to state that no letter would be forthcoming and to ignore the injunction was contempt of court. He and his witnesses would therefore not give evidence and were then asked to leave.

At this point several persons came forward. They said they believed their names were put forward as supporting the objections whereas they did not and they requested their names to be removed from the list of plaintiffs. They were in favour of the election of Kaulanda as bishop. They submitted written statements to the Court of Confirmation.

The Court considered the situation and the objections in the letter of the 17th August. It also considered the considerable expense of convening the court. It took cognisance of the fact that Wemba and his witnesses had refused to give evidence before the Open Court as required by the High Court.

Furthermore it commented that strictly speaking the civil court had no jurisdiction over a pastoral ecumenical, ecclesiastical matter and had he wished to do so the Dean of the CPCA could have held the Court of Confirmation for instance in Botswana or Zambia because the CPCA is multi-national and the election of or the prevention of the election of an Anglican bishop is not within the domain of the civil court. The election, wherever it takes place, is the elevation of a priest to the World Wide Communion of bishops and is not the concern of only one diocese.

The Court of Confirmation resolved that:

1. If on the facts stated above the High Court of Malawi accepts that Wemba and company failed to take the opportunity to give evidence in an Open Court and that nevertheless the written objections were placed before the Court of Confirmation and sufficiently disposed of, then this Court confirms the election of Francis Kaulanda as the duly elected Bishop of Lake Malawi; but
2. If the High Court of Malawi disagrees with 1 above the Court of Confirmation hereby postpones the matter indefinitely while reserving its rights in every respect relating to this matter.

Diocese of Northern Malawi

In same Court, the issue related to the confirmation of the bishop-elect of Northern Malawi was deferred to a later date because the opposers were unable to appear before the Court.

Bishop Albert Chama Dean of the Province
Bishop William Mchombo Acting Provincial Secretary

(ACNS) Northern Malawi

The Electoral College which sat at St Peter’s, Lilongwe, Malawi on Saturday 1st August 2009 elected the Revd Canon Fr Leslie Richard Mtekateka as the Bishop of Northern Malawi. The See fell vacant after Bishop Christopher Boyle resigned to take up a new post of Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Leicester in the UK.

Canon Mtekateka is presently serving as a parish priest in Karonga District, Malawi. He is one of the long serving priests in the Diocese having worked with the first Bishop of the Diocese Jack Biggers as his Chaplain, Diocesan Secretary and Archdeacon. He also served under Bishop Christopher Boyle.

Lake Malawi

The Venerable Fr Francis Kaulanda, Archdeacon of Lilongwe, was elected as Bishop to the vacant See of Lake Malawi by the Electoral College that met at St Peter’s, Lilongwe, Malawi on Saturday 1st August 2009.

The Diocese has been vacant since the passing on of Bishop Peter Nyanja in March 2005.

Fr Francis is a graduate of Zomba Theological College and Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation in Kitwe, Zambia. He is married with six children. He is currently serving as a Diocesan Youth Coordinator, Priest in Charge at Biwi and Archdeacon of Lilongwe.

Bishop William Mchombo
Acting Provincial Secretary

The Anglican Province of Central Africa has removed Bishop Nolbert Kunonga of Harare and another diocesan bishop in Zimbabwe from its college of bishops.

In a statement released on Oct. 19, the Dean of the province, Bishop Albert Chama of Northern Zambia, stated that Bishop Kunonga and Bishop Elson Jakazi of Manicaland were no longer bishops of the church and the Sees of Harare and Manicaland had been declared vacant “with immediate effect.” Vicar generals would be appointed to supervise the election of new bishops, Bishop Chama wrote.

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ANGLICANS in Harare run the risk of excommunication by default, if they agree meekly to be banished from the province of Central Africa, Robert Stumbles, Chancellor of the diocese of Harare and Deputy Chancellor of the province, has warned.

His wake-up call includes urgent advice that a “special synod” that the discredited Bishop of Harare, the Rt Revd Nolbert Kunonga, has hastily planned for tomorrow cannot legitimately be held without 90 days’ notice. The meeting follows the Bishop’s announcement last month that his synod had “unanimously mandated” him at its August meeting to withdraw the diocese from the province of Central Africa, supposedly because the province held liberal views on homosexuality (News, 21 September).

The Bishop, an apologist for Robert Mugabe, lives on a white farm from which he evicted black workers. He is still answerable to the Church on 38 serious charges, including incitement to murder, following a farcical non-trial in September 2005 and closure of the case by the Archbishop of Central Africa, the Most Revd Bernard Malango (News, 25 November 2005).

After the move to form his own province, he is now being pursued by lawyers for the province of Central Africa for the return of assets, including three vehicles, and for surrender of his authority as signatory to two bank accounts.

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By George Conger.

Wrangling over Robert Mugabe, homosexuality, the place of The Episcopal Church within the Anglican Communion, and the aspirations of national churches, marked the General Synod of the Province of Central Africa, held Sept 6-8 in the southern Malawi town of Mangochi.

Initial reports on the proceedings of Synod have been contradictory. The government backed Harare Herald reported the Province had been dissolved, following the withdrawal of the Zimbabwe dioceses, angered over an insufficiently fierce condemnation of homosexuality and the Western Churches.

However, the Bishop of Botswana, the Rt Rev Trevor Mwamba emailed Religious Intelligence saying the “Province is still intact.”

Preliminary reports from Malawi indicate a conservative turn within the Province. Three Zimbabwe dioceses, led by the controversial Bishop of Harare, Dr Nolbert Kunonga, were able to block resolutions proposed by Bishop Mwamba on the crisis in Zimbabwe. They argued such political matters were beyond the scope of the Province’s deliberations and meddled in the political affairs of the sovereign dioceses and countries.

Taking up the cry of homosexuality, Dr Kunonga was able to shift attention away from the political and economic crisis in the region on to the disputes within the Anglican Communion. A resolution reiterating the Provinces commitment to the principles enunciated by the 1998 Lambeth Resolution 1.10 was adopted, but Dr Kunonga is said to have rejected this stance as not sufficiently strong. According to a report in the Herald, the Diocese of Harare and Manicaland and a third Zimbabwe diocese have quit the Province, in protest, forcing the Province to break apart. A point denied by Bishop Mwamba.

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THE Anglican Province of Central Africa broke up yesterday following the withdrawal of Harare Diocese and expressions of intent to pull out by other dioceses that accused the province of failing to censure some bishops dabbling in homosexuality.

The Diocese of Manicaland also expressed its intention to quit the province along with one other Zimbabwean diocese.

Its bishop said he needed to report to his diocese first before going public, making it three out of Zimbabwe’s five dioceses.

According to the Standing Orders of the Province of Central Africa, once one diocese withdraws, the province becomes null and void and will have to be reconstituted under a new name and structure.

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The political disputes over The Episcopal Church’s place within the Anglican Communion have spilled over into Central Africa, leading to the replacement of the provincial dean, the Rt. Rev. Trevor Mwamba, Bishop of Botswana.

The Rt. Rev. Albert Chama, Bishop of Northern Zambia, was appointed to replace Bishop Mwamba as dean by the church’s General Synod, which began meeting on Sept. 6 in Mangochi, Malawi.

The government-backed Harare Herald reported Bishop Mwamba was “relieved of his duties” due to his “pro-gay” and pro-American lobbying, and because he misrepresented “the province’s position on the issue of homosexuals.”

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