(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.”
Amen. This has been delayed for a long time as liberals have sought to insert their plants as bishops of Lake Malawi and Northern Malawi. Give thanks that this has now happened.
Like his august predecessor, ++Chama has been a champion of orthodoxy, and has been persecuted by the liberals as a result. He led the fight in 2007 to stop the Rev. Henderson of the CofE from becoming bishop of Lake Malawi, after serious questions were raised about Rev. Henderson’s commitment to orthodoxy.
++Chama was also involved in the strong orthodox stand taken by the Diocese of Central Africa in 2004. The primate of Central Africa (++Malango) was one of four primates who extended joint alternative oversight to several Canadian Anglican congregations who were resisting pressure from +Ingham to bless same sex unions (the others were ++Dirokpa of Congo, ++Kolini of Rwanda and ++Chung of South East Asia).
And, in March of that same year, the Synod of Central Africa under ++Malango’s leadership issued a communiqué, the words of which still resonate today:
[blockquote] “With profound sadness the Church of the Province of Central Africa declares that the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) has inflicted a desperately grave wound to us and the Communion. By official and wilful action, sixty two bishops approved the election of an openly active homosexual as a bishop. Many participated in his consecration. By choosing to ignore the clear voice of God revealed in Holy scripture, the bishops and other leaders who have done this put in peril the souls of those who follow them into this grievous error.
These bishops have disregarded the anguished cries of the Primates of the
Anglican Communion, the clear voice of the Anglican Consultative Council, the overwhelming voice of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, and countless pleas from other Christians. If their actions were benign, their arrogance has irreparably shattered trust and fellowship. But the action was not morally neutral. It is so desperately sinful, it has fractured sacramental communion. Only their sincere repentance can rescue the crisis they have created. This is
wrong and it is sin.” [/blockquote]
May the ministry of ++Chama and his followers be greatly blessed.
Thanks, MichaelA, for putting the election in perspective. I, for one, have had a hard time understanding what is going on in this province. The [url=http://geoconger.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/canon-rodney-hunter-murdered-by-persons-unknown-court-finds-the-church-of-england-newspaper-dec-3-2010-p-7/. ]murder of the missionary priest who condemned the attempted elevation of a liberal, white British priest to a bishopric in Malawi[/url] is just part of the murky events in the province. Hopefully, the new archbishop will be able provide some influence in Zimbabwe where a Mugabe puppet bishop is locking parishioners out of churches. Prayers are indeed called for with the very difficult tasks of the new archbishop.