The Ugandan Church joins Nigeria and Rwanda in boycotting the conference, which brings together senior Anglican clergy every ten years to discuss key issues affecting the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, pointed to the US Church’s decision to consecrate the openly homosexual Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
His consecration, Archbishop Orombi said, was in “flagrant disregard” of Resolution 1.10 passed at Lambeth in 1998, which rejected “homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture”.
Bishop Robinson’s consecration had, he continued, “divided the Anglican Communion in a profound way”.
Archbishop Orombi went on to express anger at the US Episcopal Church for continuing to bless same-sex unions, despite such blessings being rejected by bishops at Lambeth 1998.
In December 2006, the House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda endorsed a statement from the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa entitled The Road to Lambeth, which called for a solution to be found to the crisis over the US Episcopal Church’s active endorsement of homosexuality before the next Lambeth Conference.
“Since this crisis has not yet been resolved, the bishops of the Church of Uganda have resolved that they will not be participating in the Lambeth Conference,” said Archbishop Orombi, adding that the Provincial Assembly Standing Committee had strongly endorsed the decision.
He added that the decision to stay away from Lambeth had been made to protest invitations from the Archbishop of Canterbury to US Episcopal bishops “whose stand and unrepentant actions created the current crisis of identity and authority in the Anglican Communion”.
Archbishop Orombi indicated that he would be attending the Global Anglican Future Conference of orthodox Anglican bishops, clergy and laity in Jerusalem in June.
