South Sudan Anglican Church rejects tribalism and homosexuality
By Manyang Mayom
Oct 16, 2006 (RUMBEK) — The Anglican Church of Sudan said preferring to establish its own hierarchy in the country in a manner to mark its distance from other reformist churches for tribalism and their practices of homosexuality and abortion.
The Archbishop of Anglican Church of Sudan, in South Sudan Rt. Rev most Archbishop Abraham Mayom Athiaan told the Sudan Tribune “We, the bishops together with our congregation of the Anglican church of the Sudan (ACS) strongly condemn the practice of homosexuality, abortion which is being practiced in Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) leaderships.
“This was one of the main causes of the split”, he added in an interview from Rumbek.
The Archbishop also criticised the tribalism and the bad administration in the other reformist church.
”We left Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) due to bad administration, lack of equal development in all the regions and practicing of tribalism among the people of Sudan”.
He further said that the luck of good governance, democracy, Church norms and good conduct motivated their decision to split.
The Archbishop regretted also the luck of decentralization of the ECS after its growth during hundred years in the Sudan.
“We have formed the Anglican Church of the Sudan (ACS) through the work of the Holy Spirit to be independent church with its own leadership in Sudan”, he said.
The Anglican church of the Sudan (ACS) provincial headquarters Rumbek South Sudan was officially formed by the provincial synod on November 11th 2004 from the split which took place in ECS in 2003 due to differences in belief and worship.
Then it officially joined Reformed Episcopal Church of Sudan (RECS)
“The Reformation of ECS was a process to achieve our goal and form our mother church, the Anglican Church Communion worldwide”.
“Then by the year 2004 we achieved our goal and formed Anglican Church of the Sudan” separate from both Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) and Reform Episcopal Church of Sudan (RECS), Archbishop said.
Anglican Church of the Sudan (ACS) was been under registration during the late chairman Dr. John Garang de Mabior which had received the letter written by the Anglican Bishops church of Sudan on date November 15th 2004.
The late Garang replied to us saying that “the movement [SPLM] can do nothing but encourage the church leaders to reconcile their religious beliefs and reunite but, however, if this is not heeded to by the church leaders, every group among them has a rights to exist as a separate church or denomination.”
“He concluded for your information there is no condition for any church to register at Religious affairs department of the SPLM as this step would restrict the freedom of expression, freedom of preaching and proselytization and freedom of worship.
According to the Anglican Church there are around 5 millions Anglicans in Sudan.
The Church Missionary Society began work in 1899 in Omdurman, and after Christianity spread rapidly among population of the southern region.
(ST)