UGANDA: Archbishop consecrates former Episcopal priest as bishop
Episcopal News Service. September 3, 2007 [090307-01]
Ugandan Anglican Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi consecrated former Episcopalian John A. M. Guernsey September 2 as a bishop in the Church of Uganda to provide oversight to conservative congregations in the United States.
Guernsey, 53, is former rector of All Saints Church in Dale City, Virginia, one of 12 disaffected parishes in the Diocese of Virginia in which a majority of members voted to disaffiliate with the Episcopal Church and realign with Anglican Provinces in Africa. All Saints' voted on December 10, 2006 to affiliate with the Diocese of North Kigezi in Uganda and claims North Kigezi Bishop Edward Muhima as its bishop.
The consecration service at St. James Cathedral in Mbarara was attended by bishops from Argentina, Canada, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda, and priests from the U.S., the Kampala-based New Vision newspaper reports.
According to Reuters, Guernsey "will lead 33 congregations in the United States that will recognize the Church of Uganda's authority."
Such events have been described as "interventions" or "boundary crossings" by official councils or representatives of the Anglican Communion. Despite calls by the Instruments of Communion, including the Primates themselves, for such interventions to cease, some Anglican leaders continue to cross provincial boundaries and exercise authority over congregations in the U.S. without necessary consultation or consent from the leadership of the Episcopal Church.
Guernsey's consecration came just three days after Kenya's Anglican Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi consecrated two former Episcopal priests -- William Murdoch and Bill Atwood -- as suffragan bishops of All Saints Cathedral Diocese. The new bishops, Nzimbi said, will "assist with providing ... oversight and Episcopal care ... for the congregations and clergy in the USA under Kenyan jurisdiction."
Last year, Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola consecrated Martyn Minns, former rector of Truro Church in Fairfax, Virginia, to lead the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a conservative missionary effort in the U.S. sponsored by the Anglican Church of Nigeria. Akinola rejected requests from both Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori by proceeding with Minns' controversial installation on May 5, 2007.