By Raymond Baguma

The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stanley Ntagali has attacked the Church of England over its recent decision to allow gays to be consecrated as bishops.

Ntagali in a statement on Monday said, “It is very discouraging to hear that the Church of England, which once brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Uganda, has taken such a significant step away from that very gospel that brought life, light, and hope to us.”

Recently, the Church of England has dropped the prohibition on gay clergy in civil partnerships from becoming bishops if they promise to be celibate.

In England, the evangelical Anglicans have vowed to fight the move by the Church’s synod, and warned of divisions if gay clergy are appointed bishops.

Ntagali said that this decision by the Church of England violates the Biblical faith and agreements within the Anglican Communion.

When the American Church made this decision in 2003 it tore the fabric of the Anglican Communion at its deepest level. This decision only makes the brokenness of the Communion worse and is particularly disheartening coming from the Mother Church.

“We stand with those in the Church of England who continue to stand for the Biblical and historic faith and practice of the Church.  Our grief and sense of betrayal are beyond words,” Ntagali said.

In 2003, the appointment of the openly gay Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire in the US, led to the formation of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, which brings together traditional Anglican provinces in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia opposed to homosexuality.

Last week, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala of the Church of Kenya who heads the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans warned that the move could complicate unity in the Anglican Church.