Pro-gay bishop Ssenyonjo defies Archbishop Orombi
Mar 27, 2006
The controversial Dr. Christopher Ssenyonjo, who was excommunicated by the Church of Uganda Bishop Dr. Luke Orombi, and stripped of his title and rights, is defiant.
By Our Reporter
The controversial Dr. Christopher Ssenyonjo, who was excommunicated by the Church of Uganda Bishop Dr. Luke Orombi, and stripped of his title and rights, is defiant.
Ssenyonjo told a press conference at his residence in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb, yesterday that he was still a bishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda despite a letter and a statement from Orombi to the contrary.
Ssenyonjo was once suspended by the church over his sympathies for gays.
In the statement, Orombi said the Church was taken aback when Ssenyonjo got “a new Archbishop Howard†in America, formed a new denomination, the Charismatic Church of Uganda and consecrated a bishop.
“Christopher Ssenyonjo has now been denied the right to exercise the office of a bishop, or retired bishop, in the Church of Uganda, including the spiritual authority as a minister of the Word and sacraments,†he said.
“He is no longer entitled to wear the robes of a deacon, priest or bishop in the Church of Uganda. He is no longer a bishop of the Church of Uganda. He is no longer entitled to use the title Bishop Ssenyonjo, as if he were still a bishop in the Church of Uganda.â€
But Senyonjo said, “I am still a member of the Anglican Church of Uganda and a bishop. The title of bishop is not sacrosanct to the Anglican Church of Uganda alone. I was consecrated in the Church of God. I belong to the Church in the royal priesthood of all believers.â€
“My connection with the Charismatic Church of Uganda (CCOU) is simply to provide them with services when I am invited,†he added.
Ssenyonjo, wearing a purple shirt reserved for bishops and flanked by the bishop he consecrated, said Orombi’s letter only denied him wearing robes. “These are not robes. These are my clothes,†he said.
Orombi said over the weekend that Ssenyonjo could be forgiven if he repented. Asked whether he would ask for forgiveness, Ssenyonjo said he had not made up his mind. “I still have time, six months.â€
He defended homosexuality, describing it as “a reality that has come to stay.â€
After reading a written statement, the Rev. Kyeyune, also a defrocked priest who ushered in journalists and served sodas, purported to be a pressman and asked Lwanga leading questions to the amusement of journalists.
The controversial Dr. Christopher Ssenyonjo, who was excommunicated by the Church of Uganda Bishop Dr. Luke Orombi, and stripped of his title and rights, is defiant.
Ssenyonjo told a press conference at his residence in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb, yesterday that he was still a bishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda despite a letter and a statement from Orombi to the contrary.
Ssenyonjo was once suspended by the church over his sympathies for gays.
In the statement, Orombi said the Church was taken aback when Ssenyonjo got “a new Archbishop Howard†in America, formed a new denomination, the Charismatic Church of Uganda and consecrated a bishop.
“Christopher Ssenyonjo has now been denied the right to exercise the office of a bishop, or retired bishop, in the Church of Uganda, including the spiritual authority as a minister of the Word and sacraments,†he said.
“He is no longer entitled to wear the robes of a deacon, priest or bishop in the Church of Uganda. He is no longer a bishop of the Church of Uganda. He is no longer entitled to use the title Bishop Ssenyonjo, as if he were still a bishop in the Church of Uganda.â€
But Senyonjo said, “I am still a member of the Anglican Church of Uganda and a bishop. The title of bishop is not sacrosanct to the Anglican Church of Uganda alone. I was consecrated in the Church of God. I belong to the Church in the royal priesthood of all believers.â€
“My connection with the Charismatic Church of Uganda (CCOU) is simply to provide them with services when I am invited,†he added.
Ssenyonjo, wearing a purple shirt reserved for bishops and flanked by the bishop he consecrated, said Orombi’s letter only denied him wearing robes. “These are not robes. These are my clothes,†he said.
Orombi said over the weekend that Ssenyonjo could be forgiven if he repented. Asked whether he would ask for forgiveness, Ssenyonjo said he had not made up his mind. “I still have time, six months.â€
He defended homosexuality, describing it as “a reality that has come to stay.â€
After reading a written statement, the Rev. Kyeyune, also a defrocked priest who ushered in journalists and served sodas, purported to be a pressman and asked Lwanga leading questions to the amusement of journalists.