NEWS African churchmen lead developing nations' revolt over gay bishop November 4, 2003 LAGOS — Several African churches severed relations Monday with US Anglican congregations which support gay priests, leading a revolt in the developing world against the consecration of a homosexual bishop. "The overwhelming majority of the Primates of the Global South cannot and will not recognize the office or ministry of Canon Gene Robinson as a bishop," said a statement from the primate of Nigeria's Anglican church. The Right Reverend Peter Akinola said he was speaking on behalf of the Working Committee for the Primates of the Global South, which represents 50 million Anglicans in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The attack was supported – and in some cases made more forcibly – by churchmen from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and, from outside Africa, in Pakistan. On Sunday the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) consecrated the appointment of Robinson, a homosexual, as the Anglican bishop of New Hampshire, despite warnings that the decision could split the church. Akinola's statement on behalf of his colleagues in the developing world stopped short of severing relations with all US Anglicans, and declared support for American conservatives who opposed the move. But he made it clear that the Nigerian church would no longer have any contact with the liberal bishops who endorsed Robinson's consecration at an emotional ceremony in New Hampshire on Sunday. "What that means is that we can no longer claim to be in the same Communion, and those bishops will not be recognised by us any more. We have come to the end of the road," Akinola said on Nigerian state radio. Another Nigerian, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma of Enugu, called on the head of the Anglican church, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, to cut ties with pro-gay bishops "or face a very strong action from us in Africa." The Kenyan church announced it would cut off all ties with the US Episcopalians. "As a church, we are not going to support homosexuality in the church, primarily because it is a sin," Bishop Thomas Kogo of Eldoret Diocese said. He said Williams had been informed of the decision and that Kenyan bishops would meet to confirm the split within two weeks. The Anglican Church in Tanzania, another east African country where, as in Uganda and Kenya, homosexuality is a crime, also severed ties with its US counterpart. "(We) believe that homosexuality is contrary to the teachings of the Word of God. It is a sin," said the country's Anglican primate Donald Mtetemela. Uganda's Anglican Church reacted less severely, only severing ties with Robinson's New Hampshire diocese. In Asia, Sadiq Daniel, bishop of the Karachi and Baluchistan diocese in Pakistan, said: "The Christian community in Pakistan is against this appointment, they don't approve it, it is a sin." One South African bishop, however, broke ranks and refused to condemn the consecration. The Archbishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu Ndungane, said nothing should prevent Robinson becoming a bishop, and that the issue of gay clergy was "on the agenda of the worldwide church and was not going to go away." At the heart of the row over Robinson's appointment is a deep cultural split between many of the Anglicans living in the wealthy North, such as those in the United States, and those in the poor South. Worshippers in developing countries make up more than 70 percent of the Anglican world, despite stiff competition in their regions from Catholics Church, new-generation Evangelist sects and Islam -- all of which have a conservative stance on homosexuality. Conservative prelates in Africa accuse their counterparts in liberal dioceses like New Hampshire of allowing their societies' increasingly secular morals to corrupt the traditionalist beliefs of Anglicanism. "The consecration of a bishop who divorced his wife and separated from his children, now living as a non-celibate homosexual, clearly demonstrates that authorities within ECUSA consider that their cultural-based agenda is of far greater importance than obedience to the word of God," Akinola said. –Sapa-AFP Related stories Gay Washington Methodist minister likely to face church trial Massachusetts bishops don't support same-sex benefits Episcopal priest resigns amid furor over article supporting gay priest Anglican-Episcopal gay dispute may affect other churches