Letter from Archbishop Orombi

24th September 2008

The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan
Pittsburgh, PA
USA

Dear Bishop Duncan,

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the name above all names, and the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I have very intentionally addressed this letter to you as Bishop Duncan, for, indeed, you are a Bishop.

I was upcountry tending to pastoral business when the TEC House of Bishops took their vote to supposedly depose you, so I am very sorry that I could not add my name at the time to the very good statement issued by my esteemed colleagues, Archbishops Venables, Gomez, and Nzimbi. I hope you know of the unqualified support you have from me and our entire House of Bishops.
In 2004, when the Church of Uganda broke communion with TEC, we stated that, although we were breaking communion with TEC, we remained in communion with you, the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and all who uphold the historic and Biblical faith of Anglicanism and did not support the unbiblical decision of confirming the election of Gene Robinson to the episcopate.

Despite the shameful action taken last week by the majority of TEC Bishops, nothing about our position has changed. We continue to recognize you as a Bishop of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. We continue to recognize you as a Bishop in good standing in the Anglican Communion, and we whole-heartedly support the action of Archbishop Greg Venables and the House of Bishops of the Province of the Southern Cone to receive you into their House of Bishops. We continue in full communion with you and we do not recognize the action of the TEC House of Bishops to depose you.

Furthermore, we are praying that on 4th October the majority of the Diocese of Pittsburgh will vote to be reunited with you as their Bishop. When the King of Buganda tried to destroy the Christian movement in 1886 by killing the converts in his court, he instead fueled the spread of the Gospel among our people. I believe that can also happen in North America. So, do not be discouraged. Our God is a God of redemption, and He will take what was intended for evil and bring good out of it.

Finally, if the world couldn’t see it before, this vote reveals how spiritually lost TEC is and why North America needs a new Province that authentically represents historic and Biblical Anglicanism. The Instruments of the Anglican Communion could have averted this crisis. Instead, institutional inertia is preferred, and meanwhile, the tear in the fabric of our communion is now deeper and wider, the mission of the church suffers, and many people miss out on hearing the good news that a Saviour has come.

I look forward to the day when you are not only the Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership, but when we can also welcome you to the table of Primates as the Archbishop of a new, Biblically faithful Province in North America. May the Lord grant you wisdom and apostolic favour as you lead that movement, and may He add daily the number who are being saved.

Yours, in Christ,

The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi
ARCHBISHOP OF CHURCH OF UGANDA