African primates remind Anglicans about the church of the martyrs and missionaries By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Online Friday, November 11, 2005 PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Church of the martyrs and of missionaries was the message Thursday afternoon during the "Hope and a Future" conference. That message came from two African primates, recently honored for "exemplary fidelity to the authority of Scripture and exceptional pastoral courage in their efforts to restore the prophetic voice of the Church as the moral conscience of culture." The speakers were part of the conference's focus, which Episcopal Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. has said will focus on the renewal of North American Anglicanism and "the rebirth of a Biblical, missionary and united Anglicanism." The Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, primate of the Anglican Church of Uganda, told more than 2,000 conference participants that "the church in Uganda is a very small church, in a very small country, and I'm coming here to share a very small story about a very big God." Orombi talked about his country during the Victorian era, and how the people of that time "invited missionaries, and they came and began to plant the Gospel seed in our nation." "Our church began to see the blood of the martyrs from infancy," he said. "That, of course, brought about the growth of the church. The church of Uganda will not say yes to sin, even if we are persecuted for it. We understand persecution because our church is the product of fire. On the shores of Lake Victoria, a tribal king fed our young men to the fire because they would not succumb to his sexual advances. These men believed King Jesus is more powerful than the king of Uganda. Every June 3rd, we remember them for standing firm in the Gospel." "Then," Orombi said, "we were tested again when we faced persecution under Idi Amin from 1971 to 1979. Our highest leadership was murdered under the rule of Amin. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Gospel." He spoke about when he was preaching in Entebbe and his group "was rounded up by the secret police and locked up." Describing the brutal conditions in the prison, he said their "eyes were opened to atrocities and the depths our country had sunk to." He also spoke about how the secret police entered the home of the archbishop looking for guns and how the archbishop "paid a price for the Gospel." He didn't have any guns, Orombi said, but he "picked up a Bible and told the secret police, 'The Bible is my gun.'" "We preached the Gospel, and we were not afraid," he said. "You also must not be afraid when voices of your culture go against you. We encourage you to be faithful. Together, we know the way of the cross. Jesus Christ died, but he also lives, and we are duty bound to remain faithful to that living Lord. "You in America will have to suffer because the Gospel is not a pleasant message for everybody. But you are not in isolation. Remember that we are into the people's business it is the people's ministry feed them, tend them, take care of them. "Move away from self-pity," Orombi said. "Move away from too much talking – the talking is over. The church in Africa was talking while Islam was advancing, arguing while Islam was advancing. We almost lost the church. But you can never lose the church while Christ is alive. "We come to stand with you," he said. "We are here to encourage you. Brothers and sisters, fix your eyes on Jesus Christ and he will make it possible. Trust in the Lord. It may be hard now, but trust in the Lord. Without him, you can do nothing." The second speaker from Africa was the Rev. Peter Jasper Akinola, primate of all Nigeria, who has been fearless in criticizing the Episcopal Church USA and the archbishop of Canterbury over what he has called their failure to uphold the Church's historic stand on sexual morality. Using as his text Jeremiah 1:9, "Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth," Akinola said that, "The Word of God is implanted in us. We cannot hold it, we must give it up." "That is why," he said, "we see ourselves as a missionary church. We believe very strongly in the fact that he who gave us that Word has all authority – not just on earth, but also in heaven. He told us the imperative – go therefore and make disciples. Jesus Christ had been given all authority – not just power, but authority, and because we cannot but go and do it. We must then do what he says and proclaim his Word." Akinola talked about how, in just 16 years, the Anglican Church of Nigeria has grown from one diocese to three, and the growth continues. "To be a missionary church is non-negotiable," he said. "There is no alternative. You must proclaim the Gospel. We are not missionaries to ourselves alone, but also in the Congo, training workers for the church in Sudan, sending missionaries to Madagascar and seeking avenues to reach out to other parts of the Global South." "Jesus Christ calls on us to do his will," Akinola said. "How long are you going to continue to waver? How long are you going to continue to doubt? "This is the moment to make a decision. The Word of God is the supreme rule of life and living. What we [in Nigeria] have done has freed us. Today we are free. As long as we hold this [Word of God] together, we are with you every inch of the way."

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