Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

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of Washington, D.C., have now done the same, asking to come under the oversight of the
Anglican province headed by Akinola. Archbishop Akinola began pushing for a more
independent Nigerian church increasingly distanced from those he and his fellow
Africans believe are apostate, yet gladly welcome all who seek to faithfully follow Christ
with him.
The African primates know that money from the West has been crucial to their
existence, but are determined not to sacrifice integrity for money. They would rather
suffer financial strain for a while, than compromise the integrity of the faith. Akinola and
the other African primates now encourage their African brethren to stand united,
depending on God to supply their needs, not the heterodox Westerners. They believe the
present crisis signals that it is time to stop depending on the West, to begin trusting God
as never before, to see Him establish a strong indigenous African church.
Rwandan Bishop John Rucyahana of the Diocese of Shyira said, “To be honest, there
is not enough money for the needs we have in Rwanda after the [1994] genocide, but if
money is being used to disgrace the Gospel, then we don’t need it” (Duin). The
Anglicans of Uganda report a similar situation, adding that the conservative American
churches have partially filled the void created when the Africans refused funds from the
Liberal churches. “Bill Atwood, general secretary of Ekklesia Society, an international
Anglican network, just returned from a tour of Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, South Africa
and Uganda and called the lack of money for Africans ‘scandalous’” (Duin). Independent
reports attest to the fact that African Anglicans are literally starving to death, rather than
accept funds from heterodox Anglican groups. Rwandan and Tanzanian bishops will
apparently soon join with the Anglican archbishops of Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda -- who
alone oversee more than 30 million adherents to the faith. At last years African primates
meeting, the archbishop of Congo told his fellow primates that his people were starving,
many eating as little as one meal per day.
Western Anglicans have tens of millions of dollars in available funds, but the Africans
are more determined than ever to stay the course. Kenyan Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi
said recently, in effect, that he and his people would rather starve to death than
compromise the integrity of the Christian faith as the Western church has done.
University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa