NEWS EDITOR
PREPARATIONS for the enthronement of Dr. Samuel Steven Kazimba Mugalu, Archbishop – elect Church of Uganda have been finalised.
The Enthronment Service will start at exactly 10:00am on Sunday March 01st 2020 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe.
The out going 8th Archbishop His Grace The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali will be handing over the ‘Pastoral staff’ to his successor Dr. Kazimba on a mega function that has attracted God’s people from all corners of the world.
Security is already monitoring Namirembe Cathedral at a closer range and security guidelines are already out.You must read and fall them if you don’t want to be caught up.
SECURITY GUIDELINES
1. On Sunday, inside St. Paul’s Cathedral will only those with VIP tags accredited by Security. These include: Ministers, Members of Parliament, Cultural leaders, Bishops, Reverands and a few lay leaders, other high profile leaders and family members of both Dr. Ntagali and Dr. Kazimba. The rest will sit outside church in tents.
2. All roads going to church will be closed by 10am. Be it a VIP if you come past that time, you will be chased away.
3. Phones are prohibited. Leave them at home. If not, security will confiscate them.
4. A few cars with access cards will be allowed. Others, will be parked at Mengo SS play ground and will board buses to the Cathedral.
WHAT IS AN ‘ENTHRONEMENT’
When a Bishop or an Archbishop is installed and vested with the spiritual authority over a particular jurisdiction, it is called an ‘Enthronement.’ So, the enthronement service is the ceremony in which the outgoing Archbishop transfers spiritual authority to the incoming Archbishop by handing over the pastoral staff, and the Bishops of the Church guide the new Archbishop to his Provincial Chair. Every Bishop has a special chair, which in Latin is called a “Cathedra.’ A cathedra literally means a chair with armrests. In the Church this special chair or cathedra is a symbol of the teaching authority of the Bishop. The church building in which the cathedra resides is called the Cathedral.Often times, the cathedra is a large chair, slightly elevated above other chairs, and has thus been sometimes described as a ‘Throne.’ Thus, when a Bishop is installed in a Diocese and vested with spiritual authority over that jurisdiction, it is sometimes described as an ‘Enthronement.’
WHERE IS THE ARCHBISHOP’S CATHEDRAL
The Archbishop has two cathedrals. He is the Bishop of Kampala Diocese and his Diocesan Cathedral is All Saints’ Cathedral, Nakasero. He also has a Provincial Cathedral, which is St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe. St. Paul’s Cathedral is also the Diocesan Cathedral for Namirembe Diocese, who has its own Bishop.
WHY ENTHRONEMENT OF ARCHBISHOP SIGNIFICANT
The Church of Uganda is an independent province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion is the world’s third largest family of churches, after the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. It has 85 million members spread throughout 165 countries. The Church of Uganda is the second largest Province among all the Provinces of the Anglican Communion, with more than 13 million members, which is a little more than one-third the population of Uganda. The Archbishop is the senior leader of the entire Church of Uganda and the chief spokesman for the Church. As Archbishop, he participates in global leadership meetings.
WHO IS EXPECTED TO ATTEND THE ARCHBISHOP’S ENTHRONMENT
Since the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda is a significant national leader, the service of enthronement will be attended by the President and First Lady, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of Parliament and many other government leaders. Leading businessmen and businesswomen will be in attendance, along with all the Bishops of the Church of Uganda. Likewise, many Archbishops and Bishops from other Anglican Provinces from around the world will be present – from North America to Australia, from Nigeria to Kenya. Clergy and friends of the new Archbishop will also be present. Eleven Archbishops from other Anglican Provinces around the world are expected, along with another 30 visiting Bishops from other countries. The Church of Uganda has 39 active Bishops and more than 45 retired Bishops who are expected to attend. Lay leaders from the Church of Uganda will also be present. In all, we are preparing for 3,000 – 7,000 people.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE ENTHRONMENT OF ARCHBISHOP
The service of enthronement will be a regular worship service with readings from the Bible, a sermon, and Holy Communion. In addition to that, the outgoing Archbishop will handover the Provincial Staff – a symbol of the Archbishop’s spiritual authority – to the new, incoming Archbishop. The Archbishop will renew his vows, and the Bishops will also pledge canonical obedience to him. The Bishops will guide the new Archbishop to his Provincial Chair and place him on the Chair, symbolizing that they elected him to lead them and the entire Church of Uganda. The new Archbishop will read his Charge – a kind of manifesto and vision for his ministry, leadership, and strategic direction.
WHO IS PREACHING AT THE ENTHRONEMENT
The Most Rev. Foley Beach, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America and Chairman of the Gafcon Primates’ Council is preaching at the enthronement (http://www.anglicanchurch.net/index.php/main/Archbishop_Foley_Beach/). Gafcon is a Bible-based reform movement within global Anglicanism whose purpose is to guard and proclaim the unchanging truth in a changing world (www.gafcon.org). The Church of Uganda was one of the pioneering Anglican Churches in Gafcon, along with Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda.
WHY IS THE ENTHRONEMENT BUDGET SO EXPENSIVE
1. An enthronement of an Archbishop takes place only occasionally. The last one was 16th December 2012. It’s a national event, so it involves very many people, who have to be seated in the cathedral and in overflow seating in tents, and the tents require a PA system and appropriate screens for broadcasting the service.
2. St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe, serves as both the diocesan Cathedral for Namirembe Diocese as well as the Provincial Cathedral for the entire Church of Uganda. As the provincial Cathedral, every Diocese in Uganda has a specific chair allocated for that Diocese, symbolizing that the House of Bishops, when seated together, exercise spiritual authority over the entire Church of Uganda. Since the last enthronement, three new dioceses have been created. So, the special chairs for those new dioceses must be made and space in the chancel area of the Cathedral needs to be created.
3. The perfect time to do renovation and painting for the Archbishop’s Palace – the official residence of the Archbishop – is when the house is empty, i.e., just before a new Archbishop shifts to the official residence. So, the budget includes significant funds for painting, repairs, and renovations.
4. The incoming Archbishop needs a new vehicle that will carry him all over the country on many pastoral visits to the 37 Dioceses.
5. And, of course, everyone needs to be fed. Food and drinks for several thousand people can get quite expensive.
WHERE IS THE CURRENT ARCHBISHOP
Archbishop Stanley Ntagali has vacated the official residence and is staying in another residence until he hands over on 1st March. He has visited every one of the 37 Dioceses in the Church of Uganda to say farewell, and this month he is saying farewell to parishes in Kampala Diocese.
WHERE IS THE ARCHBISHOP – ELECT
Archbishop-elect Stephen Kazimba Mugalu handed over the Diocese of Mityana to his successor, the Rt. Rev. James Bukomeko, on Sunday, 2nd February. He is now temporarily staying in his personal residence in Mukono until the renovations at the Archbishop’s Palace are completed. He will then shift to Namirembe on Wednesday, 26th February.
