The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda has slammed the appointment of Sarah Mullally as the first female archbishop of Canterbury, calling it “sad news.”

“I am writing to share the sad news that the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been appointed as the next Archbishop of Canterbury,” wrote Stephen Kaziimba in a statement addressed to Ugandan Christians.

“Our sadness about this appointment is her support and advocacy for unbiblical positions on sexuality and same-sex marriage that reveal her departure from the historic Anglican positions that uphold biblical authority.”

The Rt Revd Mullally’s appointment comes weeks after the Church in Wales appointed Cherry Vann, a lesbian, as its new archbishop.

Archbishop Kaziimba said the decision to appoint a lesbian bishop makes “many people wonder what really happened to the word and true values of God.”

He said the Archbishop of Canterbury’s appointment would deepen the tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion that began in 2003.

Archbishop Kaziimba did not mention Gene Robinson’s name, but he became the first bishop of a major Christian denomination to openly live with a same-sex partner.

“The tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion has now reached the highest level of the Communion,” he wrote.

“Make no mistake, this is a grievous decision to separate itself from the vast majority of the global Anglican Communion.”

He said the church would pray for those in the Church of England who are disillusioned by this appointment and extend a hand of fellowship to them through Gafcon and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans.

The two conservative blocs within the Anglican Communion oppose same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Kaziimba reaffirmed that, as declared in the 2023 Gafcon statement from Kigali, Rwanda, the Church of Uganda no longer recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as having global authority.

Homophobia in Uganda runs deep, and in 2023, the government enacted a law outlawing same-sex relationships.

“The future of Gospel-centred mission in our Anglican tradition is bright,” Archbishop Kaziimba concluded. “We will proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations.”

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