Anglican Tanzania okays female bishops

Mwanza/Mbeya/Dodoma. Anglican bishops in Tanzania say the church’s decision to allow female bishops is a significant development in the quest for human equality.

The Synod of the Church of England, the seat of power for the Anglican Church, ended one of its longest and most divisive disputes on Monday with an overwhelming vote in favour of allowing women to become bishops.

The long-awaited change marks the completion of a process that started more than 20 years ago with the ordination of women as priests.

In separate interviews with The Citizen yesterday, Anglican bishops of Victoria Nyanza and Mara dioceses welcomed the move.

The clerics said it was the basic right of women priests to be elevated to bishops.

Bishop Boniface Kwangu of the Diocese of Victoria Nyanza, who is in charge of over 50 parishes in Mwanza and Geita regions, said that although every diocese had its authority for ordaining women, once women were given the nod they had the right to become bishops.

His sentiments were echoed by the bishop of Mara Diocese, Hilkia Omindo, who said there were already six female priests in the diocese.

“I have six women reverends here in my diocese so I have no problem if one day they will ascend to become bishops. Bishops are obtained from reverends, be they men or women. We are all equal...there is no gender discrimination here,” he said.

The Anglican priest for Butimba Parish, Cannon Gershon Yoboka, welcomed the idea, saying since the church had already allowed women to be reverends it was time they were allowed to become bishops.

But the Reverend Iseke Marko said he was totally opposed to the decision, saying being a bishop was “heavy responsibility” that required “total commitment”.

In Mbeya, Anglican clergymen welcomed the move by the Church of England, saying it was an important step towards equality in the church.

The Rev Jonathan Mwashilindi said it was time for change, adding that it had taken centuries for female bishops to be allowed in Europe.

“This move signifies progress. It should be recalled that bishops were in the past allowed to mete out corporal punishment to followers, but that is no longer the case,’’ he said.

Anglican clerics in Mbeya also said both male and female bishops were providing the same service to the faithful.

Anglican Church of Tanzania (ACT) secretary in Dodoma Dickson Chilongani said having women as bishops would not lead to the collapse of the church or affect relations among followers, adding that the most important thing was how the bishops were obtained and their acceptance by followers.

He added that relations between ACT and the Church of England would remain strong, although he added that ACT had yet to formally ratify the decision.

“But we need to have a list of women who are to be ordained to become bishops and we will surely give them our blessings,’’ he said.

On Monday, cheers erupted in York, England, after the church passed the decision with a comfortable majority.

Around 150 supporters congregated outside the hall to celebrate the result, hugging each other to the sound of popping champagne corks.

The first women bishops could now be appointed before the end of the year.

The Church of England is the mother church of the global Anglican Communion, followed by some 80 million people in over 165 countries.

Reported by Emmanuel Chacha, Lauden Mwambona and Habel Chidawali