THE CHURCH of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) will give Dr. Nolbert Kunonga his day in court, but he must first return control over the assets of the Diocese of Harare to the province, the deputy chancellor of the CPCA said last week.The offer of a church trial from Chancellor Robert Stumbles is the latest development in the on-going saga of the controversial former Bishop of Harare, who last week mounted a failed legal challenge to block the consecration of his successor.
On July 26, the Rt. Rev. Chad Gandiya was consecrated Bishop of Harare before a congregation of 10,000 gathered at the city’s Sports Centre. Dr. Gandiya was then enthroned at the Cathedral Church of St Mary & All Saints in a ceremony led by the Dean of the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA), Bishop Albert Chama of Northern Zambia and 12 other bishops.
However High Court Judge Ben Hlatshwayo blocked the installation, granting an injunction filed by Dr. Kunonga on behalf of the “Diocesan Trustees for the Diocese of Harare”, which claimed the CPCA was acting in bad faith by proceeding with the consecration.
“I am still the Bishop of Harare,” Dr. Kunonga claimed in the pleading.
Justice Hlatshwayo held the CPCA had not lawfully deposed Dr. Kunonga, writing that the controversial bishop had to “be charged first, tried and removed from office if there is anything against him before another bishop is ordained. Even divorcing a wife has certain procedures that are taken,” the judge ruled.
The Zimbabwe Supreme Court last week overturned the ruling after an emergency appeal was lodged by the CPCA. The Supreme Court ordered that the status quo be restored, with the two factions sharing the use of church properties until litigation over their ownership is concluded.
In a paper outlining the history of the Kunonga schism released on July 23, the Deputy Chancellor of the CPCA, Robert Stumbles reported the split began at the Aug 4, 2007 meeting of the Harare synod.
One of the Notices of Motion presented stated, “the Diocese of Harare does not recognise homosexuality as an acceptable Christian norm and hence does not recognise marriages from such relationships.” Mr. Stumbles noted that such a statement was unremarkable as it had been the formal “stance of the CPCA” on the issue since 1969.
However, on the floor of synod, the motion was amended by supporters of Dr Kunonga into “something unrecognizable and forced this through a somewhat stunned Synod,” Mr. Stumbles said, which the bishop’s supporters believed gave him the authority to “sever Diocesan links with the CPCA.”
On Sept 21, 2007 Dr. Kunonga informed the diocese “we are withdrawing from the Church of the Province of Central Africa,” and at an Extraordinary Synod held on Oct 20 made a “unilateral declaration of independence,” from the CPCA.
Dr. Kunonga formed the “Anglican Church of Zimbabwe” on March 15, 2008, claiming the CPCA was insufficiently firm on the question of homosexuality---a charge consistently denied by the province, which held Dr. Kunonga was engaged in a power grab with the tacit approval of allies within the Mugabe regime.
The province responded by appointing the retired Bishop of Manicaland, Dr. Sebastian Bakare interim bishop of the diocese, and excommunicated Dr. Kunonga after he created the Anglican Church of Zimbabwe.
Litigation over the control of parish properties ensued and the Harare High Court ordered that until it was resolved the two factions share usage of the properties. However, Dr. Kunonga ignored the court’s order, and with the backing of the police mounted a campaign of violent intimidation against supporters of Dr. Bakare.
The creation of a coalition government this year, however, saw an end to active government support for Dr. Kunonga. On March 4, 2009 the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa wrote to President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai saying they “disapproved of the actions of Dr Kunonga,” did not “recognise the status” of the breakaway bishop and asked the state to oversee the “full restoration of Anglican property” in Harare to the CPCA.
If he admits that he “erred in trying to withdraw the Diocese from the CPCA,” restores and accounts for the church’s assets, and withdraws “all court actions”, the House of Bishops of the CPCA “will convene to determine what steps should be taken by it concerning Dr. Kunonga,” Mr. Stumbles said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to us or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that we agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
SIC: RI