The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, has voiced strong opposition to the appointment of the Rt. Rev. Dame Sarah Mullaly, Bishop of London, as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman ever named to the role.
In a statement dated October 3, 2025, Archbishop Kaziimba expressed sadness over the decision, citing concerns over Mullaly’s stance on sexuality and same-sex marriage, which he says diverges from traditional Anglican doctrine.
“This appointment deepens the tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion,” Kaziimba said, referring to longstanding divisions within the church that he traces back to 2003, when The Episcopal Church consecrated a bishop in a same-sex relationship.
“There appears to be no repentance. Make no mistake, this is a grievous decision at the highest levels of the Church of England to separate itself from the vast majority of the global Anglican Communion,” he added.
Kaziimba, a key figure in the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), reaffirmed the Church of Uganda’s commitment to the authority of Scripture and Biblical teaching. He extended support to members of the Church of England who may feel alienated by the appointment, offering continued fellowship through GAFCON and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans.
“As we declared in our 2023 GAFCON statement from Kigali, we no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as having global authority. With this appointment, the Archbishop of Canterbury is reduced simply to the Primate of All England.”,Kaziimba stated.
Despite his objections, Kaziimba emphasized a hopeful outlook for the future of Gospel-focused mission work within the Anglican tradition.
“The fields are ripe for harvest,” he said, quoting the 2018 GAFCON statement from Jerusalem: “We will proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations.”
Dame Sarah Mullaly, 63, has served as Bishop of London since 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Before that, she was Bishop of Crediton from 2015 to 2018. Prior to her ecclesiastical career, Mullaly spent over three decades in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), becoming England’s youngest-ever Chief Nursing Officer in 1999.
Women were first ordained as priests in the Church of England in 1994, with the first female bishops appointed starting in 2014.
