The Anglican Church will on Wednesday elect the ninth Archbishop of the Church of Uganda.
The new Archbishop will be elected by the House of Bishops, a body that brings together active Diocesan and Assistant Bishops from the Church’s 37 dioceses which must not be vacant, except for Kampala.
The new Archbishop will be enthroned in March next year taking over from Stanley Ntagali.
Archbishop Ntagali was elected and enthroned as Archbishop on December 16 2012 at the age of 57. He turns 65 years old on March 1, 2020 and that is the mandatory age of retirement.
Provincial Secretary, Rev. Canon Captain William Ongeng said yesterday in a press statement that the election of the new Archbishop will be announced today at the Provincial Office of the Church of Uganda, Namirembe.
According to the statement, the Archbishop automatically serves as the Diocesan Bishop of Kampala Diocese as well as Archbishop of the entire Church of Uganda.
To be elected Archbishop, one must be a Bishop in the Church of Uganda aged at least 50 years old and that all dioceses must have bishops with no vacant dioceses.
Only 33 of the 37 heads are eligible to replace Ntagali. Among those ineligible are Archbishop Ntagali and the current dean of the House of Bishops Kumi Diocese Bishop Edison Irigei.
Part of section two of Article 10 of the church constitution says: “No person shall be elected to the office of the archbishop unless he or she has attained the age of fifty (50) years.”
Currently Archbishop Ntagali is engaged in a farewell tour, visiting all 37 dioceses in the Church of Uganda to say good-bye. The Archbishop-elect will say farewell to his current diocese of Kampala as it prepares prepare to elect a new Bishop.
Past Archbishops
1st Archbishop Leslie Brown, a British missionary and was the first Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga-Zaire (1961-1966)
2nd Archbishop Erica Sabiti (1966 – 1974)
3rd Archbishop Janani Luwum (1974 – 1977). Martyred in 1977.
4th Archbishop Silvanus Wani (1977 – 1983). In 1980, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga-Zaire became a separate, Francophone Province, and Uganda became its own Province.
5th Archbishop Yona Okoth (1983 – 1995)
6th Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi-Nkoyoyo (1995 – 2004)
7th Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi (2004 – 2012)
8th Archbishop Stanley Ntagali (2012-2020)
