THE next Bishop of Wolverhampton, Dr Tim Wambunya, has apologised for the part he played in a non-canonical ordination of a bishop in Germany, saying that he merely wished to support a former student.
The service, which took place in Berlin in April, was billed because the ordination, as Bishop, of the Revd Wamare Juma, who founded and leads the Revealed Evangelical Mission. The organisation’s website describes it as a “non-denominational para-church”, and it has branches in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in addition to Germany.
Last week, Dr Wambunya was announced as the following Area Bishop of Wolverhampton, within the diocese of Lichfield (News, 27 August). After serving because the Bishop of Butere, in Kenya, from 2013 to 2020, he became the Vicar of St Paul’s, Slough, and an Honorary Assistant Bishop within the diocese of Oxford.
At the service in April, Dr Wambunya laid hands on Bishop Wamare Juma, led him through the declarations and ordination prayer from the Common Worship rite of ordination and consecration of a bishop, and presented him with a “certificate of ordination” which identified Dr Wambunya because the “ordaining bishop”.
On Tuesday, Dr Wambunya said that he took part in a private capability. “I didn’t for a moment imagine I used to be representing the Church of England, and even another Anglican province, and I used to be not there in any official capability,” he said.
“Rather, I used to be there to have a good time, give thanks, and affirm the ministry of my former student in a theological college in Africa. I had trained, commissioned, mentored, and supported him in prayer for several years.”
Malush & Co TV/YoutubeThe ‘certificate of ordination’ presented to the brand new bishop
A video of the service was posted on YouTube. At the time of going to press it had fewer than 100 views.
At the beginning of the service, Dr Wambunya described himself as “currently based within the UK where I’m serving as a bishop, and I even have been a bishop for ten years”.
The service, he said on Tuesday, was not as he had expected, and he had expected to participate alongside other African church leaders from Europe and Africa.
“On reflection, I mustn’t have attended in my episcopal robes or taken as outstanding a job within the service as I did,” he told the Church Times. “I regret this has led to misunderstanding about my involvement, and I apologise for this.
“I’m looking forward to my recent role in Wolverhampton and am sad this incident has detracted from the celebrations of this ministry,” Dr Wambunya said.
The Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Michael Ipgrave, said on Tuesday: “I hope that folks will recognise the background to this event, understand the way it has happened, and be able to welcome Bishop Tim in his recent ministry in Wolverhampton.”
He acknowledged that some people would regard the video as “showing some features” of an Anglican service of episcopal ordination.
“I do know that, having reflected further, Bishop Tim agrees that this was as unhelpful because it was unintended. Having intended to be present in a merely supporting role, he found himself taking an unduly outstanding one, which he now regrets,” Dr Ipgrave said.
Dr Wambunya’s actions, he said, were “born out of affection for his student, which, in fact, he doesn’t regret, and never out of a desire to make a theological statement. He and I’ll work together to make sure that this sort of confusion shouldn’t be repeated in future.”
Both Dr Ipgrave and Dr Wambunya highlighted the cultural context of the service. “What is commonplace in an African church context, i.e. the blessing and laying on of hands of a bishop, could possibly be misunderstood within the Church of England,” Dr Wambunya said, and added that he could be “more mindful of this in future”.
At the beginning of the service, Dr Wambunya paid tribute to Bishop Juma: “I’m very excited to be here today, since it’s a really special occasion for me to find a way to ordain the Revd Wamare Juma because I trained with him . . . so I do know that I’m ordaining anyone who is prepared and capable of do the work we’re asking him to do.”
On Tuesday, he said that his participation within the service “was not inside any context as envisaged in Canon B43 on ecumenical relationship”.
A Code of Practice included within the Church of England (Ecumenical Relations) Measure 1988 paraphrases the a part of Canon B43 concerning what actions a C of E bishop may perform in a church of one other denomination, and reads: “A priest or bishop may not do anything which is an indication of conferring orders, unless the designated church is in communion with the Church of England.”
The Revealed Evangelical Mission is neither a delegated church under the terms of Canon B43, neither is it formally in communion with the C of E.
The Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, said on Tuesday: “Bishop Tim did let me know he was attributable to attend the service for a former student in Germany, but didn’t go into any detail.”
A spokesperson for Dr Croft confirmed that he was not taking any disciplinary motion against Dr Wambunya.
Dr Wambunya distanced himself from the recent commissioning of “overseers” by the Church of England Evangelical Council (News, 19 July).
The service in April “had nothing to do with the present agitation to determine parallel structures throughout the Church of England”, he said. “It could be entirely false to suggest so or compare and associate me with recent events to commission alternative ‘episcopal’ elders within the Church of England.”
