If Archbishop Welby thought that a new generation of African Archbishops would submit to his charm offensive, he is gravely mistaken. They have demonstrated their loyalty to GAFCON and to its chairman, Archbishop Foley Beach.

The new Nigerian primate affirmed the biblical understanding of marriage as between one man and one woman in a lifelong union and that sexual relationships between people of the same sex are contrary to Scripture. He reaffirmed that the Province would not be in communion with any other Province which departed from that standard or adopted other beliefs and practices contrary to Scripture.

Exit the American Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, to name but two provinces. The Church of England is heading in the same direction, having learned nothing from TEC and the ACoC about the dangers of affirming pansexuality. There is overwhelming evidence that the Mother Church is heading down the same destructive pathway as its North American counterparts.

"There is nothing and no one, who can help us, except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The message of the cross is not easily accepted, and it is often offensive to the world and the powers of darkness. However, there is no other alternative, because God's solution to sin is Jesus Christ," declared the new primate, who was educated in Nigeria, England and the US.

The archbishop of 18 million Anglicans debunked the belief that there are other routes to God, stressing that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, the Father. He said the bane of Christianity in this generation is "cheap grace", explaining it as grace without sacrifice. "If you are not ready to lose your life, you are not ready to follow Jesus. You cannot serve the Lord, Jesus Christ and faithfully follow Him without suffering."

The cleric pointed out that the problem in the Church is that many struggle for positions, simply to gain power and are not prepared to pay the price of the gospel. He charged his hearers to prepare their hearts and be ready to pay the price of following Jesus.

The new Primate said the Church would maintain an open-door policy, but it necessitated truth, sacrifice, hard work, even suffering, if it is to the glory of God.

The archbishop said he would uphold Anglican orthodoxy in the Communion's stance on the authority of Scripture and he would stand against homosexual marriage. He said he would continue his province's stand of being out of communion with any church that follows and represents that revisionist agenda.

Archbishop Ndukuba said his leadership would be marked by a decade of the reign of God. He said they would strengthen the teaching of the word of God in the Church, pay attention to theological schools, children, youths and women to ensure the future of the Church, and focus on re-evangelization and discipleship.

He said they would oppose lifestyles that are against the Word of God and purge the Anglican Church of all who are against the authority of the Scriptures.

Archbishop Ndukuba's remarks echoed those of Uganda Archbishop Kazimba Mugalu, who said at his consecration that he would never accept homosexual marriages in the church.

"The Church in Uganda would continue to emphasize heterosexual marriage as the lifelong, exclusive bond between one man and one woman for procreation as reflected in the Bible," he said.

"...the trend in the Western world and some Anglican churches in those contexts are being pressured into doing this, including our mother church of England. But for us in Uganda, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," said the prelate shortly after receiving the episcopal authority from his predecessor Stanley Ntagali, who retired at 65 years.

It was reported that the Church of Uganda was deeply concerned about the Archbishop of Canterbury's support for homosexuality and same-sex unions. Welby has consecrated a homosexual bishop in England, invited homosexual and lesbian bishops to the upcoming Lambeth Conference, and has promoted the recognition of same-sex unions in the church, schools, and society. For these reasons, the Church of Uganda House of Bishops will not be attending the Lambeth Conference.

The new archbishop further vowed never to accept or support abortion as a method of birth control and asked the Anglican faithful to promote life rather than destroy it.

Former Uganda Archbishop Stanley Ntagali reiterated that the Church would not be intimidated into accepting same sex marriage.

"We cannot follow the teaching of the liberals of the West, which have told us the Bible is the book of the past and that men can marry men, and women can marry women. We are saying no to that liberal teaching ...we have said no to same sex marriage and we shall continue to say that until Jesus comes back."

Kenyan Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit said he and his bishops had planned on shunning the Lambeth Conference. "God's plan of marriage is between a man and woman for procreation. Homosexuality is a sin before God."

Most African Anglican bishops object to the invitation of bishops in the communion who are in same-sex unions. Those bishops' presence, the Africans say, constitutes an endorsement of homosexuality, which they reject as contrary to the Scriptures.

In his new book, The Future of Orthodox Anglicanism, Dr. Gerald McDermott said that the new center of gravity in the Global South is predominantly orthodox, unlike its liberal parents in Canterbury and New York. "Although recently fractured, its orthodox members are alive and well. They also constitute 80 percent of the worldwide Communion."

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