Namirembe Cathedral – The origin of the Anglicans\ faith
Namirembe Cathedral : Saint Paul’s Cathedral Namirembe commonly referred to as Namirembe Cathedral is found on one of the former seven hills that make up Kampala – Namirembe/Mengo Hill. The traditional Western architecture is an impressive finish with wonderful stained glasses plus a red brick dome. It serves as the provincial cathedral of the Church of Uganda and the Diocesan Cathedral for Namirembe Diocese, the first one of its kind in the History of Uganda founded in 1890.
The cathedral served as the provincial Cathedral of the church of Uganda – Anglican Communion between 1919-1967 and in 1960s the headquarters of the church of Uganda moved to All Saints inn Nakasero and then moved back to Namirembe later.
Uganda is a spiritually rich country. Henry Stanley, British explorer and journalist, met King Mutesa, the Kabaka (king) of Buganda (a central Ugandan tribe) in April 1875. After sharing the simple story of Christianity with King Mutesa, he became very enthusiastic about Christianity and asked Stanley to write a letter to Queen Victoria of England, appealing for missionaries. The letter was published in The Daily Telegraph newspaper in England on 15thNovember 1875.
So, two years later, Christianity first came to Uganda when eight missionaries from the Church Missionary Society arrived in 1877 and The Christian faith was originally preached only to the immediate members of the court of King Mutesa, Kabaka (king) of Buganda.
In June 1936 the East African Revival began in northeast Rwanda. (Rwanda borders Uganda on the southwest.) It spread rapidly through Burundi, Uganda, Zaire, Tanzania and Kenya. It touched mission schools, churches and villages. The Revival produced deep repentance and changed lives and has continued to be sustained, even though today. It helped to establish a new zeal for enthusiastic holiness in African Christianity. It confronted demonic strongholds, and began to prepare churches to cope with the horrors of massacres and warfare that erupted in later years.
Apart from the Martyrs of 1886 by King Mwanga, there were the Later martyrs in 1970s by the military Dictator Idi Amin who simply had Islamic Sympathies. The Christian resilience in the face of brutal torture and death demonstrated the continued influence of the Namugongo martyrs and the deep, vital, and abiding faith among so many who had been influenced by the East African Revival. Among the thousands of new martyrs, both Anglican and Roman Catholic, was Janani Luwum, Archbishop of the (Anglican) Church of Uganda.
The Church of Uganda, with its rich and firm spiritual history, has offered and continues to offer a dynamic and vital faith to peoples around the world. Already, this is a part of Anglican history in Uganda. In 1893 Canon Apollo Kivebulaya was the first to take the Gospel to the people of Eastern Congo. Ugandans such as William and Sala Nagenda, Erica Sabiiti, Festo Kivengere, Janani Luwum, John Wilson, Misaeri Kauma, Edward Muhima, and the current Archbishop, Henry Luke Orombi, have witnessed before world leaders. In 1996, John Sentamu, a Ugandan Anglican, was consecrated a Bishop in the Church of England, first as the Bishop of Birmingham, and now as the Archbishop of York.
Inside this church are the remains of Bishop Hannington who was murdered in October 1885 just before the gospel of Mathew was printed in Luganda as well as the cooks who begun Mengo hospital. The diocese is headed by a bishop: Rt Rev Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira along with 103 other clergies in active service seven of which are women and three are deaf. So drop for services at 06:45 or 8:30 and 10:00 O’clock for English and Luganda respectively for a real African Worship.
