Father Katenda quits

Questions are mounting in the wake of the resignation of a popular and outspoken priest, Lukas Kaluwapa Katenda, from the Anglican Church of Namibia.

Katenda tendered his resignation, which is effective 1 January 2017, to the Anglican Diocese of Namibia presiding bishop Luke Pato.

The 39-year-old Katenda told Namibian Sun yesterday that he decided to quit the church because he had been bullied and intimidated by unnamed elders in the church. He said he resigned as a priest according to the manner and form as prescribed by Constitution and Canons of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, which is part of the Anglican Diocese of Namibia.

He maintained that he will never relinquish the priesthood of the general Anglican Church, adding that his resignation was limited to the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and not other parts of the Anglican Church worldwide.

Katenda said his resignation was fuelled by bullying, lies, slander, character assassination and intimidation he suffered as a way to oppose his biblical preaching.

“My preaching style has been between the Catholic and Evangelical affiliates, but they have been opposing it and restricting me to their so-called tradition of Catholic, which is more on rituals than biblical. When I refused, they said I violated their Anglican tradition.”

Last year, Katenda challenged Pato, who is a South African, for the position of Anglican Diocese of Namibia presiding bishop. He lost.

At the time Katenda was serving as the church's secretary and treasurer. The Diocese of Namibia is part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

“I appeal to my friends to remain calm and collected. There is nothing unusual in this case. As far as biblical and church history is concerned, there is nothing new. We should remember that God uses unprecedented things in order to prepare people for tasks ahead,” Katenda told more than 4 000 of his Facebook friends on Sunday.

On the same day, the different parishes and church members were notified of Katenda's resignation through a statement by Pato, who insisted that his priesthood licence was also suspended and that he was no longer allowed to perform sacred duties in the church. “Because he is no longer a licensed priest in the Anglican Diocese of Namibia and in the Anglican church of Southern Africa, Reverend Katenda cannot officiate, or perform a priestly duty by, for example, conducting or preaching at an Anglican service in any form and in any of the parish churches in our diocese and in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa,” said Pato.

“What this means is that he can attend services of the Anglican Church, if he so wishes, and simply sit in the pews.”

The presiding bishop added that Katenda's resignation had been accepted by the church, and the Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Thabo Makgoba, had been informed. “The archbishop was also excruciatingly pained to hear of this news,” he said.

Pato further explained to Namibian Sun that Katenda's licence was suspended because he chose to resign on his own.

“He resigned and that is why we suspended his licence. It is just like in any other profession. He must just stay away from our practices and services. We accepted his resignation without any negotiation because he was not forced to do it. We are just saddened because he is a good priest and church leader,” Pato said.