Zambia cuts ties with Episcopal Church

The Anglican Church in Zambia on Monday cut ties with the Episcopal Church (USA) over its consecration of an openly gay man as the bishop of New Hampshire, United Press International reports. Besides cutting ties with their U.S. counterparts, the leaders of Zambia's Anglicans also cut ties with the Church of England because many of its bishops supported the election of V. Gene Robinson, said Zambian bishop Derek Amuck. He said his church could not abide by the election because gay relations, he contends, go against the Bible in that God created man and woman so that they could get married. The bishop noted, however, that his church would still maintain ties with Anglican churches that tried to resist Robinson's ordination. The Zambian church is among a growing list of Anglican churches that have severed relations with the U.S. church, including the Anglican Church in Southeast Asia, the Church of Uganda, and the Church of Nigeria, the continent's largest Anglican church. Robinson's elevation also has prompted the world's largest Eastern Orthodox church, the Russian Orthodox Church, to cut ties with Episcopalians.