Petroc Trelawny of the BBC reports:
The choice of the new Bishop has split the Anglican Church in Malawi.
Five years ago, an English priest chosen to lead the diocese was accused of being a liberal theologian of “unsound faith”.He was never allowed to take up the position.
The appointment of the conservative Bishop [Francis] Kaulanda has been equally controversial and the subject of a legal injunction, with detractors claiming he is not qualified for the job.
This is more than just a local row. It comes in the wider context of a battle for the very future of the Anglican Church in Central Africa.
Should it lean in a more moderate, European direction or base itself on so-called “African values”, where only men can be priests, scripture is interpreted rigidly, and homosexuality is condemned?