Persecution, a Church Council and the Shaping of the Church of Uganda, ca. 1884 - 1888

In July 1885, the Church Missionary Society (CMS) mission in Uganda formed a church council comprised of twelve baptized Ugandans as an organizational response to persecution. Faced with a reign of terror that had begun with the enthronement of a new king following the death of the one who had invited them, English missionaries believed that the council was the only way their work would continue if the new king expelled them. In this paper, I argue that although formed as a response to persecution, the council had a far greater impact on the emergence of the Church of Uganda.