For this year’s commemoration of Uganda’s 45 martyrs, the Archbishop of Uganda invited the Archbishop of Nigeria to address an audience of an estimated 2 million pilgrims. Christians, who predominate in the southern regions of both Nigeria and Uganda suffer frequent and deadly attacks by extremists from the Muslim north of both nations.
The Most Rev. Dr. Henry Ndukuba of Nigeria compared the Uganda martyrs (1885-87) to the faithful Israelites Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who submitted to the likelihood of fiery death rather than renounce their Judaism (Dan. 3). He warned against honoring the martyrs while withholding obedience in some part of one’s life.
“If you want to do all while disobeying your spirit, it means you’re walking to this place for nothing,” he said on June 3. “It does not count well, to walk all the distances and, in the end, you miss heaven.”
Ndukuba stressed that martyrdom is consistent with the sacrifices faithful Christians make for their Lord.
“We shall go back with nothing,” he said. “I want to inform the pilgrims here that the martyrs lacked nothing, but they chose to give their lives to Christ. When you have Jesus Christ, you have everything, Your life does not depend on the possessions you have.”
His host, Archbishop Stephen Kazimba, praised the day’s pilgrims for the commitment they showed, often walking long distances to the martyrs’ shrine in Namugongo, which is northeast of the national capital, Kampala.
“We thank God for all pilgrims who have walked from near and far. These are prayer walks of faith and commitment to Christ, our Savior. If these walks result in transformed lives, then your walk is not in vain. May your prayers and petitions be fully answered.”
Both archbishops said their churches stand with Uganda’s 19th-century martyrs in rejecting aggressive challenges to the church’s historic doctrine of marriage and sexual morality.
A report by Open Doors ranks Nigeria as the sixth most dangerous nation in the world for Christians. It is surpassed only by North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, and Yemen. Uganda does not appear in the report of the 50 worst offenders, but it is in the top 78 list. Open Doors offers national dossiers about Nigeria and Uganda.
Douglas LeBlanc is the Associate Editor for Book Reviews and writes about Christianity and culture. He and his wife, Monica, attend St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Henrico, Virginia.
