THE Archbishops of Canterbury and York have protested against a resurgence of police intimidation that caused Anglicans in Zimbabwe to be locked out of their churches at Christmas.

“We condemn unequivocally any move to deny people their basic right to worship. To prevent people from worshipping in their churches on Christmas Day — unable to receive the Church’s message of hope — is a further blow to civil liberties in Zimbabwe,” the Archbishops said in a statement from Lambeth Palace on Sunday.

They described the “unprovoked intimidation of worshippers” by police as “completely unacceptable, and indicative of the continued and persistent oppression by state instruments of those perceived to be in opposition”.

Details were slow to emerge on Tuesday as the Church Times went to press, but first news reports from Zimbabwe said the congregation of St Mary’s Cathedral, Harare, had showed defiance on the Wednesday evening by entering the grounds and singing hymns outside the locked building. They had vowed to be there on Christmas Day, reports said.

Christmas events appear to have replicated those of previous Sundays when police lined up to prevent access even to the grounds. A church in Greendale has been locked for the past five weeks, and riot police have been used to bar worshippers in Mbare, Kuwadzana, Tafara, Warren Park, Budiriro, Glen View, Belvedere, Hatfield, and Marl­borough.

Worshippers arriving at St Peter’s, Meyrick Park, on the Sunday before Christmas transferred their celebration of the eucharist to the road outside, using a small stone bridge at the car-park entrance as an altar. A worshipper described it as “a very moving experience, with much singing”, and said that the Peace had been shared with the police.

The obstruction is happening in spite of a High Court order on 17 December restraining the police from interfering with church activities. Justice Tedious Karwi upheld the interim ruling made by Justice Rita Makarau a year ago that church properties should be shared between the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) and the faction of the excommunicated former bishop Nolbert Kunonga, until the matter comes to court.

Justice Karwi ruled the Police Com­missioner, Augustine Chihuri, in contempt of court for violating the 2008 order. Together with the co-Ministers of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa, he was ordered to stop directing the police to interfere with parishioners. The three were also ordered to pay the legal costs.

The Bishop of Harare, the Rt Revd Chad Gandiya, has met with police obstruction at first hand. He has been locked out of churches, and police have boasted that Mr Chihuri was aware of what they were doing. “[The police officer] certainly gave the impression that he had been sanctioned by a higher authority to disturb our service,” he said after being prevented from taking a confirmation service in church (News, 11 December).

The trouble has spread in recent weeks to the neighbouring diocese of Manicaland, where the former bishop, Elson Jakazi, a close ally of Kunonga, was also excommunicated.

Dr Williams and Dr Sentamu concluded: “We stand in support of the dioceses of Harare and Manicaland under the Church of the Province of Central Africa in this regard. For many people in Zimbabwe, ground down by unceasing unemployment and lack of basic services, the church is their only lifeline.”

By Staff reporter and agencies