The Bishop of the Episcopal Church-Diocese of Malek in Bor has refuted tendering in his alleged resignation letter, challenging the Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan to make it public.
On Monday, Justin Badi Arama wrote a letter, approving a resignation letter by Bishop Jooh Mayom.
“It is not true because I did not resign. The office of the Primate should provide that document in which I allegedly resigned,” he told Mingkaman FM on Wednesday.
Badi’s approval letter had sparked debate on social media as some members of Malek diocese questioned why their bishop resigned without informing the congregation.
Jooh said he only wrote a letter to Badi, declaring the diocesan autonomy until the ECSS resolved conflict in Jonglei Internal Province.
“What I wrote on 25 November was our position as the diocese of Malek where we declared our autonomy from ECSS until Badi and Akurdit plus Anur resolved the wrangle in Jonglei,” he continued.
“Badi is a leader, and he cannot create what I did not say. For him to convince his readers, let him provide my letter and post it on social media so that people can also read it.”
Mingkaman’s attempts to get hold of Gabriel Manyang, communication director for the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, were not immediately successful.
The Episcopal Church of South Sudan in Jonglei has been in crisis since 2020 when Justin Badi Arama defrocked Reuben Akurdid Nong Akurdid and appointed Moses Anur as the archbishop for Jonglei Internal Province.
Akurdid later refused to step down and formed his group to resist the removal. All the efforts to resolve the matter, including the involvement of the office of the President yielded no positive results.