By Winsley Masese

The Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ has ordained two priests and three deacons in Kisumu.

Archbishop Karl Raymond Rodig, the head of the group, defended their decision to split from the Catholic Church saying: "This is not an offensive move but an invitation for all churches to work together to preserve the dignity of the Church."

Those ordained into deaconship include Lucas Musamari, Charles Olunga from Kakamega and John Anjelo from Uganda. Ordained priests include Chrisanthus Mukhalukha and Francis Nyawir.

Rodig said priests and bishops in the 11th century were married, and hence, they were not going against any of the church’s doctrines.

"We want to go back to the 11th century where 11 of 12 priests were married," he said.

He also called for respect from other denominations, as they are "registered in many countries and doing the work of Christ".

But father Vincent Ouma of the Catholic Church in Kisumu said celibacy for priests and bishops was healthy.

"Celibacy requires discipline and helps the church," he said.

He said ordaining married priests and bishops was likely to breed unfaithful married priests as marriage has its challenges.

He, however, admitted there are numerous temptations and urged the faithful to be led by the Holy Spirit.

"People are occupied by diverse thoughts and with modernism, they can deviate to different ways of doing things," added father Ouma.

A participant, Julius Balala, said ordination of married priests is positive.

"The practice has been a taboo and not spiritual. When the former is left to control the church, it is likely to fail," he said.

The splinter church has more than one million followers worldwide, and about 10, 000 faithful locally.