In a statement to Lusa, Bishop Alberto Segunda said that the UCKG has been taking legal action, including an injunction, on which there has not yet been a decision.
In a communiqué published in the Angolan newspaper Jornal de Angola, the UCKG clarifies the general public, and its faithful, about the leadership of the church originally created in Brazil, stating that it is represented in the African country by the Angolan António Miguel Ferraz, as vice-president of the board of directors.
After months of internal conflicts and convulsions, the UCKG has girded itself, and the dissident wing (Angolan) has created a Reform Commission, in disagreement with the Brazilian leadership.
The National Institute for Religious Affairs (INAR), an institution assigned to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment, recognized the leadership of the dissident bishop, Valente Bezerra Luís on the basis of minutes approved at an extraordinary general meeting on June 24, confirming his legitimacy to represent the church in state bodies, civil associations, public and private.
However, the UCKG reaffirms in the communiqué that "none of the individuals that make up the self-titled 'Commission for Reform of the UCKG' is a member of the UCKG or is the holder of its governing bodies, so they do not have any powers to represent it" and are not legitimized to call the general meeting of the UCKG.
"The purpose of this communiqué is to show society in general that the reformers do not have the legitimacy to schedule any meeting, so by doing so they are violating the principles of the UCKG itself," said Alberto Segunda.
The bishop added that the UCKG will hold, that day, a "solemn assembly" with the purpose of praying for the problems of the country.
In the communiqué, the UCKG stressed that "it is a worldwide religious confession that is not confused and has nothing to do with the members" of the self-titled "Commission for Reform of the UCKG" and said that Valente Bizerra Luis "was disconnected from the UCKG in 2019 for misconduct.
He also states that he "will continue to adopt all the necessary measures to put an end to the unlawful action" of the Reform Commission "in the conviction that the administrative and judicial authorities of the Republic of Angola will not fail to enforce the Law and the Constitution.
On 31 January, thousands of members of the UCKG parade in Luanda, demanding the opening of temples and defending the union of the church.
The Attorney General's Office seized and ordered the closure, last year, of the UCKG's cathedrals in several provinces for the alleged crimes of criminal association, tax fraud, illegal export of capital and other crimes of a similar nature, following the dispute between the dissidents of the Angolan wing and the Brazilian pastors of the church founded by Edir Macedo.
The UCKG considered, however, that the seizures were illegal and an attack on religious freedom.
The Angolan wing stated that the decision to break with the Brazilian representation in Angola, headed by Bishop Honorilton Gonçalves, faithful to Edir Macedo, was due to practices contrary to religion, such as the demand for vasectomy, chemical castration, racism practices, social discrimination, abuse of authority, in addition to the evasion of foreign currency outside the country.
The allegations are denied by the UCKG Angola, which in turn accused the dissidents of "xenophobic attacks" and aggressions on pastors and also filed legal proceedings against the former members.
