Statement of the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria
CONN/150305
The Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion is optimistic that the decision of the Anglican Primates by asking the ECUSA and the Church of Canada to withdraw from the Communion will bring genuine repentance to the churches.
In a statement, the first issued by the Nigerian Church after the Primates meeting in February, the Standing Committee of the Church commended the Anglican Primates for standing up for orthodoxy in Christian faith and morals.
They interpreted the call for withdrawal to mean `` the suspension of ECUSA and the Church in Canada over their stance on human sexuality.
The statement was issued at the just concluded Standing Committee held at the Cathedral Church of St Michael Kaduna.
Read full text of communiqué:
Monday 21 March 2005
Tuesday 15 March 2005
Church of Nigeria elects new Bishop of Gusau, receives application for more dioceses
Church of Nigeria elects new Bishop of Gusau, receives application for more dioceses
(CONN/130305)
Following the translation of Bishop Simon Bala to the missionary Diocese of Kubwa, the Episcopal synod of the Church of Nigeria has announced the election of Rev. Canon John Garba as the new Bishop of Gusau Diocese.
Also the Standing Committee of the Church has received application for the creation of three additional dioceses.
The announcement was made by the Primate of the Anglican Church Archbishop Peter Akinola at the just concluded bi-annual meeting of the Church held in Kaduna.
Born in 1958, Rev. Garba until his election was a priest at St. Michael’s Cathedral Kaduna. He was ordained in 1991 and has served as minister in Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto States.
The Bishop elect told our correspondent “shortly after my ordination in 1991 I spent four months in Gusau. I consider my going there in 2005 as a Bishop as a very great challenge to me.”
Meanwhile two Anglican Bishops are billed to retire by September 2005. They are Bishops Jeremiah Fabuluje of the diocese of Kwara and Nathaniel Yisa of the diocese of Minna.
The mandatory retirement age for Bishops in the Anglican Church is 70 however the clergymen are at liberty to retire before the specified age.
Bishops Fabuluje and Yisa preached their valedictory sermons at the Kaduna meeting.
In his sermon topic entitled Obedience, the retiring Bishop of Kwara urged Christians to think more seriously of the salvation of souls than the raising of funds for building physical structures.
Speaking on the same topic, Bishop of Minna called on Christians to be more generous in their offerings to God as the Lord appreciates sacrificial offering given in obedience and humility.
According to him “to believe in Jesus Christ, belong to him and behave like him is the total sum of obedience. ’’
In a related development the bi-annual meeting of the Church also received application for the creation of three additional dioceses.
They are the Ijebu-Igbo to be carved out from the Diocese of Ijebu, Aguata from the Diocese of Awka and Missionary Diocese of Western Izon from the Diocese of Warri.
However, the ratification of the proposed dioceses (full-fledged) will depend on their ability to meet their financial obligation to the church including the endowment fund, Lambeth conference and an investment fund paid to the national office
(CONN/130305)
Following the translation of Bishop Simon Bala to the missionary Diocese of Kubwa, the Episcopal synod of the Church of Nigeria has announced the election of Rev. Canon John Garba as the new Bishop of Gusau Diocese.
Also the Standing Committee of the Church has received application for the creation of three additional dioceses.
The announcement was made by the Primate of the Anglican Church Archbishop Peter Akinola at the just concluded bi-annual meeting of the Church held in Kaduna.
Born in 1958, Rev. Garba until his election was a priest at St. Michael’s Cathedral Kaduna. He was ordained in 1991 and has served as minister in Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto States.
The Bishop elect told our correspondent “shortly after my ordination in 1991 I spent four months in Gusau. I consider my going there in 2005 as a Bishop as a very great challenge to me.”
Meanwhile two Anglican Bishops are billed to retire by September 2005. They are Bishops Jeremiah Fabuluje of the diocese of Kwara and Nathaniel Yisa of the diocese of Minna.
The mandatory retirement age for Bishops in the Anglican Church is 70 however the clergymen are at liberty to retire before the specified age.
Bishops Fabuluje and Yisa preached their valedictory sermons at the Kaduna meeting.
In his sermon topic entitled Obedience, the retiring Bishop of Kwara urged Christians to think more seriously of the salvation of souls than the raising of funds for building physical structures.
Speaking on the same topic, Bishop of Minna called on Christians to be more generous in their offerings to God as the Lord appreciates sacrificial offering given in obedience and humility.
According to him “to believe in Jesus Christ, belong to him and behave like him is the total sum of obedience. ’’
In a related development the bi-annual meeting of the Church also received application for the creation of three additional dioceses.
They are the Ijebu-Igbo to be carved out from the Diocese of Ijebu, Aguata from the Diocese of Awka and Missionary Diocese of Western Izon from the Diocese of Warri.
However, the ratification of the proposed dioceses (full-fledged) will depend on their ability to meet their financial obligation to the church including the endowment fund, Lambeth conference and an investment fund paid to the national office
Tuesday 8 March 2005
Anglican Churchmen converge in Kaduna
Anglican Churchmen converge in Kaduna
By Peter Onwubuariri
CONN/100305
Abuja, March 8- About 400 Nigerian Anglican churchmen representing the laity, clergy and Bishops will be gathering in the northern city of Kaduna for their bi-annual meeting, which is set to be dominated by issues concerning the growth of the church and the state of the nation.
The meeting otherwise known as The Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion will take place at the Cathedral Church of St. Michael Kaduna from March 9-12.
A major concern of the Kaduna meeting will be the appraisal of the vision of the Church of Nigeria initiated by the Primate of All Nigeria, Archbishop Peter Akinola shortly after his presentation in 2000 as the leader of the 17-million Nigerian Anglican congregation.
At the starting of his public ministry as Primate of Nigeria, Archbishop Akinola encapsulated the five key areas of the vision to include evangelism, spirituality, unity, caring and relationships with other faith.
Five years after, a gathering of the inner lives of the 10 provinces and over 80 dioceses of the Church of Nigeria with representatives of laity, clergy and bishops will evaluate how the Church has (and hasn’t) changed.
One distinct area that will engage the meeting is the issue of funds particularly the N1 billion endowment fund initiated in 2000 with the aim to finance the activities and programmes of the church.
With a good endowment fund in place, the burden of fund raising by the Bishops and their dioceses should be reduced. In fact dioceses are now enjoying a reduction in the annual assessment paid to the central pool. This is supposed to eventually be passed down to individual churches
However the Primate is worried that the endowment fund is not being fully gathered as and when it ought to even though the dioceses got 15 per cent reduction in their assessment in 2005
On evangelism, the 26-year old church of Nigeria has been involved in massive church planting and creation of additional missionary dioceses.
From 29 dioceses in 1989, the church grew to 76 dioceses in 1999 and a record of 91 dioceses in 2005.
Keeping with his vision for growth, the present Primate has gone ahead to create 14 dioceses in the past five years.
His predecessor Archbishop Joseph Adetiloye, the 2nd Primate and Metropolitan Church of Nigeria (1988-99) created 47 dioceses.
With over 5,000 priests, the leadership of the church has repeatedly admonished clergymen that the emphasis on growth is not just in numbers but in deeper understanding of the word of God facilitated by enhanced attendance at bible study, prayer meetings, worship services and stewardship.
In Kaduna, delegates will be briefed on the outcome of the just concluded Primates meeting held in Northern Ireland, particularly on matters affecting sexuality and the North American churches uncompromising liberal stand.
Last month, Primates of the Anglican Communion asked the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) to voluntarily withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference of in 2008.
In 2003, the Nigerian Anglican Church severed links with some US dioceses that approved and consecrated Gene Robinson, a homosexual as the Bishop of New Hampshire.
It also broke ties with the Canadian church for authorizing the blessing of same-sex unions.
On national issues, the meeting is expected to voice out on some burning issues.
At present some 400 Nigerians are in Abuja attending the National Political Reform Conference.
Anglican Bishop of Lagos West Diocese, Peter Adebiyi is among the six delegates of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
Archbishop Peter Akinola has declared his support for the conference and hinted that CAN delegates will canvass religious tolerance and a halt to the killing of their members in the country.
Interestingly Kaduna has witnessed bloody clashes between Christians and Muslims in the past four years.
The churchmen will use the occasion of the meeting to hoist an olive branch of peace and unity to a region which has become notorious for restiveness.
By Peter Onwubuariri
CONN/100305
Abuja, March 8- About 400 Nigerian Anglican churchmen representing the laity, clergy and Bishops will be gathering in the northern city of Kaduna for their bi-annual meeting, which is set to be dominated by issues concerning the growth of the church and the state of the nation.
The meeting otherwise known as The Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion will take place at the Cathedral Church of St. Michael Kaduna from March 9-12.
A major concern of the Kaduna meeting will be the appraisal of the vision of the Church of Nigeria initiated by the Primate of All Nigeria, Archbishop Peter Akinola shortly after his presentation in 2000 as the leader of the 17-million Nigerian Anglican congregation.
At the starting of his public ministry as Primate of Nigeria, Archbishop Akinola encapsulated the five key areas of the vision to include evangelism, spirituality, unity, caring and relationships with other faith.
Five years after, a gathering of the inner lives of the 10 provinces and over 80 dioceses of the Church of Nigeria with representatives of laity, clergy and bishops will evaluate how the Church has (and hasn’t) changed.
One distinct area that will engage the meeting is the issue of funds particularly the N1 billion endowment fund initiated in 2000 with the aim to finance the activities and programmes of the church.
With a good endowment fund in place, the burden of fund raising by the Bishops and their dioceses should be reduced. In fact dioceses are now enjoying a reduction in the annual assessment paid to the central pool. This is supposed to eventually be passed down to individual churches
However the Primate is worried that the endowment fund is not being fully gathered as and when it ought to even though the dioceses got 15 per cent reduction in their assessment in 2005
On evangelism, the 26-year old church of Nigeria has been involved in massive church planting and creation of additional missionary dioceses.
From 29 dioceses in 1989, the church grew to 76 dioceses in 1999 and a record of 91 dioceses in 2005.
Keeping with his vision for growth, the present Primate has gone ahead to create 14 dioceses in the past five years.
His predecessor Archbishop Joseph Adetiloye, the 2nd Primate and Metropolitan Church of Nigeria (1988-99) created 47 dioceses.
With over 5,000 priests, the leadership of the church has repeatedly admonished clergymen that the emphasis on growth is not just in numbers but in deeper understanding of the word of God facilitated by enhanced attendance at bible study, prayer meetings, worship services and stewardship.
In Kaduna, delegates will be briefed on the outcome of the just concluded Primates meeting held in Northern Ireland, particularly on matters affecting sexuality and the North American churches uncompromising liberal stand.
Last month, Primates of the Anglican Communion asked the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) to voluntarily withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference of in 2008.
In 2003, the Nigerian Anglican Church severed links with some US dioceses that approved and consecrated Gene Robinson, a homosexual as the Bishop of New Hampshire.
It also broke ties with the Canadian church for authorizing the blessing of same-sex unions.
On national issues, the meeting is expected to voice out on some burning issues.
At present some 400 Nigerians are in Abuja attending the National Political Reform Conference.
Anglican Bishop of Lagos West Diocese, Peter Adebiyi is among the six delegates of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
Archbishop Peter Akinola has declared his support for the conference and hinted that CAN delegates will canvass religious tolerance and a halt to the killing of their members in the country.
Interestingly Kaduna has witnessed bloody clashes between Christians and Muslims in the past four years.
The churchmen will use the occasion of the meeting to hoist an olive branch of peace and unity to a region which has become notorious for restiveness.
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