TODAY, all roads lead to All Saints Cathedral Church Onitsha in
Anambra State for the consecraof three new Bishops for the Church
of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion). It is heartwarming to note that the
incumbent Bishop and the host of the consecration service, Rt. Rev. Owen
Nwokolo was also consecrated in this Cathedral in 2011. The chief host
of this service is the new Dean of Church of Nigeria, the Archbishop of
the Ecclesiastical Province on the Niger and the Bishop of Aguata
Diocese, Most Rev. Christian Efobi together with the incumbent Bishop
will welcome the Primate of All Nigeria, Most Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh and
his brother Bishops to this all-important consecration service.
The service of consecration proper will be led by the Primate and to
be assisted by his brother Bishops. This will come shortly after the
Registrar of Church of Nigeria, Barrister Abraham Yisa, has successfully
administered various oaths, as prescribed by the Canons and
Constitution of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion) to the new
Bishops. It would be recalled that the persons to be consecrated at the
service namely: Ven. Captain Johnson Ekwe, Ven. Moses Tabwaye and Ven.
Isaac Oluyamo were elected as Bishops during the 2015 Bishops retreat in
January held in Ibru Centre. As it is and confirmed from the office of
the Primate, Ven. Captain Johnson will succeed Rt. Rev. Prof. Anthony
Nkwoka of Niger West Diocese, Ven. Moses will take over from Rt. Rev.
Philip Aduda of Gwagwalada Diocese, while Ven. Isaac will succeed Rt.
Rev. Titus Fajemirokun of Ijesha-North Diocese.
Prayerfully, the retreatant and preacher chosen by the Primate is the
Lord Bishop of Akoko Diocese, Rt. Rev. Gabriel Akinbiyi. He is the one
the Lord will use to prepare these new servants of God. We need to
specially thank God for what He is doing in His Church by selecting men
of good report, who are filled with the Holy Spirit, to lead His people
in this part of the world at this time. There is no doubt that the
Church in every age needs men who are well bred and lettered to divine
rightly the word of truth.
In Nigeria, we have been broken in various ways ranging from
hardship, unemployment, insecurity, poverty and environmental
degradation among others. So, we need men of God with the right word to
help console and heal the wounds in the minds of our people. It is hoped
that the Church of Nigeria, by this consecration service, has made a
monumental contribution by choosing the right persons to help bring the
needed succour. As men and women of goodwill gather from all nooks and
crannies of this nation to witness this consecration service, it is
hoped that they will help to uphold these new
Bishops in their prayers.
The bishopric office is an enormous one that is very involving and
demanding, too. It is one in which the family of the Bishop (wife and
children) are not left out. But invariably, they are expected to play a
significant role for success to be achieved. The age-long sociological
feeling is true that the family is the nucleus of society. Implying that
if we get it right at the family level, there is a tendency it will
impact positively in the wider society. For this new assignment, it is
required that the Church should pray earnestly for these new Bishops,
their wives and children, as they lead the Church of God in this new
era.
We, therefore, sincerely congratulate the new Bishops with their families and do wish them well in this new path.
Ven. Ernest Onuoha
Rector, Ibru International Ecumenical Centre,
Agbarha-Otor, Delta State.
Www.Ibrucnetre.Org
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