Dust up over creation of new diocese of the Anglican Church of Nigeria

The Daily Sun News (Nigeria):

Justice Obiora, chairman of the committee, in explaining the rationale behind the Diocesan Synod’s rejection of the application, after their working tour of the areas where they conducted a referendum, emphasized that any diocese to be created out of the existing one should promote peace and unity of the church and should not be designed to satisfy the whims and caprices of a few individuals in a community.

In his contribution,the chancellor of the Diocese on the Niger, Professor Ilochi Okafor, reminded the agitators that their request must meet the provisions of the constitution of the communion, stressing that any request made for a new diocese by any part of the communion should be properly channelled and must represent the wishes and aspirations of the people asking for the new diocese.

Okafor, who is also the vice chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, warned that the church would not allow a situation where a group of people in a community cause disaffection among other members in the quest for a new diocese.

Referring to the agitation for the creation of Obosi Diocese, the chancellor made it categorically clear that no diocese would be created in an atmosphere of rancour and bitterness, adding that the recent press statements on the issue lacked merit and at the same time violated the constitution of the Church of Nigeria.

The applicants which did not hide their feelings when they discovered that their application had been rejected, had accused the bishop on the Niger of blocking the creation of Obosi diocese to pave way for the creation of Ubiaja diocese which will have Awka-Etiti, the bishop’s home town as the headquarters with Obosi as part of the diocese.

Read it all here.

Past Posts
Categories