A news report that Archbishop of Nigeria said CANA was no longer a missionary diocese of his province caused an exchange emails/phone calls between CANA and the Church of Nigeria.
Bishop Martyn Minns’ Archdeacon, The Ven Julian Dobbs, writes:
CANA’s Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns (who is currently in Singapore en route to Nigeria for the Church of Nigeria’s House of Bishops’ meeting, which is to be followed by a meeting of the Church of Nigeria’s Standing Committee) has asked me to pass along this information to you:
Earlier this morning Bishop Minns heard from both Archbishop Nicholas Okoh and Registrar Abraham Yisa who were surprised to see a recent statement in the media that suggests that CANA is no longer part of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
Both Archbishop Okoh as well as Registrar Yisa told Bishop Minns that such reports are erroneous. They assured him that there has been no change in the status that exists between CANA and the Church of Nigeria, that Bishop Minns and CANA’s suffragan bishops continue to serve as members of the House of Bishops in the Church of Nigeria, and that the Church of Nigeria at the same time continues to promote the full recognition of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) as a province in the Anglican Communion.
Information regarding the relationship that exists between CANA, the Church of Nigeria, and the ACNA can be found on the CANA website
Okoh and Yisa were “surprised”, but Minns was not?
The points we raised Wednesday remain. CANA and the Church of Nigeria define themselves as they wish to suit the circumstances. CANA cannot be a part of the Anglican Communion. Provinces cannot cross boundaries, adopt churches as members and by doing so unilaterally make them Anglican. Moreover, unauthorized boundary crossing is subject to a sanction set by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Southern Cone has been subjected to this sanction, but Nigeria has not. And The Episcopal Church has been punished for consecrating gay bishops. Why is Nigeria exempt?