| Anglican Church: kaduna
pastor thrown out of home •Parishioners declare ‘secession’
By Kenny Ashaka, Kaduna [ [email protected] ]
Sunday, July 25, 2004
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Assistant
Priest, Reverend J.C. Ezenachukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion in Kaduna boiled
over at the weekend as parishioners of the Christ Anglican
Church forcibly ejected its Assistant Priest, Reverend J.C.
Ezenachukwu from his official quarters.
After the ejection, the parishioners hired a cab and asked
the Assistant Priest to head for any destination he wished.
The estranged Reverend Ezenachukwu fought back tears for minutes
apparently ruminating his next step before leaving the church
premises for an unknown destination.
In their letter of “ejection” addressed to His
Grace, the Bishop of Kaduna Diocese and Arch Bishop of Kaduna
Province (Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion) dated 20th
of July, 2004, and signed by Mr. Chris Duru (Church Secretary
of the Christ Anglican Church), the parishioners said the
services and pastoring of their church by the Assistant Priest,
Rev. J.C. Ezenachukwu was no longer required.
The letter, also copied to the Vicar-in-charge of Christ Anglican
Church, Ven. Praises Omolekun, was categorical about the new
status of the church, saying “by this (letter), we are
informing you that as from the date of this letter, Christ
Anglican Church, Katsina Road, Kaduna, ceases to be part of
the Kaduna Diocese of Anglican Communion.”
The letter further read in parts: “He (Rev. Ezenachukwu)
is by copy of this letter, advised to leave Christ Church
and its premises with immediate effect”.
The ejection of the Assistant Priest was the chimax of several
months’ rumblings of discontent over alleged wrongdoings
by the Bishop of Kaduna Diocese, Arch Bishop Josiah Idowu
Fearon.
The bone of contention is the clamour for an Igbo-speaking
Priest for the Christ Anglican Church which claimed that its
congregation is 100 percent Igbo.
The Christ Anglican Church alleged “marginalisation”
of the church and cited numerous actions of the Bishop which
they consider as unsavoury.
In its petition to the Metropolitian and Primate of all Nigeria,
Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, The Most Rev. Peter
J. Akinola and the House of Bishops, the parishioners further
listed the stopping of the preparation for the Harvest Thanksgiving,
the suspension of the church from participation in the Third
Plenary Session of the Second Session of the 16th Synod as
evidence high-handedness of the Arch Bishop of Kaduna:
“Our church is aggrieved by our Bishop’s impatience
and outbursts and the consequent suspension/threat of more
sanctions even as we had pleaded for more dialogue on the
contentious issues.
“The congregation of our church is 100 percent Igbo-speaking
and our worship has been in Igbo language from inception in
1946 till date. Just recently, our Bishop said that his vision
for moving the diocese forward was integration and thought
that the best way to go about it was to disintegrate churches
that worship in vernacular without their consent.
“In order to actualize the plan, he transferred some
priests, including Ven. A. Ogunyemi who was transferred to
Christ Church as Vicar. When he came to our Church on 28th
February, 2004 and announced the postings, the entire congregation
spontaneously rejected the proposal and requested for its
review.
“We thought that as a man of God, our Bishop would have
had sobre reflection over his actions. Rather, he insisted,
trusting on the powers bestowed on him by the constitution
of Anglican Communion, hence the present impasse”.
Similarly, they expressed worry over the coincidence “
that Christ Church came to be in 1946 when Rev. E.Z. Fearon
(RIP) (the Arch Bishops Father) was Vicar of St. Michael’s
Church when the Igbo section of the Church was forced out
which led to Igbos building their Church which is the present
Christ Church and now our Bishop Idowu Fearon is forcing us
out of the diocese.”
They made a case for an Igbo-speaking priest “so that
a bulk of us who do not understand English can find Christ
Church as a niche to worship the Almighty God in the language
they understand.
“A situation where they cannot understand directly the
sermon, Absolution or Benediction from their vicar is obviously
unfair.”
Responding however, the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion,
Diocese of Kaduna in its letter to the Christ Anglican Church
and signed by the Diocesan Synod Secretary, Atie Clement expressed
its regret that in spite of previous dialogues, the Christ
Church was still adamant.
“We are sad to note that in spite of the several consultations,
and appeals by the Diocesan Council, the clergy and many well-meaning
members of the Diocese on this matter, the position of some
of our brethren at Christ Church has remained the same.
“It is therefore with a heavy heart that we are asking
you to convey the following decisions to our brethren at Christ
Church.
•Christ Church, Kaduna is suspended from being represented
at this year’s Synod.
•Payment of assessment by Christ Church to the Diocese
is suspended in the interim.
•By the end of this year’s Synod, the Assistant
Priest presently serving in the Church will be withdrawn if
the vicar posted to the church is not allowed to assume his
pastoral duties”.
To this, the parishioners, in yet another letter, insisted
that their rejection of the Vicar, Ven. A. Ogunyemi is on
the grounds that he is not fluent in Igbo language and that,
moreover, he (Ogunyemi) is “the principal cause of the
whole problem and therefore cannot turn around to assume the
position of Vicar in-charge of Christ Anglican Church”.
Following their decision to quit the Diocese, the signboard
of the Church has been pulled down by irate parishioners.
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