Recently, it was celebration galore at the Gospel Anglican Church, Ajagbadi, Lagos. The occasion was the ordination service for new ministers of the church. The new clerics were resplendent in their white robes which, according to them, stood for purity.
The ordination service commenced at 9.am when the bishop and other ministers walked in amid songs of praise by the choristers and the entire congregation.
The church wore a solemn look as the candidates to be ordained were presented at the altar by the Gospel Anglican Bishop of Lagos, Rt. Rev. Chukwuereka Iheanachor. The man of God prayed for the glory of God to overwhelm the new ministers of the gospel and for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
A note from the [url=http://www.anglican-nig.org/main.php?k_j=13&d=65&p_t=main.php?k_j=46&c_c=&c_y=]Bishop’s Retreat[/url] of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) this past January:
[blockquote]We are aware of the activities of one self-appointed “Bishop†Maxvirgin Iheanacho, a dismissed priest of Orlu Diocese, who now promotes an organization called “Gospel Anglican Churchâ€. Please be informed that he has nothing whatsoever to do with the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). Do not allow him to deceive you.[/blockquote]
On the other hand, Bishop Iheanachor [url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200808050352.html]writes:[/url]
[blockquote]Bishop Iheanachor disclosed that Gospel Anglican church which broke away from the church of Nigeria Anglican communion was fulfilling God’s mandate which is to preach the gospel.
“As a true Anglican Church, the Gospel Anglican Church has borne witness to Christian truth in her historic formularies. Viz, the book of common prayer and the ordinary.
“We have kept the tradition of faith as we received them from our forebearers with conscience before God and all men while maintaining a distance, we are matching with keen interest the happenings in the global Anglican family.
He re-emphasised the importance of indigenous language in worship and evangelisation saying that the Anglican church has erred from the faith of the scriptures and the faith of our fathers.
“The primate of the church of Nigeria is now wiser than the Holy spirit. In his new found wisdom, he has decreed some languages out of use in the church. He now decides which language should be used to worship God and which one should not.
“In the diocese of Abuja, where the primate of church of Nigeria holds court, you dare not as much sing a chorus in any other language save English and Hausa. And this is despite the fact that many people in the city undrstand neither English nor Hausa. This is the background of our history,” he said.[/blockquote]
All is not sweetness, light, and unity in any part of Anglicanism, apparently.