NIGERIA: The head of Nigeria's Anglican church welcomes the appointment of Bishop Justin Welby as the new leader of the world's Anglicans
Record ID:
235813
NIGERIA: The head of Nigeria's Anglican church welcomes the appointment of Bishop Justin Welby as the new leader of the world's Anglicans
- Title: NIGERIA: The head of Nigeria's Anglican church welcomes the appointment of Bishop Justin Welby as the new leader of the world's Anglicans
- Date: 9th November 2012
- Summary: ABUJA, NIGERIA (NOVEMBER 9, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIORS OF ANGLICAN CHURCH IN ABUJA RIGHT REVEREND NICHOLA OKOH IN HIS OFFICE CONGRESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPH IN THE OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRIMATE OF ANGLICAN NIGERIA, RIGHT REVEREND NICHOLAS OKOH, SAYING: "We wish our new Archbishop a lot of grace from God, we pray that God will give grace to know how to go about it. He needs a lot of courage, he needs a lot of courage." PHOTOGRAPH IN OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRIMATE OF ANGLICAN NIGERIA, RIGHT REVEREND NICHOLAS OKOH, SAYING: "He is coming to meet a house that is grievously divided and his task I believe, the major task ahead of him, is how to bring this divided house together to be able to have a church that is alive, that is , carrying on, that is carrying on the ministry of witnessing effectively." EXTERIOR OF NATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE IN ABUJA VARIOUS OF WORSHIPERS AT A CHURCH CONVENTION (SOUNDBITE) (English) BISHOP OF IFE DIOCESE, RIGHT REVEREND ODUGBOGUN OLUWOTI, SAYING: "The church of Nigeria's position on the issue of homosexuality is more than very clear - it is that we believe in the biblical orthodoxy, we believe in the scriptures and we relate with anyone who takes the word of God as written in the scriptures seriously. There are those particularly in the West who today have decided to rewrite the scriptures. Marriage is between man and woman." VARIOUS OF WORSHIPERS IN CHURCH
- Embargoed: 24th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nigeria
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Religion,Religion
- Reuters ID: LVAEPGVXJO8JEE8V0YY2KRLE899N
- Story Text: Leaders of the Anglican church in Nigeria welcomed the appointment of Bishop Justin Welby on Friday (November 9) as the next Archbishop of Canterbury and hoped he would reunite and the church dived over issues such as homosexuality.
Right Reverend Nicholas Okoh, the Primate Anglican Church Nigeria said he welcomed the appointment of Bishop Welby and wished him strength and courage to tackle challenges facing the church.
"We wish our new Archbishop a lot of grace from God, we pray that God will give grace to know how to go about it. He needs a lot of courage, he needs a lot of courage," he said.
Okoh added that Welby's appointment comes at a time when the Anglican church across the world was greatly dived and that the effects has been felt in Nigeria, with many members opting for pentecostal evangelism and other faiths.
"He is coming to meet a house that is grievously divided and his task I believe, the major task ahead of him is how to bring this divided house together to be able to have a church that is alive, that is carrying on, that is carrying on the ministry of witnessing effectively," said Okoh.
Nigeria has over 18 million Anglican followers and majority are opposed to issues like same-sex marriages and gay priests.
"The church of Nigeria's position on the issue of homosexuality is more than very clear, it is that we believe in the biblical orthodoxy, we believe in the scriptures and we relate with anyone who takes the word of God as written in the scriptures seriously, there are those particularly in the West who today have decided to rewrite the scriptures. Marriage is between man and woman," said Bishop Odugbogun Olumoti.
Nigeria's population of over 150 million people is divided roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.
END - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None