Church of Nigeria affirms confessional nature of Anglicanism

08 Oct 2015
by George Conger

The Church of Nigeria’s Standing Committee has released a communique following its 21-25 Sept 2015 meeting in Akure stating the terms upon which it will relate to other Anglican churches. Issued under the signature of the Primate of All-Nigeria, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, the statement said 147 bishops, 152 clergy and 68 lay members of the church’s General Synod, along with representatives of various guilds met at St David’s Cathedral in Akure.

While the bulk of the statement dealt with local issues -- public corruption, the threat to the nation from Boko Haram, poverty and economic opportunity, the Nigerian church leaders address two international concerns: the ecclesiology of the Anglican Communion and Human Sexuality. action in ensuring that the effects of flooding are mitigated. People living on water ways are called upon to heed timely warnings and relocate to uplands. On the issue of same-sex marriage, it “unanimously resolved to continue to maintain the orthodox biblical stand on this matter. It also calls on her members to defend the orthodox biblical teaching on marriage and family. On its part, the Federal Government is further enjoined to continue to resist the foreign pressure to make it rescind its stand on same-sex marriage.” In its statement on ecclesiology offered under the heading: “The Anglican Communion World”, the standing committee declared: “While the Anglican Communion continues to be impaired by revisionist theologies of some Anglican Provinces, the Standing Committee calls the leadership of the Anglican Communion to repentance and renewed faith in Christ as expressed in the bible, the articles of religion and the Jerusalem Declaration, and further reaffirms our commitment on these as the basis of our relationship with other parts of the communion.”

In 2005 the Church of Nigeria revised its constitution stating that its relations with other Anglican Churches was not based upon a common link to Canterbury, but to a shared doctrine expressed in the Book of Common Prayer and traditional Anglican formularies. Last week’s statement affirms the Church of Nigeria’s belief in a confessional definition of Anglicanism.

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