The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has formally presented Bishop of Ikwerre, Rivers State, The Most Rev. (Dr.) Blessing Enyindah, who was duly elected to succeed the Most Rev. Tunde Adeleye as the Archbishop of Niger Delta Province.
Enyindah, whose election held recently at Bethany Chapel, Faith Plaza, Bariga, Lagos was certificated for the office by Primate of the Church of Nigeria, The Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Asaba, Delta State, last Sunday, at a Consecration Service, where two other Bishops-elect, The Ven. Victor Ebipade Okporu and The Ven. Nneoyi Onen Egbe, were also consecrated as Bishops of the Dioceses of Western Izon, Delta State and Calabar, Cross Rivers State.
Enyindah is the third Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Niger Delta, consisting the Anglican Dioceses in Rivers, Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states. He is also the Vice Chairman of the ACNN TV Board of Governors and Registrar of the Church of Nigeria’s Senior Clergy Advanced Management School.
Preaching at the service, the Bishop of Ilesa and Director of the Church of Nigeria Senior Clergy Management School, the Rt. Rev. Dr Samuel Sowale, urged the clergy to flee from evil and pursue godliness. He said the beauty of Bishop’s ministry lies in its collegiality. He encouraged them to work together with other Bishops in guarding the faith, protecting the unity and discipline of the church and being source of strength and inspiration to the people.
Delta State Governor, Sir Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa and his wife, Dame Evangelist Edith Okowa was among the dignitaries that attended the event. The governor, who also read the Old Testament Lesson, charged men of God to always resist the temptation of resorting to enticing words of man’s wisdom in a vain attempt to make the gospel appealing and acceptable to the secular mind, saying, “happenings in the contemporary world and church are a fulfilment of Paul’s prophecy that the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”
He called on clerics to be diligent, while presenting themselves as approved to God, rightly preaching the truth.
“Every God-ordained preacher of the gospel is not at liberty to exchange God’s truth for his opinions, traditions or philosophies of men. The Word of God is supposed to change us, not men changing the word to suit their circumstances,” he said.
The Head of Anglican Communion, Ndukuba, while commending Okowa for his godliness, commitment to the church and his outstanding accomplishments in the governance of Delta, said: “When the righteous is on the throne, the people rejoice. We are proud of you because you are, indeed, the people’s governor and a true servant of God.”
The host Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Justus Mogekwu, also commended Okowa for his continued support to the church, including hosting the Consecration/Presentation Service. Mogekwu also appreciated Ndukuba, who was elected Primate at the Asaba Cathedral, for the privilege of hosting the service before eventually bowing out from active service as Bishop of the Diocese.
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