Ten New Bishops Join Anglican Church of Nigeria

By Pauline J. Chang, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, March 15, 2005

The largest church body within the worldwide Anglican Communion consecrated ten new bishops with a festive celebration on Sunday, March 13, 2005. The ten new bishops were ordained at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Abuja, to accommodate the explosive growth of Nigerian Anglicans.

Numbering at 17 million, Nigerian Anglicans account for nearly a quarter of the 77 million Anglicans in the world. The ten new bishops will oversee ten new dioceses added to the Nigerian Church.

The new bishops and their dioceses are: the Rt Revd Edafe Emamezi, elected Bishop of Warri; the Rt Revd Ezekiel Awosoga, Bishop of Ijebu; the Rt Revd Matthew Osunade, Bishop of Ogbomosho; the Rt Revd Joseph Adeyemi, Bishop of Badagary; the Rt Revd Duke Akamisoko, Bishop of Zonkwa; the Rt Revd Samuel Chukuka, Bishop of Isikwuato; the Rt Revd Joseph Musa, Bishop of Idah; the Rt Revd Solomon Gberegbara, Bishop of Ogoni; the Rt Revd Johnson Onuoha, Bishop of Arochukwu/Ohafia; and the Rt Revd Chigozirim Onyegbule, Bishop of Ikwuano.

According to the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS), some 1,700 parishioners traveled from across Nigeria to take part in the celebration, and Radio Nigeria – which has more than 50 radio stations in its network – ran a three-hour live broadcast of the event.
The Primate, or Archbishop, of Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter Akinola, presided at the service that “would be remembered for consecrating the largest number of bishops in one sitting,” according to ACNS.