Peter Akinola

Peter Akinola

Peter Jasper Akinola (born January 27, 1944 in Abeokuta , Nigeria ) was primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria from 2000 to 2010 , since 1997 Archbishop of Province III of the Church of Nigeria (which covers northern and central Nigeria) and since 1989 Bishop of Abuja . Peter Akinola belongs theologically to the Low Church and is considered a conservative evangelical . Akinola was considered a primate as the leading figure of the numerically superior Conservative Provinces of the Anglican community , which insist on the consensus of Lambeth 98 and thus stand in stark contrast to the majority position in the liberal provinces of the Episcopal Church of the United States and Anglican Church of Canada . The accusation was heard from these provinces that he wanted to split the Anglican Church.

Life

Akinola was born in southwest Nigeria to a Christian Yoruba family. His father died when he was four years old and Akinola had to drop out of school early because of the tight circumstances.

He learned the carpentry trade and at the age of twenty he had a successful furniture business and also made up his Abitur through correspondence courses. In his early twenties he decided to become an Anglican priest and first studied at an Anglican seminary in Nigeria and shortly after his ordination at Virginia Theological Seminary in the United States

He returned to Nigeria in the early 1980s and was entrusted with the task of creating an Anglican presence in the new capital Abuja, which was under construction. Akinola considers it one of his greatest achievements that he was able to build a large, vibrant Anglican church in Abuja from nothing.

In 1989 he was elected Bishop of Abuja, and in 1997 Archbishop of Province III consisting of the northern dioceses of Nigeria. On February 22, 2000, he was elected Primate of the Church of Nigeria and thus head of the second largest church in the Anglican Church Fellowship, with almost 18 million members .

From 2004 to June 2007 Peter Akinola was also the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria , which represents seven different churches and several Christian organizations in Nigeria. As such, he had the National Christian Center in Abuja completed within a year , which had been in ruins for 16 years as the National Ecumenical Center.

He does not hold back with his opinion towards politicians. In 2007 he told the newly resigned President and born again Christian Olusegun Obasanjo from the pulpit: "Now we command you from this pulpit that you must devote the rest of your life to the service of God and the humble service of your poor neighbors."

In 2003 Akinola was elected chairman of the 42 million Anglican Anglican Provinces in Africa (CAPA), which is made up of the 12 African provinces and the diocese of Egypt. In addition to this role, he also chaired the third meeting of the Global South of the Anglican Communion, comprising 18 provinces and 55 million Anglicans .

In May 2006 and again in May 2007, Time Magazine named him among the 100 Most Influential People in the World. The Nigerian newspaper ThisDay also gave him, together with Kofi Annan, a Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of "Strengthening Democracy, Growing the Human Capital"

Peter Akinola is married and has six children.

Church politics

The vision of the Church of Nigeria

One of his first acts as the new Archbishop was to call together 400 bishops, priests, lay people and members of the Mothers' Association to develop a vision for the Church of Nigeria under the direction of Ernest Shonekan , a former President of Nigeria. The process consisted of a sober, realistic inventory of the current situation, working out a vision in different groups, which was then brought together in plenary, and working out concrete steps to achieve this vision.

The vision was:

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Church Fellowship) should be: biblical, spiritually dynamic, united, disciplined, self-financed, committed to pragmatic evangelism and social commitment. It should be a church that embodies the real love of Christ.

The concrete steps that were worked out included:

• at a central level
  • translating the liturgical books into other languages
  • the formation of a working group of 3000 leading lay personalities who take care of the fundraising and relieve the bishops of it
  • forming a legal support team to enforce the constitutional right of religious freedom
  • the establishment of theological colleges and universities
  • setting up internet services for the dioceses

• for each diocese
  • the training of full-time evangelists
  • the on-the-job training of priests and their wives
  • developing a welfare program for the underprivileged
  • the establishment of a hospital with at least 30 beds
  • the establishment of secondary schools

• at the community level
  • conducting adult literacy courses
  • the establishment of home industries to improve local conditions

Relationship with Muslims

In February 2006, after violent protests by Muslims over the cartoons controversy in Denmark spilled over to Christian people and their property in Nigeria, killing about 43 people, burning 30 churches and destroying 250 shops and homes, Akinola issued a statement in his capacity as chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria out: "We must remember that they have no monopoly in this nation at this time our Muslim brothers." . The Western press interpreted this statement as a disguised threat of violence against Muslims and said that following this statement, Christian youths in Onitsha fought back against the Muslims. In an interview with Christianity Today Akinola explains that the Western press, which is ignorant of the situation in Nigeria, misunderstood him. He is in contact with the Sultan of Sokoto, the head of the Nigerian Muslims, and a meeting of the Muslim and Christian leaders is planned. He himself threatened to resign at a recent meeting of the Christian Association of Nigeria because the youth said they would fight and fight back. The Christian attacks were not a result of his testimony, but took place when the trucks with the Christian victims of the Muslim attacks arrived in Onitsha.

Differences in the Anglican Church Fellowship

On August 23, 2003, Akinola stated that if Gene Robinson were ordained as Bishop of New Hampshire , the Church of Nigeria would need to reconsider communion with the US Church. Numerous other bishops and jurisdictions, including the Diocese of Sydney , made similar views. Robinson was consecrated on All Saints' Day 2003. This sparked a crisis in the Anglican community. Both sides in the conflict see the other side as responsible for a schism, should this finally come about, and both take the view that it is the other side who is leaving the church fellowship through their behavior. One of the reasons for this is that both define church fellowship differently.

Akinola sees the sexuality debate in the Anglican community as part of a larger theological conflict over the fundamentals of the Anglican creed. He goes into opposition to theologians such as John Shelby Spong , the former Bishop of Newark and author of various controversial books. “ If a bishop in any other part of the world had done what Spong did, ” said Akinola, “he would be deposed. In the United States, they smile because they agree with him. "

In 2003 Akinola published together with Archbishop Drexel Gomez , Primate of the Church of the Province of the West Indies and Gregory Venables , Primate of the Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur de América Claiming our Anglican Identity: The Case Against the Episcopal Church, USA . The pamphlet was developed for the primates of Anglican communion and, based on resolutions of the Lambeth Conference and the individual member churches on the self-identification and mission of the Anglican community, describes a conservative position regarding the episcopal ordination of Gene Robinson, but also with regard to the possible implications of this ordination for the Anglican Church Fellowship.

Akinola's initial response to the Lambeth Commission on Communion's 2004 Windsor Report was openly critical. The communiqué of the primasses of the first African Anglican Bishops' Conference, at which Akinola presided two weeks later, is somewhat defused in comparison, although it expresses some of the same issues as Akinola's initial reaction and expresses hope that the future the Anglican church fellowship may be influenced more by African perspectives.

In September 2005, the Church of Nigeria redefined its relationship with the Anglican Church Fellowship in its constitution. In place of “ in communion with the See of Canterbury ” there were the words “ in communion with all Anglican churches, bishoprics and provinces which are part of the 'historical faith, doctrine, sacrament and discipline of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church'. confess "(" Communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacrament and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. "). In a later press release Akinola went on to explain what was meant by this: “We want to state that in improving the constitution we wanted to make it clear that we are committed to the historical beliefs once handed down to the saints and to traditional practices and formulas of the Church… We value our place within the worldwide family of the Anglican Communion, but we are concerned about the unilateral actions of those provinces that are clearly choosing to redefine our former common faith. We have chosen not to be under the same yoke with them as we prefer our right to freedom to remain faithful. However, we continue to pray that there will be a real conversion. ” This statement is also interpreted in different ways: supporters of his action emphasize his commitment to church fellowship; Opponent his decision not to "go under the same yoke". Some critics, such as Bishop Mwamba of Botswana, suggest that Akinola was persuaded to take sides by wealthy US conservatives.

Also in September 2005, Akinola wrote to the primate of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil , Orlando Santo de Olivera . He criticized the removal of Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti and the excommunication of over thirty priests, which was sharply rejected by the Anglican Primate of Brazil as interference in internal affairs of the Brazilian Church. He also declared the position expressed by Bishop Jubal Neves in a polemic and referred to as the official view of the Brazilian Anglican Church, which criticized the Windsor Report and the agreed theological position of the Anglican Church, as "shocking, harmful and false". As a result of this letter, the organizing committee of the Global South Encounter withdrew its invitation, as such a view would be counterproductive at the meeting.

On November 12, 2005, Akinola signed a Concordat with the presiding bishops of the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Province of America , which in turn are not in communion with Canterbury.

On November 15, 2005, a letter appeared under which the names of the primates of the 18 provinces of the Global South of the Anglican Communion were. They had attended the 3rd Global South Encounter, which Akinola presided over. That letter was a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury portraying the crisis in the Anglican community as a crisis of biblical authority resulting from an attempt to separate Christ's grace from its moral precepts. The authors of the letter were aware of the political dilemma of the English bishops as members of the House of Lords , which had arisen because the British government had defied what the authors believe to be "clear Christian doctrine" on one point. Because of the close connection between state and church, the Church of England cannot apply for a derogation, as the independent Roman Catholic Church has done. They were delighted with the new approaches to evangelism that Williams is supporting in England and add that they see Europe as a “spiritual desert” where the EU is even proposing to remove the reference to Christian heritage from its constitution. They ask that re-evangelism and mission in Europe be a priority for the Church of England and offer their support in doing so. Three of the primasses named as signatories, Clive Handford , Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East , and Drexel Gomez and Gregory Venables, publicly distanced themselves from the letter, calling it "scandalous," an "act of impatience," and "Loudspeaker Diplomacy".

Attitude towards lesbians and gays

Akinola is often referred to as homophobic in Western media , not only because of his sharp reaction to the episcopal ordination of same-sex partnership Gene Robinson in the Episcopal Church in 2003, but also because of his open support for state repression against lesbians and gays. The New York Times reports that the only time he knowingly shook the hand of a gay man, he jumped back in shock. Such behavior can be classified as homophobia according to scientific usage. In February 2006, the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria issued a statement in which it supported, on behalf of its church, a bill by the Nigerian government that would criminalize same-sex marriage and the "establishment of lesbian and gay clubs, societies and organizations" and the "publication of, demonstrations for or public appearance of same-sex love affairs through electronic or print media, physical, indirect, direct or otherwise" prohibited and punished with up to five years imprisonment. The US State Department has criticized the bill as a possible violation of Nigeria's obligations under the International Agreement on Civil and Political Rights. The UN has also warned that the law could contribute to the spread of AIDS, as it counteracts an open discussion about sexual contact .

Akinola advocates jail sentences for wedding guests of same-sex couples.

Consecration of Martyn Minns

In the spring of 2007, Akinola consecrated on the soil of the United States against the will of the church leadership of the Episcopal Church in the USA and the Archbishop of Canterbury Martyn Minns of the split-off Convocation of Anglicans in North America .

Web links

• The Church of Nigeria website (English)
• Ambassador Sagay: From Carpenter to Primate , Guardian (Lagos), October 1, 2006 ( Memento of June 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
• Stephen Bates: The real Mr. Big , Guardian (Manchester), February 14, 2007 (English)

Footnotes

1. ↑ Lambeth Conference 1998, I.10: Human Sexuality ( Memento of the original of July 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ^ ^{A b} Sarah Simpson: An African archbishop finds common ground in Virginia , Christian Science Monitor, January 08, 2007
3. ↑ National Ecumenical Center dedicated in Abuja ( Memento from June 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ AllAfrica.com: Nigeria: Relinquish Unholy Wealth, Cleric Tells Obasanjo
5. ^ Archbishop Peter Akinola, Time Magazine, April 20, 2006
6. ^ National Champions, World Class Brands , ThisDay, Jan. 2, 2007
7. ↑ Vision of the Church of Nigeria  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ Article in the Washington Post
9. ↑ [1]
10. ^ Reaction of the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, The Most Revd Peter Akinola on recent events in Nigeria, Anglican Communion News Service
11. ↑ Reactions to violence in Nigeria: Archbishop Peter Akinola explains , Christianity Today
12. ^ Douglas LeBlanc, Out of Africa , in Christianity Today, July 2005
13. ↑ Claiming our Anglican Identity: The Case Against the Episcopal Church, USA ( Memento of the original dated February 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
14. ↑ From Nigeria's Primate, Archbishop Peter Akinola: Statement on Windsor Report, October 19, 2004 ( Memento of the original from February 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
15. ^ Statement from the Primates gathered at the first African Anglican Bishop's Conference
16. ^ Constitution of the Church of Nigeria ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
17. ↑ Press Briefing by the Primate of All Nigeria ( Memento of the original dated December 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
18. ↑ Church Times article ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
19. ↑ [2]
20. ↑ response of the Global South Primates to Archbishop Rowan Williams (english)
21. ↑ Pat Ashworth, “'Signatories' of Akinola letter say they didn't sign,” Church Times , November 25, 2005 ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
22. ↑ Lydia Polgreen and Laurie Goodstein, "At Axis of Episcopal Split on Anti-Gay Nigerian" , New York Times , 25 December 2006, p A1
23. ↑ Rebecca J. Welch Cline; Sarah J. Johnson, "Mosquitoes, Doorknobs, and Sneezing, Relationships Between Homophobia and AIDS Mythology Among College Students," Health Communication January 1992, pp. 273-289
24. ^ BBC report
25. ↑ http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-11612.html
26. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Chicago Tribune , June 4, 2007