The leaders of all the orthodox churches in Anambra state will on Saturday May 20, 2023 converge on All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha for the inauguration of the new executive of the Christian Council of Nigeria, Anambra state under the leadership of Right Reverend Dr. Owen Nwokolo (the Bishop on the Niger, Anglican Communion). The event holds at the Patterson Auditorium Complex of the Cathedral. The event will commence by 10am.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo and thirty other stakeholders will be presented special awards at the occasion.
The leadership of Bishop Nwokolo has succeeded in bridging the gap of dichotomy which hitherto divided the body of Christ in Anambra State. Great leaders are known for their readiness to turn seemingly difficult situations into opportunities for higher achievement. This is the story of the current leadership of CCN. There are notable landmark achievements because of the peace within the body of Christ.
Meanwhile, the Christian Council of Nigeria is a fellowship of churches in Nigeria that believe in God the Father, revealed in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and are working together to promote the glory of the Triune God in the unity of the churches and the realization of God’s mission in the world.
The council is the first ecumenical and faith-based organization founded in Nigeria in November, 1929. It began in southern Nigeria as a result of an informal meeting of a small group of missionaries from the Presbyterian Church, Church of Nigeria (Anglican communion), Methodist Church, Nigerian Baptist Convention and Salvation Army who met in Ibadan to discuss the lines of action following a new educational law targeted to separate religion from education. That informal meeting is seen as the first ecumenical attempt by Churches in Nigeria. As a result of that meeting, the government shelved the enactment of the law.
The council has grown today to have fourteen member churches and seven associate members. The council is incorporated in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied matters Act 1990. It principally carries out the functions of education, community and economic development; communication and advocacy; home and family life; church and society; research; missions and facilitation of World Council of Churches postgraduate scholarships in many areas of human endeavour obtained in any part of the world.
The council is also an associate member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland; All African Conference of Churches (AACC) with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya; Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in West Africa (FECCIWA) with headquarters in Togo and is a founding member of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Indeed, CCN and the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) founded CAN. Today, membership of the Christian Council of Nigeria has grown to about 70 million.
The Council is divided into zones using the country’s geo-political zones, while state chapters are created to ease administration. Each zone is headed by a chairman with other members of the executives. The zones and states operate with the Council’s constitution and bye-laws.
For effectiveness of the council and to provide a platform for the church to meet with the society outside the four corners of the church informed the decision to establish the study and research centres known as the Institute of Church and Society in three regions of the country in Ibadan, Jos and Arochukwu.
Thus, as the new executive is inaugurated on Saturday, it is the prayer of members that in continuation of its milestone achievements, the new executive will go on in fulfilling the aims and objectives of the Council.
To God be all the glory, Amen!
Written by SIR OSELLOKA OFFOH
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