Women Clergy a Future Possibility for Nigeria, says Bishop

|TOP|Leaders in the Church of Nigeria have stated that women’s orders should not be a cause of division within the Anglican Communion. They have noted that Nigeria itself, the Communion’s most populous province, plans are being forming to introduce women deacons.

Bishop Simon Bala of Kubwa, speaking to the media in Nigeria, said that the ordination of women was a legitimate doctrinal development for the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. However he added that, “for now, we are not ready for that,” according to the Church of England Newspaper.

The Bishop was speaking in response to the support given to women in the episcopate by the General Synod.
Bishop Simon spoke of how the Nigerian Church could one day accept the Church of England’s views on women in the episcopate or priesthood. However, currently there is no such firm agreement.

In 2003 a survey of the Church of Nigeria revealed that only two dioceses were ready to ordain women.

|AD|Bishop George Lasebikan of Ondo, speaking to a Mothers’ Union Conference on 8th July said, “82 percent of the church said an emphatic no to the ordination of women as ministers,” according to the Nigerian Tribune.

He continued: “We were astonished at the response of the church to the issue because we thought our members would want to go with the trend in most churches today, particularly the [Nigerian] Pentecostal ones.”

He stated that while there were developing plans to open up deaconates to women, the priesthood and episcopate would still remain closed.

This comes at a time in which Nigeria faces a growing clergy shortage. The Church of Nigeria is currently 19 million strong and hopes to double in size in the coming years - to do so would require an increase in clergy to meet the growing pastoral needs of the Church.

At a Petertide ordination service, Archbishop Peter Akinola said that the priesthood was not open “to all-comers”.

The Archbishop spoke to the new priests and deacons saying that the clergy had to maintain high moral, pastoral and educational standards if the Church is to remain faithful to its calling to Christ and make known the Gospel.

Among the new deacons was Emmanuel Akinola, youngest son of the Archbishop Peter Akinola.