A new 24-hour Christian satellite television channel is to be launched in Nigeria.
The Archdiocese of Abuja, Nigeria's capital, will launch the 24-hour channel in 2017, according to Catholic Culture.
Father Patrick Alumuku, the archdiocesan director of communications, said Theotokos TV, will exist "for evangelism and development of the society". It will take the story of the vibrant Church in Nigeria to other Africans and the rest of the world.
Theotokos means "Mother of God" in Greek. The channel itself pledges on its website to "operate as a well-known and trusted source of Doctrinal, Sprit-filled, inspirational, informative, educational and entertaining content in the field of Catholicism and Christianity to the widest audience possible".
It also promises "to bring God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to Nigerians and the world at large in their most convenient places especially their homes."
The concept was launched in 2014 by Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, who said at the time: "Pope John Paul II himself used the media effectively to propagate the faith. It is for this reason that after having encouraged the stability of our archdiocesan newspaper, I now wish to support the growth of our new archdiocesan media project."
The channel's slogan is: "Africa's Global Catholic Network: Faith in Action".
In a statement posted by the Bauchi diocese, the channel's chief executive, Ojima-Ojo Achile said it will broadcast programmes intended to serve as a tool to unite various religions, empower, educate and encourage Nigerians through new line of reasoning to maximize their full potential, make impact in the world and become productive citizens and ultimately developing a total being (spiritual, mental, physical and social) as well as stimulate critical and positive reasoning."
Programmes will be in English, Pidgin, and the major dialects in Nigeria with translations and subtitles in French, Portuguese, Spanish, Latin and other popular languages.
Achile said the aim is "to redirect intrinsic energies from the destructive application of self to constructive engagement of talent and values while at the same time encouraging people to beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into sickles."
