Bishop Ikeakor asks Religious leaders to speak up for the downtrodden
Odogwu Emeka Odogwu
The Anglican Bishop of Amichi Diocese, Anambra state, The Right Reverend Ephraim Ikeakor has called on religious leaders in the country to speak out for the downtrodden in the society in the face of political malfunction.
Bishop Ikeakor made the call during a media briefing and inspection of St. Andrews Anglican Church, Ebenato in Nnewi South Local Government Area, venue of the forth coming First Session of Fifth Synod of the Diocese.
The Right Reverend Ikeakor argued that religious leaders should be at the forefront of defending the downtrodden whose representatives in government have failed.
He called for a critical restructuring of the nation’s political arrangement and holistic review of the 1999 constitution so that the nation will move forward.
www.odogwublog.com reports that the synod inspection visit was well attended by members of the clergy and laity of the Diocese.
Speaking on the theme of the Synod, ‘Crossless Christianity a Contradiction Of The Mandatory Demand For True Discipleship’, the Right Reverend Ikeakor decried the poor state of the church in Nigeria describing it as Christian liberalism instead of liberty as preached by Jesus Christ.
He noted that the church had gone through a lot of metamorphosis that has brought disaster to true Christian discipleship, stressing that it is deviating from the standard and had resorted to prosperity gospel, hyper-grace, neo-paganism and cross less Christianity.
Bishop IKeakor maintained that the cross is a symbol and emblem of Christianity which connotes suffering, endurance and patience for the sake of faith in Christ and called on the faithful to imbibe the virtue of self denial.
On the state of the nation, the Prelate called on governors and traditional rulers to engage in community policing and vigilante security system as a way of ensuring adequate security of the country.
He opined that the nation critically needs a new constitution that reflects true federalism like that of 1963 constitution while lending his voice for a holistic restructuring of the country.
He also called on his fellow religious leaders to speak up against bad governance and defence of the downtrodden in the society who look up to them while commending the zoning structure in place and calling for same to be extended to the church and prayed for peaceful conduct of the November Sixth Governorship polls in the state.
While chronicling the giant strides in the Diocese, Bishop Ikeakor acknowledged the grace of God and resilience in pursuit of the God-given vision as the secret behind it, saying that the Diocesan College of Midwifery is nearing completion while the College of Nursing Sciences recently graduated its first set of nurses.
According to the Bishop, the Diocesan Secretariat is now enjoying twenty four hour solar powered electricity among other infrastructural transformations in the Diocese.
Speaking on the choice of St Andrews Anglican Church Ebenato as venue for the forthcoming synod, the Chairman of the local organizing committee, Chief Ifeanyi Aniakor expressed profound joy and assured that the church is fully ready to host the unique event.
The First Session of the Fifth Synod will commence on Wednesday 2nd and end on Sunday 6th june 2021.
It is expected to play host to the clergy and delegates from far and beyond the Diocese.
