With antigay
rhetoric as his tool, a Nigerian archbishop has made himself
a central player in the fight over America’s
Episcopal Church. But in chasing his ambitions, has he
failed his own country?
The pews of
Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge, Va., were alive with
the spirit of an authentic revival on May 5. Alternately
dancing, raising hands to the heavens, and bowing in
prayer, roughly 1,500 worshippers witnessed the
marriage between the Church of Nigeria and the recently
formed Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a
group of about 30 Anglican congregations scattered
about the United States that have formally broken away
from the Anglican Communion’s American branch, the
Episcopal Church USA.
Peter Akinola,
the archbishop of Nigeria, had come to Virginia to preside
over the installation of the convocation’s leader,
Bishop Martyn Minns. Decked out in a regal gold robe
and miter, Archbishop Akinola exited the sanctuary at
the end of the ceremony smiling, jubilant—singing the
words of the recessional with his entourage of 10 or
so trailing behind. For a gay reporter covering the
event, it was a rare glimpse—a chance
encounter—and I found myself fixated, studying him in
not so subtle a way. He spotted me within moments. I
clearly wasn’t there to celebrate. His smile
dropped, his song fell away, and he walked on by.
The union between
Peter Akinola and Martyn Minns was inaugurated in the
summer of 2003 when a majority of 107 Episcopal bishops
voted to approve the consecration of
V. Gene Robinson,
an openly gay man, as bishop of New Hampshire. Leading
up to the vote, a growing number of evangelically inspired
Episcopal conservatives had been voicing their
displeasure with the direction of the Episcopal
Church, but few as loudly as the congregation of Truro
Church in Fairfax, Va., headed by then–Rev. Minns.
Seven leading bishops from Asia, Africa, and Australia
met with Minns and about 50 conservative Episcopal
bishops in Fairfax and issued a statement saying
Robinson’s confirmation could
“precipitate a dramatic realignment of the
church.” After Robinson’s installation,
Akinola officially cut ties with the Episcopal Church,
stopped accepting its donations, and, in a 2006
ceremony held in Nigeria, elevated Minns to the rank of
missionary bishop.
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