Pope backs reform as Church begins review on family, marriage

Pope Francis on Sunday issued a strong signal of support for reform of the Catholic Church’s approach to marriage, cohabitation and divorce as bishops began a landmark review of teaching on the family.
Opening an extraordinary synod of nearly 200 senior clerics, Francis suggested the Church must address the present gulf between what it currently says on these issues and what tens of millions of believers actually do.
Thorny theological questions such as whether divorced and remarried believers should be able to receive communion will dominate two weeks of closed-door discussions set to pit conservative clerics against reformists led by German cardinal Walter Kasper.
Vatican insiders say Kasper has the backing of Francis but that the pontiff wants consensus for any change.
That stance was reflected in the sermon the pontiff delivered at the synod’s opening mass.
In it, he urged bishops to be generous in understanding the problems faced by ordinary believers trying to live within the rules of the church.
Pointedly, he invoked a passage from the gospel of Matthew which admonishes “evil pastors (who) lay intolerable burdens on the shoulders of others which they themselves do not lift a finger to move”.
He added: “Synod Assemblies are not meant to discuss beautiful and clever ideas, or to see who is more intelligent.
“They are meant to better nurture and tend the Lord’s vineyard…. In this case the Lord is asking us to care for the family.”
Since becoming pontiff just over 18 months ago, Francis has repeatedly urged the church to tend to the “wounds” caused by family breakdown rather than seeking to exclude or judge the many divorced people, cohabiting couples and single mothers within its ranks.
He has underlined that stance by personally marrying couples who had lived together “in sin” prior to their weddings and by baptising a child born to parents married outside of the church.
- Deep divisions –
Francis’s reforming instincts have already been demonstrated in the steps he has taken to overhaul the way the Vatican bank and administration are run and the strong signals he has issued about the determination of the Church to deal with the issue of clerical sex abuse.
But updating the Church’s approach to social issues is seen as a tougher challenge.
Conservatives in the Vatican hierarchy have vowed to fight any dilution of traditional doctrine.
The Church’s view of marriage has come to be seen as outdated by many in a world where, in some developed countries, nearly one in two marriages ends in divorce and where the notion of the institution itself has been challenged by the global trend towards the legalisation of same-sex weddings.
The bishops gathered in Rome are certainly not about to embrace gay marriage, and few Vatican observers expect much, if any, change on questions such as contraception, another area where Catholic teaching contrasts with the daily practice of millions.
- Easier divorce? -
But with Francis on the side of reform, the feeling is that the synod process could lead to change when it finally reaches conclusions expected in 2016.
The most notable of these could be a change in the rules to make it possible for Catholics who divorce and then remarry to receive communion.
That has been banned for centuries. But critics say the Church’s stance is hard to defend given that individuals who have declared their repentance from more serious breaches of the Christian code, such as murder, can take communion.
While the Church may not yet be ready to take a step that would amount to a de facto acceptance of divorce in certain circumstances, the discussions could result in steps to make it easier for failed marriages to be annulled.
Another area in which the Church could send out a signal of compassion is by making it clear that priests should be ready to baptise the children of same sex couples, regardless of the doctrinal disapproval of their parents’ union.
Other issues due to be addressed include the role of easily-available pornography in family breakdown and the Church’s attitude to individuals in polygamous unions.

28-yr-old church crisis ravages CAC

There seems to be no end in sight to the 24-year-old crisis within the Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide as one of the feuding factions refused to recognise the reconciliation committee set up to broker peace. This came as the Supreme Council, one of the factions in the crisis-ridden church, extended an olive branch to its opponent, saying it would sacrifice ‘everything’ for peace to return to the church. The faction, led by Pastor Gabriel Lagunju, said this yesterday at its annual pastors’ conference held at the CAC, Alasepe, Ikire. This faction and the General Executive Council have been at loggerheads over the control of the church. Lagunju said: “We are ready to sacrifice everything and every position. But let us stress that we want seamless unification that would give equal recognition to all.” However, he noted that given the magnitude of the crisis in the church, it would be complete falsehood for the other side to claim that there is no crisis, saying “it is what everybody can see.” As part of efforts it had made to achieve this, the council had inaugurated a 20-member peace committee about three years ago to prepare the ground towards the reunification of the church. He said: “The 20-member peace committee eventually teamed up in May 2013 with a neutral group, the CAC Peace and Reunification Group, composed of pastors, elders and youths from the various factions of the mission, who have the same vision.” While giving report of a peace and unity committee jointly set up by both sides, Pastor Jacob Akinola explained that in the past, the Supreme Council had made several attempts that could bring lasting peace to the mission, but the GEC seemed not prepared for any reconciliation. He said the other faction had shunned the unity prayer conference twice in July and said they would not recognise the reconciliation team.

$9.3m arms deal: Oritsejafor opens up at last

President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday for the first time spoke on the controversial $9.3m cash allegedly smuggled into South Africa by two Nigerians and an Israeli using his private jet. The money which has been confiscated by a South African court was meant for the purchase of arms for the Nigerian Intelligence Services. This is just as the #BringBackOurGirls# campaign group, has said it will soon drag the CAN president and the Federal Government to court over the money. Following the use of his aircraft to convey the money which was not declared in South Africa until immigration officials discovered it, the CAN president was linked to the arms deal with critics condemning his role in the arms deal. Oritsejafor Explaining his own side of the story yesterday, at an emergency meeting of the expanded National Executive Council, NEC, of CAN in Abuja, Pastor Oritsejafor denied any involvement or knowledge of the deal to buy arms in South Africa, noting that enemies of Christians were fuelling the division of CAN. He said: “The media has been awash in the past few days about an unfortunate incident involving the movement of funds from Nigeria to South Africa. In the unfortunate news reports, attempts have been made to link me directly with the transaction. So far I have refrained from making any direct public statement pending the time that I would have briefed the leaders of the church and explained my position on the issues to them. “I believe that the primary institution that I owe any explanation to is the church. Permit me to thank everyone who stood by me these past days by ways of prayers, as well as strongly defending me even though I have not undertaken any public defence of myself. “I am particularly appreciative of the valuable support of the Catholic Church in refuting a distorted news item by mischievous elements in the media. I wish to assure you that I will not do anything to tarnish the image of Jesus Christ or compromise the divine standard of the Church. The aircraft is mine — CAN president “At the risk of being seen to be defending myself, I wish to confirm to the distinguished leaders of the church that the Bombardier Challenger 601 aircraft in question is mine. “The aircraft was presented to me as a gift by members of our congregation and ministry partners world wide at the 40th anniversary of my call into the ministry. May I be permitted to stress that the aircraft was not given to me by the President of Nigeria, neither was it a settlement for any political favour or patronage. “With the benefit of hindsight, the President of the country was a guest in our church during the anniversary celebration when the Jet was presented to me and this has been construed to imply that it was a gift from the President of the country. “The President of Nigeria has nothing to do with the gift of the aircraft. By the way, I still wonder why all those saying this, still cannot come out to show proof so that the matter can be put to rest once and for all. Let me say that this might be an issue of the court in the near future. “In order to ameliorate the cost of maintenance of the aircraft, I sought and got permit to allow the aircraft fly in and out of Nigeria. “Based on this, I leased the aircraft on August 2, 2014 to a company to run it. It was the leasee that entered into an agreement with the people who carried out the transfer of funds. Having leased the aircraft to the Green Coast Produce Company Limited, any transaction undertaken with the aircraft can no longer be attached to me. War against the Church “In as much as I am shocked and distressed by the incident, I wish to appeal to Christians in Nigeria to remember that a war has been waged against the Nigerian Church. This war is being fought on many fronts and this unfortunate incident is another dimension in the assault against the Church. “It is clear that those who manipulated this conspiracy desire to create a schism in the Church. The media hype and the deliberate distortion of information that followed it confirmed that forces that desperately desire to cause division and disunity in the Church are at work. Even the devil knows that a house that is divided cannot stand. “As Christians, we need unity in the Church now more than ever. We are witnessing inhuman attacks by religious extremists against Christians in the northern part of the country while Christian infrastructure is being destroyed in hundreds. “If we permit the enemy to divide us, our chances of corporate survival shall be severely threatened. “Distinguished leaders of the Church, please permit me to state clearly before God and before all of you here present today, I am not a party to the movement of $9.3 million from Nigeria to South Africa to purchase arms and ammunition. I am not part of the deal. I know nothing about it. “Let me make a passionate appeal to our heads of blocks, heads of denominations and Christian leaders at different levels and spheres of influence to please use your good offices to caution and control your subordinates and followers from making public statements that will further polarise the Church and strengthen the arms of the enemies of the church. “If I offend you or you offend me, instead of talking to media, let us talk to each other within the house of God.” #BringBackOurGirls# threatens to sue Meanwhile, the #BringBackOurGirls# campaign group, at its sit-out, yesterday, in Abuja called for more public outcry over the $9.3 million cash found in Pastor Oritsejafor’s private jet in South Africa, saying it has concluded arrangement to sue the CAN president and the Federal Government over it. According to the group: “We need more pressure more than ever; this is tax payers money, we must speak up any time an injustice is done especially when it is about infiltration of arms because that is what brought us here. There is need for a louder cry about this because quietly people are forgetting about the $9.3 million, it will continue if we don’t do anything. “By next week you will have something different, we are working with our lawyers to sue Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and the Federal Government.” Also, the House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Business has said that the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Lai Mohammed must have acted out of ignorance for saying that the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha was biased in his ruling over the controversial $9.3million arms deal motion. Briefing House of Representatives correspondents at the weekend, chairman of the committee, Albert Sam-Tsokwa said “it is glaring that the APC publicity secretary was not conversant with our House rules when he said the Deputy Speaker manipulated the proceedings on the motion bordering on the $9.3m arms deal in South Africa. “The DS acted as a patriotic Nigerian as he considered the interest of Nigerians above any political lineage following our House standing Orders to the letter. “The motion in question was an investigative one seeking investigation into the alleged arms deal in South Africa which does not need any debate as this might jeopardise the proposed investigation”. Vanguard recalls that in the wake of the arms deal, the matter came up in the form of a motion on the floor of the House last Tuesday, but Ihedioha, who presided over plenary that day, did not allow debate on the motion, citing ‘national security.’ He later called for a voice vote and majority of the lawmakers voted against it. This development did not go down well with some lawmakers, most of whom are of the opposition All Progressives Congress ,APC, who staged a walk out from the floor immediately Ihedioha ruled. The motion, sponsored by Deputy Minority Leader Abdulrahman Kawu Sulaiman,APC, Kano sought for a thorough investigation into the matter. But Tsokwa argued at the briefing that what Ihedioha did was in line with the relevant rules of the House, which do not allow debate on matters relating to infrastructure, security and investigation. He explained that “the House is precluded from discussing any issue that is pending in court. Our rules also say motions on infrastructure, security and investigation are not to be debated. The motion on $9.3 million seeks an investigation, so it shouldn’t, couldn’t and mustn’t have been debated. That was exactly what happened,” Tsokwa said. Tsokwa further stressed that “the mover wasn’t supposed to take it that day, because it wasn’t on the Order Paper. He insisted on taking it because he said he was away on the Speaker’s errand. But any matter that is not on the Notice Paper can’t be included on the Order Paper. Some members were against taking the motion, but the Deputy Speaker allowed him.” The Taraba state lawmaker explained that going by parliamentary rules, if any member is not satisfied with a particular decision taken, such a member would call for the House to be divided based on the ‘ayes’ and the ‘nays,’ saying walking out was not appropriate. “The decision wasn’t taken on the basis of party. It wasn’t all APC members that voted against it and vice-versa”, he said. Culled from Punch Newspaper

How other men of God see TB

Prophet TB Joshua of Synagogue Church of All Nations is no stranger to controversies and condemnations. Since his emergence as a man of God to whom many run for deliverance, salvation and miracles, the supposed man of God has had to fight off other men of God who see him as nothing but fake. Perhaps, the most antagonistic among them all is Reverend Chris Okotie of the Household of God who once described the Prophet as the vicar of the devil on earth. Okotie has no mixed feelings about T.B Joshua. To him, the so-called man of God at Synagogue Church of All Nations shouldn’t be associated with because, according to him, he is in partnership with Satan to subjugate the church to the will of the devil. TB Joshua Okotie’s aversion to everything T.B Joshua stands for became more evident sometime ago when a video showed T.B Joshua and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome purportedly praying for a man on wheelchair. Pastor Chris Okotie made a number of public comments to Nigerian newspapers and other media sources expressing displeasure that the respected Pastor Chris Oyakilhome started fraternising with TB Joshua. In one of his media comments, Okotie alleged that T.B. Joshua was a practitioner of an occult science called Docetic Gnosticism and Cerinthian heresy. Docetic Gnosticism, according to Wikipaedia was an ancient Greek spiritual belief system during A.D. 70 through A.D. 100.This particular group asserted that Jesus Christ did not rise physically from the grave as foretold by the Old Testament prophets, eye-witnessed by the apostles and recorded in scripture. This teaching is the biblical definition of false prophecy – the teaching that Christ did not rise physically from the grave. Cerinthus was a Greek heretic (A.D. 100) who denied the divinity of Jesus Christ. According to Cerinthus, Jesus Christ was not born of a virgin as scripture plainly declares. Cerinthus also believed that during the future millennial reign of Christ inhabitants of the earth would be in bondage to certain lust. Okotie has also ascribed the acclaimed healing power of TB Joshua to the practice of an ancient Asian yoga-like sorcery called Shamanism, a practice, according to Wikipeadia, that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing. Evidences abound that worshipers at Synagogue revere and and adulate the name of T.B Joshua by calling him ‘Emmanuel’ (God with us). To this, Chris Okotie stated emphatically: “‘He (T.B Joshua) has three symbols of mysticism. The first is called “The Head of Jesus Christ” or “Christ”. This is a reference to the source of his power. That power is invoked or acknowledged by the word, “Emmanuel.” When “Emmanuel” is chanted, it energizes’ the power. The scriptures say that the head of Christ is God. So when Joshua ‘refers to that head, he is speaking of himself as God Incarnate.’ At the height of the Joshua-Okotie-Oyakhilome imbroglio, other Pentecostal pastors warned T.B Joshua not to parade himself as a Pentecostal preacher. “He is an occultist,” says Anselm Modubuku, pastor of the Revival Assembly Church in Lagos. “Joshua claims he was born again in his mother’s womb. It is tragic that Spirit-filled people are led astray by him.” “It is puzzling why Americans are drawn to him,” said Ayo Oritsejafor, pastor of Word of Life Bible Church in Warri and now President of Christian Association of God, CAN. “Where and when did he get saved? Who is his pastor? That is what I would like to know.” The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, headed by Bishop Mike Okonkwo, denounced Joshua as an imposter in a statement. It said the group had for years warned of “the dangers of infiltrators who have modernized cultism by injecting the name of Jesus Christ into their largely unbiblical practices. It is necessary that we reiterate this position that the Synagogue (of All Nations) falls into this category.” All that notwithstanding, hundreds of thousands still revere him. To those thousands who seek T.B Joshua for spiritual help, the Okoties and Mike Okonkwos of this world are entitled to their opinions. To them, the man TB Joshua is a king who is not recognised in his place. He is a true man of God who heals the sick, delivers people from spiritual attacks and is ever generous to the indigent. His healing power is largely responsible for the thousands who flock into his church especially from abroad. Hence Joshua is more recognised outside than in Nigeria. My experience at Synagogue – Jacques Pauw,South African journalist A renowned South African investigative journalist, Jacques Pauw writes on his experience at Synagogue. I was making a TV documentary and my challenge to Joshua was straightforward: allow me to film how you heal Basson (a 25 year old Springbok rugby player who was dying of liver cancer and went to Prophet T.B Joshua for healing). If you succeed, I promise I will show it to the world. When we arrived at Joshua’s compound, the TV team and I were in effect incarcerated. For two weeks, we were forbidden to leave the grounds. We were told we could not drink or smoke, and had to attend services and events with the pilgrims. While I stayed in a dormitory with other pilgrims, Basson and his mother set up camp in a private room. The church took away the young man’s morphine and pain pills. During our first interview, a softly spoken, affable Joshua said it would be easy to heal Wium because he had nothing but a “little sore” on his liver. At Sunday sermons, the afflicted lined up with placards stating what condition they needed healed. There were lines of people seeking a cure for HIV/Aids, cancer and heart conditions, business failures, wandering spouses and dull brains. A festive, almost joyous atmosphere filled the compound as churchgoers sang, clapped and danced. Evil spirits were cast out and those set free by the Prophet writhed in the dirt while vomiting out the demons. Joshua prayed for every person in the line and declared them all healed. He ordered them to stop using any medication and trust in God. Among the pilgrims was Capetonian John Rindel, who was suffering from full-blown AIDS and already had dementia. He had arrived at the church several weeks before we did, was prayed for by Joshua and declared completely healed. He had stopped taking his medicine and showed remarkable improvement. Scientists refer to this as the “placebo effect” of faith healing. A patient can experience genuine pain relief and other symptomatic alleviation after being prayed for. The relief is short-lived and the patient soon returns to his original condition. On my request, Rindel agreed to go for two independent HIV/Aids tests when he returned to South Africa. Both showed he was still positive. He died a short while later. The BBC recently investigated the London branch of the church and reported that three women had died after being “healed” and told to stop taking their HIV/Aids medication. I challenged the pilgrims to provide me with medical proof that they had been healed. None did. Ruben Kruger died in 2010 just before his 40th birthday. TB Joshua is a true man of God, not an ordinary person —Journalist Mr Oye Ogunwale worked in Vanguard as a sub editor for more than a decade before he moved on. He was very close to T.B Joshua and had this to say about the man: T.B Joshua is authentic. He is real. I can assure you of that. He is a true man of God. Don’t mind what Nigerians say about him. He performs miracles. I know that some people claim that he is not genuine because they were not healed by the man. It all depends on faith. Again, it also depends on the sins the miracle seekers committed. Who knows what they have done against humanity that God may want them to go through more penance. Joshua heals people, I can tell you authoritatively. He heals HIV. I know about 20 HIV victims that he has healed. If you go there you will know that he heals about ten of them in a week. I know of a top man in government whom he delivered from HIV infection. The man returned with a car as gift. T.B Joshua asked him to take back the car, that he didn’t want it. He only asked him to go, and sin no more. T.B Joshua is like Obafemi Awolowo who was not generally recognised as a great leader until he died. Awo was never given his real value until he died. Nigeria is like that. Look at Zik. He is another great example. I was close to T.B Joshua for more than 10 years and I can attest to his genuineness as a man of God. If he is not real foreigners will not be going there. Many of his disciples are foreigners. He heals people at the church there or he visits them in their homes to heal them.” The reporter, at this juncture cuts in to ask “so T.B Joshua visits people in their homes to heal them?” Oye Ogunwale responds this way: “Yes, he visits them spiritually. He goes to their houses in spirit and heals them.” How would a sick man in his house know that TB Joshua was the one that healed him”, the reporter asked. “He would know,” Ogunwale insists, his voice rising. “He will see the man in his dream. And if it’s surgery, for example, he may see spots of blood on his bed or signs that healing has been done. The sick person will know that healing has taken place. T.B Joshua visits people spiritually and heals them. The patient will see him in a dream. T.B Joshua is not an ordinary man. He can also transfer power to an ordinary person and that person will perform healing. During healing hours, he may touch any person in the congregation and tell that person to come up and heal this man or that man and healing will actually take place when that ordinary person acts as he directs. It is amazing. Heads of States go there. The former President of Zambia who was always going there said that Africa didn’t know what they have in Joshua and that if T.B Joshua were a white man the whole world will recognise him. He could not believe his eyes when he saw how people were being healed. T.B Joshua is not an ordinary man. The only thing is that when you go there it may take you days to see him. This, I attribute to the Nigerian factor. When I was in Vanguard, one of the gate men approached me one day and told me that his wife was sick and everything indicated she had cancer. He wanted me to help him with some money. I told him I didn’t have money but that I could take him and his wife to a man who could help cure his wife. They agreed and I took them to TB Joshua and the woman was healed. An Army General from Ghana once came on wheelchair and on the day of healing he told him to get up and walk. The man got up and staggered and the man of God touched him with his leg and the he stood. Few seconds later he was firm and even ran. There was applause. The was paralysed from the waist but he walked after T.B Joshu’s touch. T.B Joshua is too much but Nigerians blackmail him a lot. I’m a direct witness to all these things. During service, he would ask witches and wizards to step out and will ask them to reveal their powers. You can’t believe the revelations that come from them and the things that they have done in the past. Unbelievable. Then you will see him deliver them. He is a powerful man. For a man of God to call somebody from the audience, touch him and transfer power to him and ask him to heal another person and it happens, you should know that such a man is not an ordinary man. And he is very generous. He heals people and still gives them alms. Can you beat that? That’s what I can tell you about T.B Joshua and you can quote me.” Culled from Vanguard Newspaper

Synagogue: Let The Law Prevail

The collapse of the six-storey building within the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Ikotun Egbe, Lagos, is a symptom of a disturbing trend in Nigeria where religious bodies carry on as if they are above the law. TB Joshua-Synagogue Church This propensity, which is much more pronounced among some of the Pentecostal denominations, mainly involves the indiscriminate and unlawful abuse of building regulations, thus pitching these groups against state authorities. Just as the dust was yet to clear in Lagos, another unapproved church building belonging to the Christ Chosen Church in Benin came tumbling down, with two people killed. There have been media reports of altercations between the Enugu State Government and the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and also between the Ogun State Government and the Living Faith Church, owners of the Covenant University, Ota. The SCOAN disaster would have been avoided if the Church authorities had cooperated with the relevant agency of the Lagos State Government in charge of building regulation. Several buildings within the complex had been declared as unapproved structures and orders made for work to stop. The church continued to build until this tragedy struck, claiming the lives of between 86 and 115 people, most of them visiting foreigners. It was clearly a mark of failure on the part of both the church and the government to do the right thing. Why should government officials fold their hands when the church continued to develop buildings even after several warnings to stop? If the government had been truly up to its duties, it would have applied the necessary sanctions to make sure that the death trap was discontinued. The laws are very explicit on steps that must be taken when buildings that are put up without adherence to proper regulations collapse. The ongoing investigation into this tragic incident should be thorough and conclusive, and anyone found culpable should be dealt with according to the law. The property should also be confiscated and the church moved to a safer area. This will serve notice to the religious groups that government will not give up its duties of maintaining the law and ensuring the safety of citizens and foreign visitors alike. Unless investigations reveal evidence supporting terror attacks after series of aircraft over-flights, we must not fall for any attempt to divert attention and transfer culpability to non-existent aggressors. After all, aviation activities have been part of Lagos and other big cities and no building has gone down anywhere as a result. We must use this incident to reiterate that no one is above the law, and that adherence to the rule of law is the bounden duty of all. Culled from Vanguard News

Synagogue disowns Emeakayi’s defence over collapsed building

The Synagogue Church of All Nation, SCOAN, yesterday, disowned Mr. Ken Emeakayi, over his defence on the collapsed guest house, during an interview programme on Monday, on one of the local television stations. TB Joshua-Synagogue Church Reacting yesterday, on its official Facebook page, T.B. Joshua Ministries, the church said even though Emeakayi is a member of SCOAN and an Emmanuel TV partner, he went to the media to air his personal views and not those of the church. The statement on the page reads: “Our attention has been drawn to several articles circulating around the internet quoting Mr. Ken Emeakayi as an official representative of T.B. Joshua, The SCOAN and Emmanuel TV. The Vanguard Newspaper even called him ‘T.B. Joshua’s aide’ which is a misrepresentation. “While Mr Ken is a member of The SCOAN and an Emmanuel TV partner, he went to the media on his own personal level to air his views concerning the incident and not to officially represent the church. Any official statement from The SCOAN will be published on our website and our official Facebook Page.” Emeakayi had during the interview, refuted claims that the church was not given an approval by the Lagos State authorities to commence construction, saying that it was officially given an approval for a 12-storey building. He said: “It is not true and I stand to be corrected. I want to also point out that whosoever said that was not saying the correct thing, because I also listened to a commissioner of Lagos State, when he came to your (Channels Television) studio. He said that when he got there, he discovered that there was no approval for the building, meaning that he has not been there before and there was nothing of such. Yes, the church had approval.” Asked if the church had shown the approval to the Lagos State Government authorities, he said: “Yes, of course. Officials of Lagos State Government have been there severally. They have even come to look at other buildings in the church premises. So, there is no additional structure to the building. We are talking of a building that is on its own. We have the pictures. It’s a new structure.” Culled From Vanguard News

Church ordains 581 pastors amid crisis

The crisis-ridden Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide has ordained 581 members as new pastors of the church in its recently concluded annual convention. The 24-year-old crisis has taken its toll on the church as both feuding factions, Supreme Council and General Executive Council claiming authenticity and control of the church. As a result of the crisis, two parallel conventions were held at Ikeji-Arakeji and Ikire. Thousands of worshippers and well wishers including Ekiti State deputy-governor elect, Dr. Olusola Kolapo Eleka, congregated at Alasepe in Ikire to rejoice with the new pastors who were drawn from different parts of the country like Ibadan, Lagos, Akure, Rivers, among others. Culled from Vanguard Newspaper