About Archbishop E O Chukwuma, Biography, Age, Family, Wife, News

According to Watchingtonpost, “The differences were personalized today on the lawn of Kent University. Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma of Nigeria approached an Englishman, the Rev. Richard Kirker of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, and tried to exorcise “the demons of homosexuality” from his English colleague. Kirker held Chukwuma’s hand but said later that the Nigerian’s actions amounted to “spiritual bullying.”

News report by BBC on the Lambeth conference reads:

“Anglican bishops at the Lambeth Conference are discussing the issue of homosexuality before voting on a final resolution.

Earlier, there were angry scenes between conservative clergy and lesbian and gay campaigners over the issue which will be voted on by 800 bishops.

Nigerian Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma confronted Richard Kirker of the Gay and Lesbian Christian Movement outside the Conference and prayed repeatedly that God would ‘deliver him’ from his homosexuality.

Mr Kirker said afterwards, “it was threatening – he was waving his hands in my face and it was very hard, in fact impossible, to get a word in edgeways.

“He was basically saying that we needed to repent and that there was no place in the Church for people like us and that we ought to leave because we were defiling the Church.”

Earlier, the bishop had said: “I feel this issue of sexuality is like a diversion of our attention.

“And we would not have debated it all as an issue. But since it has been bought forward as an issue we are going to make sure it is thrown out.”

Archbishop Emmanuel O Chukwuma has been a bishop in the Anglican Communion for 33 years. In an interview which he granted to Sunnewsonline, titled “My ordeals as Anglican bishop in last 30 years” The Most Revd Prof Emmanuel Chukwuma, the archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Anglican Communion said that evangelizing in an Islamic domain like Bauchi was his major challenge in his 30 years of episcopacy.

Bishop Chukwuma  Story/Ministerial Achievements

In 2020 when he celebrated 30 years of serving as a Bishop in the Anglican diocese, he recounted his ordeals and achievements so far. In his words, he said:

“I want to give thanks to God on the 30 years of my consecration which was on 29th of April, 1990 at St. Michael’s Cathedral Kaduna. We’re nine that was consecrated by the Most Rev. Abiodun Adeteloye, the then Primate and Archbishop of Nigeria. From there I was sent to Bauchi as the first Missionary Bishop of Bauchi, where I spent my time till March 5, 1998 when we came back from Lambent Conference. By the grace of God I feel so fulfilled that I was able to maneuver through the trials of the Islamic problem in the North.

When I was in Bauchi at that time, Bauchi was carved out of Kano with nothing on ground, so I started with nothing and since that time I was able to plant churches, not only that I faced the riot, the persecution from the Muslims for which our Cathedral then was burnt and by the grace of God I was able to rebuild the small Cathedral to a big Cathedral today which stands very much magnificent beside the stadium in Bauchi. I built the Bishop’s Court and also built the Cathedral in Gombe, established schools there and more churches.

Today, the diocese has given birth to Gombe Diocese from which the present Primate was the Bishop and has now come to be Primate, Church of Nigeria. I feel so fulfilled also that coming to Enugu Diocese, I came in to meet a temporary Bishop’s Court which was occupied by my predecessor for 27 years and I have to start a new Bishop’s Court here also. I felt so much challenged to face this situation whereby it was like a beginner, builder and also putting things together for better shape.

I also thank God, that when I came to Enugu here the Cathedral was also not built except the Lady Chapel, but through the grace of God we were able to complete the Bishop’s Court, magnificent Bishop’s Court, it is one of the best in the whole of Africa and also a magnificent Cathedral. These are part of the achievements of which within these 30 years I am grateful to God for. About Archbishop E O Chukwuma, Biography, Age, Family, Wife, News.

After that we established schools, the hospital which is also growing now, we are building a diagnostic centre which is almost completed and then establishing schools. We thank God for it, we thank God that we have been able to establish more churches, more schools under the diocese for which by the grace of God today we have been able to create more dioceses out of Enugu. When I came, I also have to create the Diocese of Oji River which now has given birth to Udi Diocese, we created Enugu North with headquarters at Ngwo, we created Awgu-Aninri Diocese which has its headquarter at Isuawa and we created Nike Diocese which has its headquarters at Abakpa, St. Cyprians.

So, with these dioceses and the dioceses created again in Abakaliki and Nsukka, we have now 12 dioceses under Enugu. Enugu Diocese will be 50 years in August this year and we are grateful that this diocese which started as Enugu Diocese created out from Niger Diocese has given birth to 12 dioceses now becoming an Archdiocese that covers both Enugu and Ebonyi states. I thank God that by his grace I am also serving my second term now as the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province.

We cannot but thank God for his grace which has been so much abounding in our lives. My wife and I have struggled through thick and thin and cushion and all sort of problems both in and out the episcopacy. We are very grateful to God that through the help of our friends, well-wishers and God’s grace, we have been able to tame the storms of life to achieve all we have been able to achieve within these 30 years. I must say it has not been too easy, but God has been on our side. About Archbishop E O Chukwuma, Biography, Age, Family, Wife, News.

About Archbishop E O Chukwuma, Biography, Age, Family, Wife, News

“It is that many are the afflictions of the righteous but God delivered us from many afflictions and we are still thanking God that we were able to touch many lives. My life has been that of humanitarian services, philanthropy and also compassionate concern for those who have been cheated and those who are suffering because of injustice and hatred. I am detribalized, I speak Igbo, I speak Yoruba, I speak Hausa and so I have friends all over the three regions of Nigeria.

I want to say that God has been so good in these 30 years, many people ask me why were you not made the Primate, I said well when I would have become the Primate, it wasn’t God’s will, but even this time around, yes, I would have become the Primate because I had all it takes to be, but it is because I do not have 10 years more as it is by constitution and did not want the Igbo to lose many years because if I had become Primate now I will just spend about three and half years and that will be another finished time for the Igbo.

So, it was good for me to step down and be able to mobilize for an Igbo person to become the Primate who will spend up to 10 years because the present Primate now is 58 years that is Archbishop Henry Ndukuba. The Yoruba held it for about 30 years with Archbishop Olufosoye, 10 years, Adetuloye, 10 years and Akinola, 10 years so I don’t think it would have been so nice for the Church of Nigeria, our brothers in the West to have said they had to occupy the post again or probably the Northern people, because I believe that the Eastern Nigeria is senior to northern area because the church has been mostly established in the East. So, it is a good thing that today God has helped us to have a success, a Primate who is an Igbo man, core Igbo man from Orlu Diocese in Orlu town, Imo State and we hope he’s gonna do well.

What is there is that in the Episcopacy we need to support ourselves, there must be love, concern and there must not be acrimony. Because one of the things one suffers so much is envy and jealousy among ourselves and people not wanting to be contented with either their dioceses and poke-nosing into somebody’s diocese which is unfortunate. We have our problems, we have our disagreements which we don’t want to wash our dirty lining outside, but I think time has come that with a new Primate we put our hands together, support him and forge ahead. About Archbishop E O Chukwuma, Biography, Age, Family, Wife, News.

By the way, I am the oldest consecrated Bishop in the Church of Nigeria because being 30 years old in the episcopacy I don’t think any one of them laid hands on me, I laid hands on all of them and I am humbled about it and I thank God that, that has not made me to lose my head. So, I see myself now as a consultant, as an elder or as a patron to other bishops because many of them were not even in Theological College when I was made bishop so I think I deserve that respect.

This year has been a very wonderful year for me, because whether COVID-19 likes or not, it’s also my 40th year anniversary of wedding, by December 26 my wife and I will be 40 years in marriage and that has been so wonderful. Enugu Diocese will be 50 years old as inaugurated diocese and I am celebrating my 30th year of consecration, you can see that it has been a wonderful sort of thing. And this year also particularly this April will be 20 years I lost my father and one years I lost my mother, so you can see that this year is a wonderful year for me to say God I bless your holy name”. About Archbishop E O Chukwuma, Biography, Age, Family, Wife, News.