Peter Jasper Akinola (born 27 January 1944, in Abeokuta) is the former Anglican Primate of the Church of Nigeria. He is also the former bishop of Abuja and Archbishop of Province III, which covered the northern and central parts of the country. When the division into ecclesiastical provinces was adopted in 2002, he became the first Archbishop of Abuja Province, a position he held until 2010.Ecclesiastical Provinces and Dioceses of the Church of Nigeria He is married and a father of six.
A "low church" Evangelical, Akinola emphasizes the Bible and the teachings of the apostles (apostolic tradition) in a particular way. As one of the leaders of the Global South within the Anglican Communion, Akinola has taken a firm stand against theological developments which he contends are incompatible with the biblical teachings of Christianity and orthodox Anglicanism, notably setting himself against any revisionist interpretations of the Bible and, in particular, opposing same-sex blessings, the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals and any homosexual practice. He was a leading name of conservatives throughout the Anglican Communion, including the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.
On 15 September 2009, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, aged 57 years old, of Bendel Province, was elected the Primate of the Church of Nigeria at the conference of the House of Bishops in Umuahia. He succeeded Akinola on 25 March 2010.
Biography
Akinola was born in 1944 to a Yoruba family in Abeokuta in southwestern Nigeria. His father died when he was four years old and due to financial pressures Akinola had to leave school early.BBC News: Profile: Archbishop Peter Akinola He learned carpentry and at twenty he had a successful furniture business and as patent-medicine seller. He had finished high school by distance education.Sarah Simpson, An African Archbishop Finds Common Ground in Virginia, Christian Science Monitor, 8 January 2007 He left his business, to study for the priesthood. He studied at a Nigerian Anglican Seminary and was ordained a deacon in 1978 and a priest in 1979 in the Anglican Church of Nigeria. Soon after ordination, he moved to the United States to study at the Virginia Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1981 with a master's degree.
Returning to Nigeria afterwards, Akinola was assigned to create an Anglican presence in the new capital Abuja which was about to be built. He holds it one of his greatest successes to have created out of nothing a vibrant Anglican community there. He was consecrated a bishop on 16 November 1989 and enthroned as the first Bishop of Abuja ten days later, at the inauguration of the new Diocese of Abuja on 26 November 1989.Samuel Gambo Kwashang, "The Anglican Church in Northern Nigeria under the episcopacy of Bishop Titus Eyiolorunsefunmi Ogbonyomi from 1976 to 1996" (June 2006) p. 35 In 1997, he became archbishop of Province III of the Church of Nigeria, consisting of the northern dioceses of Nigeria. On 22 February 2000, he was elected primate of the Church of Nigeria, the second biggest church in the Anglican Communion, then numbering 18 million members. In 2002, he became Archbishop of the Abuja Province, a position he held until 2010.
Akinola was given the National Award of Commander of the Order of the Niger in December 2003.Sagay, "From Carpenter to Primate", The Guardian, 1 October 2006
In 2006 Akinola appeared on TIME magazine'''s list of the world's 100 most influential people in the category Leaders and Revolutionaries.The TIME 100 However, in 2007 TIME magazine suggested TIME magazine 8 March 2007 that he "has some explaining to do" in relation to his support for legislation Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill criminalising "gay... organizations" and "Publicity, procession and public show of same-sex amorous relationship through the electronic or print media physically, directly, indirectly or otherwise".
In 2007, the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay gave him together with 17 others a "Lifetime Achievement Award", stating in its citation: "Called a bigot by some in the Anglican Church, his attitudes nonetheless represent a deep-rooted conservative tradition in African Christianity that is flourishing and growing." But he has been criticised by other sections of the international press, including the right-leaning Daily Telegraph which in an editorial on 23 March 2007 characterised him as one of the "extremists" who had "hijacked" conservative Anglicanism, and as "a deeply divisive figure" who has "defended new Nigerian legislation that makes "cancerous" (his word) same-sex activity punishable by up to five years' imprisonment."Akinola was at one time president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, an ecumenical body bringing together 52 million Protestant, Catholic, and African independent Christians. During his presidency, the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja was completed, which had been a building ruin for 16 years.National Ecumenical Centre dedicated in Abuja Akinola was voted out of his position as national president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in June 2007, and replaced by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nigeria, who polled 72 votes to Akinola's 33 votes. This followed criticism of Akinola's allegedly high handed leadership style and of his alleged failure to confront Nigerian president Obasanjo as other Christian leaders had.The Sun News On-line Subsequently, his candidacy as vice president was rejected by the General Assembly of the Christian Association of Nigeria.
In October 2009, he reacted to the Vatican's proposed creation of personal ordinariates for disaffected traditionalist Anglicans by saying that although he welcomed ecumenical dialogue and shared moral theology with the Catholic Church, the current GAFCON structures already meet the spiritual and pastoral needs of conservative Anglicans in Africa.A Pastoral Exhortation to the Faithful in the Anglican Communion
In November 2009, Akinola signed an ecumenical statement known as the Manhattan Declaration calling on evangelicals, Catholics and Orthodox not to comply with rules and laws permitting abortion, same-sex marriage and other matters that go against their religious consciences.Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience
In 2010, upon his retirement as Primate of Nigeria, he launched the Peter Akinola Foundation, a "non-profit-making and non-governmental organisation that focuses on four main areas as Initiatives", respectively "Youth at Crossroad", "Mission and Evangelism", "Stand in the Gap" and "Anglican Unity and Self Reliance".Peter Akinola Foundation Official Website
On 21 November 2015, Peter lost his Mother Janet Amoke Akinola. She was aged 100 years.
Church politics
Vision of the Church of Nigeria One of Akinola's first actions as primate was to convene 400 bishops, priests, lay members, and members of the Mothers' Union to discuss a new vision for the Church of Nigeria; it was chaired by Ernest Shonekan, a former Nigerian president.Vision of the Church of Nigeria The vision the group posed was: "The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) shall be; bible-based, spiritually dynamic, united, disciplined, self supporting, committed to pragmatic evangelism, social welfare and a Church that epitomizes the genuine love of Christ."
Part of the program of action included, for example, At the central level: Translating the books of the liturgy into additional languages Establishing a group of 3000 leading lay personalities who will take care of fundraising and relieve the bishops of this duty Establishing a legal support team to enforce the constitutional right of freedom of religion and worship Establishing colleges for theology and universities Providing internet access for the dioceses for each diocese: Training full-time itinerant evangelists Giving on-the-job training to priests and their wives Working out a social welfare program for less-privileged people Establishing a hospital with at least 30 beds Establishing secondary schools on the community level: Providing literacy courses for adults Setting up cottage industries for the unemployed
Relations with the Anglican Communion
In August 2003, he stated that if the celibate and gay Church of England priest Jeffrey John was consecrated as Bishop of Reading or the non-celibate gay American Episcopalian priest Gene Robinson was consecrated as Bishop of New Hampshire, the Church of Nigeria would leave the Anglican Communion. Several Anglican dioceses worldwide made similar statements, including the Anglican diocese in Sydney, Australia. Under pressure from the Archbishop of Canterbury, John withdrew from consideration for the bishopric and was subsequently appointed as Dean of St Albans in Hertfordshire. Gene Robinson's consecration went forward, precipitating a crisis in the Anglican Communion. At the end of 2003, Akinola commissioned, together with Drexel Gomez, the primate of the Church in the Province of the West Indies, and Gregory Venables, Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, Claiming our Anglican Identity: The Case Against the Episcopal Church, USA, a paper for Anglican Communion primates discussing the conservative implications of Gene Robinson's consecration.Claiming our Anglican Identity: The Case Against the Episcopal Church, USA
His first reaction to the Windsor Report of 2004 was outspoken and critical,From Nigeria's Primate, Archbishop Peter Akinola: Statement on Windsor Report, 19 October 2004 but the statement from the primates gathered at the first African Anglican Bishop's Conference, headed by Akinola, was more moderate and expressed commitment to the future of the Anglican Communion.Statement from the Primates gathered at the first African Anglican Bishop's Conference However, while strenuously supporting those parts of the Windsor Report that addressed the issue of the Anglican Communion's treatment of non-heterosexuals, he has not followed with those parts that deplore overseas interventions in the Episcopal Church and has, on the contrary, set up a missionary body, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, to formalise the ties between break-away Anglicans in the United States and the Church of Nigeria.
In September 2005, Akinola spoke out against the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil's deposition of an evangelical bishop and excommunication of over 30 priests.
In September 2005, the Church of Nigeria redefined its relationship with the Anglican Communion in its constitution, stating that it is in "Communion with all Anglican churches, dioceses, and provinces that uphold and maintain the historic faith, doctrine, sacraments, and discipline of the one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church."Canons of the Church of Nigeria In a later press release, Akinola clarified, "We want to state that our intention in amending the 2002 Constitution of the Church of Nigeria was to make clear that we are committed to the historic faith once delivered to the Saints, practice and the traditional formularies of the Church... We treasure our place within the worldwide family of the Anglican Communion but we are distressed by the unilateral actions of those provinces that are clearly determined to redefine what our common faith was once. We have chosen not to be yoked to them as we prefer to exercise our freedom to remain faithful. We continue to pray, however, that there will be a genuine demonstration of repentance."
On 12 November 2005, Akinola signed a Covenant of Concordat with the Presiding Bishops of the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Province of America.