CRISIS IN WARRI DIOCESE OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION, 1975-1980

Abstract

The 1975-1980 crisis in the Warri Diocese over the consecration of a bishop was a challenging Episcopal experience in the Anglican Communion. Existing studies on this crisis have centred on financial management, ethical matters and lower and medium level leadership to the neglect of the succession crisis at the upper echelon of the church. This study, therefore, investigated the causes and effects of the crisis with a view to determining its impacts on the growth and development of the church between 1975 and 1980.

Using descriptive and survey research designs, the study was premised on aspects of the Donatist concept of crisis management which presupposed the existence of a crisis, its causes and its effects. In-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected five church legal advisers, 26 members of the Diocesan board, 20 clergy as well as 30 laity of the Warri Diocese. Copies of a questionnaire were administered to purposively sampled 470 respondents: 22 clergy, 4 bishops and 444 laity in the 19 church districts in Warri. Church records and media reports were consulted. Data were subjected to historical analysis and percentage scores.

The crisis was caused by the politicisation of the bishopric appointment in 1975 when a Yoruba priest was consecrated, breaking with the trend of bishopric appointments in the national spread of the Anglican Church. The tension from this climaxed in public protests in 1977, compounded by the molestation of the people by the police and the military. Between 1977-1978, this development led to membership withdrawal of about 10% of the Yoruba and Itsekiri congregation. Between 1977 and mid- 1978, the laity protested to the international leadership of the Anglican Church. On the counsel of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of West Africa made unsuccessful efforts to wade into the crisis. In 1979, the laity unilaterally appointed a new native bishop, an action which attracted threats from the authorities. The recalcitrance of the laity, whose secret backing by key diocesans caused division among the church leaders, led to the church’s accommodation of the situation through regularising the appointment of the new Bishop and transferring the incumbent diocesan to Egbaland in 1980. The Clergy (4), bishops (3) and laity (14) affirmed that lack of objectivity led to the crisis; two of the clergy, four of the bishops and 14 of the laity agreed that the rejection of the non-indigenous bishop was a protest against oppression and injustice. Bishops (3), clergy (5), laity (12) agreed that if the Archbishop of West Africa had successfully carried out the advice of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the crisis could have been averted.

The politicised appointment of a non-native bishop for the Warri Diocese of the Anglican Communion plunged the Diocese into a protracted and devastating leadership crisis between 1975 and 1980. The nature of the crisis reflected the importance of convention and ethnic sensitivity in religious appointments, which, if not observed, could lead to schism in the church. Future studies should be focused on similar crises in other dioceses of the church.

Key words: Anglican Communion, Warri Diocese, Religious conflict, Donatist Concept, Word count: 500