Peter Akinola

The Most Reverend

Peter Akinola
Emeritus Primate of Nigeria
ChurchChurch of Nigeria
SeeAbuja
In officeMarch 2000 — March 2010
PredecessorJoseph Abiodun Adetiloye
SuccessorNicholas Okoh
Previous post(s)Primate of Nigeria
Orders
Ordination1979
Consecration16 November 1989
Personal details
Born (1944-01-27) 27 January 1944 (age 80)
Abeokuta, Ogun, British Nigeria
Children6

Peter Jasper Akinola (born 27 January 1944, in Abeokuta[1]) 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.[2] He is married and a father of six.[3]

A "low church" Evangelical, Akinola emphasizes the Bible and the teachings of the apostles (apostolic tradition) in a particular way.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

  1. ^ "The Primate of Nigeria". Church of Nigeria. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  2. ^ Ecclesiastical Provinces and Dioceses of the Church of Nigeria Archived 2012-06-23 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference autogenerated1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Vision". Church of Nigeria. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  5. ^ "Telegraph.co.uk". Archived from the original on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  6. ^ "Transfigurations: Archbishop Nicholas Okoh elected Primate of Nigeria".