Ecumenism in Nigerian Context: Any Way Forward?
Anokwulu: Ecumenism in Nigeria Context: Any Way Forward? ECUMENISM IN NIGERIAN CONTEXT: ANY WAY FORWARD?
Sebastian C. Anokwulu Department of Theology, Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary Onitsha, Nigeria. Email: [email protected]
Abstract Many challenges face the realization of Christian unity among Nigerian churches, just like other places in the world. But peculiar ecumenical challenges face Nigeria; like so many churches are without history-line, many theologically untrained clerics own churches, lack of common ecumenical forum to understand one another’s confession of faith, virulent verbal antagonism against one another’s faith, uniting bodies like CAN or CCN are highly politicized, trained experts in ecumenical issues are not given opportunity to help in leadership positions, etc. In the face of these challenges, one questions if true practice of Ecumenism is possible in Nigeria. Through a survey of Nigerian ecumenical history, the paper presents the backgrounds of ecumenical challenges in the first part. Then, using analytical principles, the succeeding chapter examines the openness of Nigerian clerics and faithful to Ecumenism. In the remaining chapters, the paper uses critical tools to present Ecumenical paradigms both from the Catholic and Protestant fronts for Nigerians to follow. In the end, the paper evidently shows that seed of true Ecumenism has been sown in Nigeria with new consciousness and trained experts getting involved in the discussion of the matter. As the work of the Holy Spirit, there is already a ray of light seen at the end of the tunnel for Nigerian Ecumenism. Thus, the paper recommends that Nigerian churches should be converted from confessionalism to have one Christian identity; should be open to listen and dialogue with one another; should be involved in healing of past memories and reducing the ecclesiological issues that divide them and finally be ready to bear common witness to Christ among non-Christians.
Introduction As a little boy learning Catechism to receive Holy Communion, I was taught that I should not read any book that is not Catholic. I held on to this view since childhood till I went for further studies abroad. I am not sure that anybody still teaches that Catechism of Trent in the Catholic Church now, but no one has explicitly made effort to remove the sticking old voices of the past in the minds and hearts of the faithful. This is a Catholic experience. Other faith denominations have similar infused biases into their young ones as they grow up. Theological Truths remain the same throughout the ages, like God is the Creator of everything, Jesus saved the world through His blood, and the Holy Spirit is the Mighty Counsellor. These never change. But the way these theological truths are passed on or communicated to people of different age brackets, language, culture and period may change according to their givens. The Holy Spirit is at work in the Church in the past two centuries breaking barriers and bringing back the scattered children of Babel with the divine flame of Pentecost. Using institutional authorities of the Second Vatican Council (for Roman Catholics) and (World Council of Churches) for other churches, the Holy Spirit is 59 Ministerium – Journal of Contextual Theology Vol. 2 No. 1 (2016) 59-72 bringing the need for unity of Christian to the attention of everybody, that it is no longer an option for anyone who is asked like Cain ‘where is your brother?’ to reply, ‘I do not know, am I my brother’s keeper?’ It is imperative to look for your brother or sister. The Ecumenical movement is set to achieve this purpose. Thus, in this paper we shall survey the practice of Ecumenism in Nigeria from its background to the present situation, highlighting the challenges, past and present ecumenical efforts and the ecumenical openness among the clergy. This leads us to recapture the ecumenical Principles that should guide every meaningful ecumenism for the churches. Then, we shall present a recommendation for the churches on what proper Ecclesial Identity should be following the thoughts of Groupes des Dombes. Lastly, we shall give our final thoughts on the Nigerian ecumenical efforts.
1. Practising Ecumenism in Nigeria – Survey of Churches’ Effort 1.1 Going Back to the Roots of Churches’ Rivalry in Nigeria When the Missionaries arrived in Nigeria, they found it a non-individualistic society, a common feature in Africa. They found a people so strongly tied in a communal bond that went beyond the present generation to their primogenitors and progenies. A society, as S. Thorpe described it, where
…every member of the society is closely linked with the community. This creates a chain which binds each person horizontally to the other members of the tribe, and vertically to both the deceased ancestors and coming generations. Individuals cannot exist alone. They are because they belong.
Surely, before the Colonial Masters and the Missionaries arrived in Nigeria, the natives were a community-conscious-people, structurally disposed to dialogue and rich with varieties of groups that gave the native environment its lustre and attractiveness. These three binding qualities (community consciousness, dialogue and variety) have never been sources of division and rivalry in the native Nigerian society but markers of togetherness and unity. Then came colonial Westernization and missionary Christianisation. Without disregarding the positive effects of contacts with the West (formal education, medical equipment and facilities, civilization and infrastructures, etc), the slave trade, inter-family feuds and tribal wars generated in the originally peaceful community (as the Colonial Masters pursued their economic and Political interests) are the main sources of division and rivalry in what they handed over as part of our structure and institutions.We inherited division as part of British legacy. Likewise, the Missionaries will ever be remembered for their positive impact in Nigerian civil and religious settings – the Light of the Gospel and the faith, the Christian morals and values and most importantly, education. Unfortunately, as they sowed these good seeds, the bad seeds of rivalry and division they carried from their
60 Anokwulu: Ecumenism in Nigeria Context: Any Way Forward? mother Churches sprouted alongside as weeds. Each group struggled “for mission space, acceptance and converts…These missionary groups used schools and hospitals to lure the Igbo to their individual denominations.” Hence, from the beginning, the Gospel message was received in the Nigerian context with unhealthy spirit of rivalry and competition. Thus, when the Missionaries were planting Christianity in Nigeria, the seed was already infected with division. As Christianity sprouted and matured without proper treatment of the infection, her foliage (ecclesial bodies) is wild with competition and rivalry.
1.2 The Present Ecclesial Denominationalism – Serious Challenge to the Practice of Ecumenism Within the space available, we cannot justifiably give the complete picture of the denominational rivalry among Christians in Nigeria. The effort here is to give a picture of the denominational distribution and the extent of the gap between them so that when we discuss the need for cooperation through Ecumenism, it becomes understandable. Christianity in Nigeria has grown in population from 21.4% (in 1953) to 49.3% (in 2010) of the over one hundred and forty million (140, 000, 000) Nigerians. Presently, it is believed that Christianity has taken more than half of the country’s population. An overview of the confessional distribution using the research reference of 2012 has it thus: Protestants – 26%; African Independent Churches – 18.25%; Catholics – 13. 45%; Anglicans 10.1%; Marginal/Unaffiliated Christians – 2.1%. Note that outside the Catholics who are homogenous in sect, others have sects and sub-sects running in thousands. For example: Protestants (Anglicans, Pentecostals, Evangelical Church of West Africa, Tekan, Baptists, Methodists, etc), African Independent Churches (Christ Apostolic, Aladura, Cherubim and Seraphim, Deeper Life, more than 4200 other African Christian churches) and so on with Marginal/Unaffiliated Christians. In other words, it needs a weekly review to be updated in the number of Christian sects we have in Nigeria because new churches spring up every week. In the face of the above confessional spread of Christian churches in Nigeria, the first challenge any ecumenical effort faces is recognition and acceptance of one another. One of the strongest theological grounds qualifying any ecclesial body to be a member of the WCC is that
The church recognizes the presence and activity of Christ and the Holy Spirit outside its own boundaries and prays for the gift of God's wisdom to all in the awareness that other member churches also believe in the Holy Trinity and the saving grace of God.
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Ecumenism is possible when there is mutual recognition and sincere openness to dialogue with the issues that divide or unite. To create a broader space for churches to meet, in 1998, the World Council of Churches (WCC) through the Commission of Common Understanding and Vision (CUV), created the “Global Christian Forum”, a common platform where every denomination can participate in ecumenical dialogue. This forum brings together, the Roman Catholic Church, WCC members, other churches – Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Independent churches, as well as para-church organizations. The essential question is: is there such forum in Nigeria? If not, what other alternatives do we have? Is there any visible and meaningful ecumenical effort taking place to gather all these ecclesial bodies to a conversation with one another?
1.3 Ecumenical Efforts in Nigeria – Past and Present Initiatives 1.3.1 The Past Ecumenical Effort – Protestants’ and Catholics’ Early missionaries practised informal ecumenical relations tagged ‘casual ecumenical relationship.’ They needed to co-operate with one another to face their common missionary challenges – language barrier, native hostility, tropical ailments, etc. However, the earliest serious formal ecumenical initiative was when Dr Dean of the Church of Scotland, searching for organic unity of churches, proposed for a united church of Nigeria nine years after Edinburgh Conference of 1910.The Scheme of Union was prepared by a committee and the draft for the basis of the union established. For more than half of a century (1911-1965) the mainline Protestants (Presbyterians, Methodists, and Anglicans) laboured to have the union inaugurated. But the union proposal failed just a day before its inauguration billed for 11 December 1965.Why was the proposal unsuccessful? In an earlier research, I stated my findings:
Although, this move must be acknowledged as the earliest Protestant ecumenical attempt to unite in Nigeria, we must also underscore that it failed not only because the leading protagonists of the proposal were not truly interiorly converted in their ecumenical dispositions but also because their congregations, who had already been indoctrinated into confessional or denominational adherence against the others, had not been re-educated. In the long run, the fundamental rivalry of Protestants against the Catholics was not abated by the attempted union.
The above information highlights key facts: that unity of Christians (through ecumenism) in Nigeria would be practically difficult without interior conversion and proper ecumenical formation among the faithful (clergy and laity alike). However, the attempt yielded two major ecumenical results. First, it led to the formation of Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) in 1930 and establishment of two joint ecumenical Seminaries in Ibadan and Umuahia for the training of their ministers.The
62 Anokwulu: Ecumenism in Nigeria Context: Any Way Forward? effort to unite remains the foundation of the Protestants’ initiative to ecumenical unity. On the Catholics’ side, few years after the Second Vatican Council (1964), having promulgated Unitatis Redintegratio (UR - the Decree on Ecumenism) and encouraged Catholics to be involved in the search for Christian unity, Kaduna Metropolitan Bishop (John MacCarthy S.M.A), inaugurated a Commission on Ecumenism on April 2, 1968 and mandated the Commission with the charge to oversee the reception of Unitatis Redintegratio in the Province. The Commission was put to work and developed a draft that had among its main projects: To establish ecumenical directorates in all the dioceses in the province. To form all pastoral workers in the dioceses in the dynamics of ecumenism. To reduce indiscriminate conditional baptism in the province by making all the incumbent pastors study protestant baptism. To promote the establishment of the bible society in all the parishes; and a particular Sunday was to be chosen as a “Bible Sunday” - a Sunday for annual thanksgiving for the word of God, and so on.
Likewise, the Catholic Bishop of Maiduguri, James T. Kieran Cotter O.S.A, granted the use of one of the Catholic Church’s premises for Sunday services to a Protestant community. Indeed the promulgation of UR and Ecumenical Directory (ED), improved the ecumenical attitude of Catholics towards their Christian neighbours. But it did not last because the documents were received “without giving enough time for its comprehension, ecumenical formation and maturity before implementation… there was lack of interior conversion and change of heart, which should have led both the Catholics and Protestants to a true and sincere commitment to ecumenism.” Cardinal Francis Arinze, in his book, Towards Christian Unity recorded similar ecumenical attempts in Old Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province: a Catholic Bishop was invited to address the Anglican synod, there was an alliance of Catholic and Protestant Federation of Students and similar other ecumenical interactions. Inasmuch as we have records of these past ecumenical efforts, they did not survive because they were not based on proper formation of the ecumenical spirit needed through interior conversion. These new ecumenical rapprochements were happening at the eve of Nigerian civil war. When the war came, it destroyed the fledgling spirit of ecumenism being stimulated by the influence of the Ecumenical Movement (on the Protestant side) and the impact of Vatican II (on the Catholic side). The process of distributing war relief materials through the Missions rekindled the old missionary antagonism and rivalry. The by-products are still with us today as current ecumenical challenges.
1.3.2 The Present Ecumenical Openness – Author’s Review
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As a student concluding my specialization study in Ecumenism in Rome, I carried out a research survey among Catholic Clergy in South-Eastern Nigeria to determine the level of their openness to the search for unity among Christians. Here, I would like to use part of my findings to score an important point concerning the present openness towards Christian unity in Nigeria. Below is an excerpt from the report of that survey:
Research Question 3 – Openness Score Table 1: Frequency and Percentages on the Ecumenical Openness of the Priests Responses S/No Items Yes % No % 1 Church of Christ will be ‘one’ in unity not 700 90.40 74 9.60 there will be uniformity of all the churches. 2 Everyone needs conversion of the heart to 744 96 30 4.00 heal the present state of division. 3 The Papacy and Hierarchy are to be 212 27.70 562 72.30 abolished for the interest of other ecclesial communities. 4 All denominations are to be abolished for a 396 51.20 378 48.80 return to Roman Catholicism. 5 It is possible to have a common version of 606 78.30 168 21.70 the creed and bible for all Christians. 6 Seeking to understand a family member who 637 82.30 137 17.70 joined a different ecclesial community instead of ostracizing him/her will help to maintain unity and love in our Christian homes. 7 Accepting the consensus of bilateral and 527 68.10 247 31.90 multilateral dialogues (e.g. BEM) into practice at the local level will help the renewal of interdenominational dispositions. 8 When UR is properly received in OEP, it will 655 84.60 119 15.40 help in the renewal of the Catholic disposition towards other ecclesial communities. 9 All the ecclesial bodies attending the 687 88.60 87 11.20 Christian Association of Nigeria need a change (conversion) of mentality to practice genuine ecumenism.
Table 1 reveals that the majority of the Priests are open and ready for Ecumenism and Christian unity under the Pope and the Hierarchy of the Church. All the nine items were accepted since the percentage of each one of them exceeded 50%. Item 3
64 Anokwulu: Ecumenism in Nigeria Context: Any Way Forward? and 4 which were structured in the negative to check the attention of the respondents were also accepted. From the collation and analysis of the survey, it was clearly evident that Priests who are fully aware that Vatican II urges every Priest to be involved in ecumenical matters are only 13.30% whereas majority are disposed to it. Again, only 36% show they are ready to embark on ecumenical issues whereas majority are open to it. Why are they disposed or open but not proactive towards it? Generally, people like the idea of unity and would like it to be achieved but they are not actively involved in any way to achieve it. This simply means that our folks (both clergy and laity) are still without proper information or formation on ecumenical matters. They need to be awakened to the consciousness that the prayer of Jesus Christ, “that they may be one (Jn17:21)” will never be realized unless every Christian consciously works towards unity. If Catholic priests have open disposition for ecumenical unity, their congregations would most likely be disposed because the flock follow their shepherd if they are leading them in good pastures. One could say the same to our Separated Brethren. Usually, we experience the enthusiasm among leaders of denominations to come together for common ecclesial issues, although the outcomes of the gatherings most often do not possess the theological and ecclesiological approaches that would help to minimize differences and increase commonalities among the sects. The reason is not that they do not want it but because they lack the experience and expertise to help themselves. The Nigerian picture has not yet manifested true dynamics both on the theological, ecclesiological or ecumenical fellowships our counterpart in the Western world possess. To make this point clearer, let us itemize the basic ecumenical principle that should guide all ecumenical gathering from WCC (Protestant) and Vatican II (Catholic) sides.
2. Principles of Ecumenism – Common Ground for Protestants’ and Catholics’ Approaches The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian unity (PCPCU) and WCC established a Joint Working Group (JWG) since 1965. This group consists of eminent consultants and experts from Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and WCC that annually meets to discuss matters of common interest and ways to promote ecumenical cooperation. In his address to this group as they celebrated 40 years since they started, Cardinal Walter Kasper, the then President of the PCPCU reminded them of five key principles that would help every ecumenical effort to be fruitful among the 21st Century Christians. These principles can be considered the key to any meaningful ecumenism in Nigeria. They include: a. Clarity on the Theological Foundation of Unity: Cardinal Kasper stated that any ecumenical gathering that does not clearly spell out and explore, to a definite 65 Ministerium – Journal of Contextual Theology Vol. 2 No. 1 (2016) 59-72 conclusion, the basic theological uniting grounds, like common Baptism and profession of common faith, would end up a gathering on “emotional family feeling” or “vague humanitarianism” that does not support true unity. He argued that, since the document from Lima conference of 1982 for recognizing one another’s Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry and the call from the Third International Consultation on Councils of Churches in Hong Kong in 1993 for acceptance of Baptism as a common binding element, the proposals from these ecumenical documents have not been conclusively attended to. Likewise, he decried that an important explication of the Apostolic Faith published by Faith and Order in 1999 have not found the reception and resonance it deserved among churches. Hence, if ecumenism will make meaningful progress towards unity, the churches’ commitment to rediscover that unity already existing in the Body of Christ – The Church of Christ – is key and foundational: “Through our common faith in the one God, the one Lord, the one Spirit and the one Baptism we are one Body in Christ (cf. Eph 4:4 f). We are in an already existing, but not yet full communion, which makes it possible for us to give each other the honorary name of Christian.”
The churches in Nigeria are so many. It is true that many of them are not aware of the universal ecumenical documents produced. Many are not aware of the proposed theological foundations for unity. The greatest challenge in Nigeria would be how the existing ecumenical bodies, like Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Church Council of Nigerian (CCN) could begin to open up to these ecumenical truths and invite experts in these areas to help enlighten the leaders of churches on these ecumenical bases. b. Common Vision and Shared Goal: Kasper again reminded the JWG that in 21st Century, any meaningful ecumenism must be coherent and honest in its purpose, goal and orientation. This means that while communion of churches will allow for diversity in unity, it does not mean a conglomeration of contradicting doctrinal pluralism or indifferentism. Participating churches need to be clearly aware of their theological and ecclesiological givens. Then are they able to present it clearly to others so that together churches can search for a common ground on the meaning of the Church and her unity. This is what gives partners in ecumenical movement vision of a common goal. “Without an answer to the question ‘where are we going? We shall get to nowhere.” The essential sense of purpose, goal or orientation Cardinal Kasper pointed above is what any ecumenical gathering in Nigeria needs most. We believe that, when the leaders or organizers of these ecumenical associations in Nigeria start to ask the right questions, they will find the right answers.
66 Anokwulu: Ecumenism in Nigeria Context: Any Way Forward? c. Conversion of Heart – Cardinal Kasper brings up conversion re-emphasizing the teachings of Vatican II, Pope John Paul II and the ecumenical group of Groupe Des Dombes (For the Conversion of Churches, WCC Geneva 1993). Conversion of heart is the key to any sincere effort to achieve ecumenical unity. As a Principle for ecumenism, conversion is needed both on Personal and Institutional or Communal levels: i. Personal renewal- Personal conversion and sanctification imply a spirituality of communio, which means to make room for the other and to withstand the egoistic temptations of competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy. ii. Institutional renewal – UR puts renewal as basic condition for progress in Ecumenism (UR, 6); Pope John Paul II did not hesitate to speak of the structures of sin. The Church is “at once holy and always in need of purification”; she “follows constantly the path of penance and renewal.”
In other words, both individual and Church institutions need renewal through interior conversion. When individuals and Institutions constantly examine themselves in the light of divinely revealed Truths, they will be better disposed to ecumenism. The above principle is truer to our Nigerian ecumenical context. Conversion in the Nigerian ecumenical context will necessarily lead every individual and ecclesial community to inner transformation that will help to break down the perennial walls of prejudices, bias, intolerance and resentment, and mutually accept one another as brothers in Christ, while consciously praying and being committed to the cause of reconciliation and communion. d. Spiritual Ecumenism: Cardinal Kasper then turns to the Soul of Ecumenism, Spiritual Ecumenism. Spiritual Ecumenism brings the teaching of the Holy Scripture, the transmission of the living traditions and reception of the outcomes of ecumenical dialogue (bilateral or multilateral) to be assimilated into everyday life of the persons or churches involved in ecumenical encounters. It makes ecumenical gatherings less official or bureaucratic and the dialogues less academic. Interchanging prayer experience on both individual and institutional levels gives life to ecumenism. Cardinal Kasper gave example of how it could be done:
I would further mention the shared reading and meditation of Sacred Scripture, exchanges between monasteries, communities and spirituality movements, visits to pilgrim sites and centers of spirituality. One of the most encouraging signs is the recently spreading spiritual ecumenical networks between spiritual movements, monasteries, fraternities and religious congregations.
When the churches in Nigeria begin to appreciate the genuine spiritual riches of other ecclesial bodies and benefit from one another’s spiritual gifts, the work of the 67 Ministerium – Journal of Contextual Theology Vol. 2 No. 1 (2016) 59-72
Holy Spirit in bringing the churches together will be enhanced not hindered and ecumenical activities will animate the search for full unity of Christians in Nigeria. e. Practical Ecumenism: Finally, Cardinal Kasper reminded the JWG that Ecumenism is not an end in itself but a means. The search for unity is principally for Christians to unite in order to bring the whole of humanity to Christ. Both RCC and WCC (cf Uppsala Assembly of the WCC in 1968 with the theme “Behold, I make all things new”) uphold that the ultimate goal of Ecumenism is to evangelize all people. Thus, true ecumenical gatherings are geared towards becoming instruments and signs of unity of all, irrespective of any biological, geographical, religious or socio-political differences. They serve to uphold all the universal values that preserve the dignity of human person, fundamental human rights, sanctity of life, family values, education, justice and peace, health care, the preservation of creation, etc (Cardinal W. Kasper, 2005). When Ecumenism is oriented towards the above values, churches become social and political instruments in the service of Christ.
Nigerian ecumenical bodies need to look up to the five Principles above for guide in their search for Christian unity.
3. Unity among Christians in Nigeria – The Paradigm of Groupe Des Dombes Groupe Des Dombes was founded by Abbé Paul Couturier in 1937. As an independent ecumenical group, they met annually at the Cistercian Abbey of Les Dombes, near Lyons, France. They were principally concerned with finding a way to reconcile ecclesial identities. They have been instrumental in articulating many important ecumenical insights which have later found their way into such documents as the WCC’s Lima Text (1982) on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. Their most important document was published: For the Conversion of the Churches (FCC) in 1993. As a group, they have a method of approaching all their ecumenical issues: usually, they look at the historical survey of the problem, they look at the witness of the Scriptures regarding the problem and they offer their proposal or recommendations from the lessons of history and the Scriptures. One of the greatest contributions of Groupe des Dombes is that they helped to define what identity is with reference to one’s confession or church: “Thus identity refers back to a history which precedes us; it makes us what we are in advance of ourselves. It also initiates a continuity in time: we live out our identity by taking on our original identity and all the determinants that accompany it, about which we can do nothing.”
If the Christians, Ecclesial and Confessional identities, follow their historical order, conversion of churches, according to the Groupe Des Dombes, it is
68 Anokwulu: Ecumenism in Nigeria Context: Any Way Forward? complimentary to one’s identity and not contradictory, as many think. When the order is misplaced (as in Nigerian and other Countries’ cases), it becomes a problem. Let us explain it further. The order for the Groupe Des Dombes: In Christian Identity, God the Father communicates His grace to all who believe in Christ through his Son Jesus Christ. This is universal to all Christians no matter your culture or language or race or origin. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you share the Father’s graces with all other believers in Christ. In Ecclesial Identity, those who believe in Christ, in fellowship with other believers, enjoy the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ as a Church. In Confessional Identity, a particular believer savours the gift of the Holy Spirit as member of Christ’s Body in a particular historic church. The order that Groupe Des Dombes proposed for the churches’ conversion in order to realize the full unity is that Christian Identity should determine the rapport in Ecclesial Identity which in turn determines how the individual enjoys his/her Confessional Identity in a particular church. In this order, conversion is complimentary to Christian or Ecclesial or Confessional identities because at the end of their study of the Bible on conversion, they concluded that “conversion is the very opposite of the loss of identity.” In other words, when one loses one’s identity with Christ, one needs to be converted. When churches remove themselves from Christian identity, they need to convert. And when confessional allegiance is not at one with Christian identity, it needs conversion. Ecclesiological issues have been the most problematic area in all ecumenical issues. Confessionalism is where individuals or churches hold on to their confessional identity above their Christian and Ecclesial origins. It is the greatest source of division among Christians all over the world. To offer a way forward, Groupe Des Dombes proposed that the four marks of the Church of Christ – One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic – needs to be re-read by all the churches using the epistemic principle of ‘the hierarchy of Truths’(FCC, §§. 180-194). In the light of the new reading, they proposed that churches have to struggle out of their facile status quo and confessionalism through the process of purification (conversion). In specific areas, they proposed to Protestants and Catholics key areas of conversion (cf FCC, §§. 203-213). To help all churches towards full unity (Ecumenism), they suggested five points:
1. They have to have a common version of the creed in all the languages. 2. They have to lift all the standing anathemas against each other. 3. They have to strive towards having consensus in common ecclesiology. 4. Through bilateral and multilateral dialogues, they have to draw up common doctrinal formulations that express their faith.
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5. They have to put into practice all the consensus arrived at through these dialogues.
In the end, Groupe Des Dombes gave suggestions that catechesis is fundamental to achieving this conversion among the churches. However, to step down these proposals to Nigerian context is an enormous ecumenical task.
4. The Problem of Identity among Nigerian Christians – Any Hope for Conversion? The problem of identity among Christian confessions in Nigeria is amorphous. That is, it is difficult to clarify. Many churches do not have any history except their Founder’s or Owner’s history. In other cases where they have, members are not aware of their history. The Confessional identity of such churches are not based on inherited or transmitted articles of faith from history-line but from individual Founder’s or Owner’s or Pastor’s identity. Here we find ecumenical challenges unique to Nigerian context. Our unique challenges are many but the obvious ones are: Churches without history or established rules are so many. Many churches are owned and managed by theologically untrained clerics. Only few clergy leaders understand the principles of Ecumenism. Virulent verbal antagonism still exists strongly among differing members of a church. No common forum or opportunity to understand one another’s confession and practice. Common Bodies are highly politicized (like CAN, CCN, etc) Ecclesial and political identities are mingled in the effort to control important political and economic posts. Trained ecumenists are not given opportunity to help the existing National Ecumenical Bodies. The list can continue…
In the face of these and other challenges, the question is whether it is possible in Nigeria to practise Ecumenism within the guide of five ecumenical principles pointed out by Cardinal Kasper? Or, put in another way, when would it be possible to get all the churches in Nigeria to see the proposal of Groupe Des Dombes on personal and institutional conversion for true Ecumenism and to appropriate it in their effort to make progress towards realizing Jesus’ prayer that “all may be one”? Answers to these questions may be too long to come about. But as the work of the Holy Spirit, nothing is impossible with God.
70 Anokwulu: Ecumenism in Nigeria Context: Any Way Forward? Final Thoughts Ecumenical Movement within the last two centuries has gained a momentum among Christians. Worldwide, the consciousness of Christian division is becoming common as different confessional blocs enter into bi-lateral and multi-lateral dialogues to overcome their differences. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. In Nigeria, although collaboration among Christians are still facing so many challenges, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel since the discussion has started and differing sides are getting involved in ecumenical matter. Seminaries and religious institutes are now treating Ecumenism as a subject and experts are being trained in the field. There is every hope that when these ecumenically informed and formed persons steer the leadership of the ecumenical bodies in Nigeria, churches would be more prepared to listen and dialogue with each other; together seek for mutual forgiveness and healing of bad memories; emphasize more the things that bind them, while minimizing the things that divide them; and open common grounds for evangelizing Nigeria, through common witnessing to the Gospel. Like the kingdom seed (Mk4:27), Ecumenism has been sown in Nigeria, it grows. How? The Holy Spirit knows.
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