Ibadan south Diocese of the church of Nigeria Anglican communion celebrated its 25th anniversary with gratitude to God for its great work in the diocese.
Bishop of the Diocese, Right Reverend Akintunde Popoola who spoke at the ceremony of the celebrations urged Christians to remain faithful in their service to God Almighty so as to reign with God eternally.
“We are to trust him to lead, guide, provide and protect us because he is interested in our being restored to that original envisaged by God at the creation of the world”.
In his remarks, he expressed gratitude to God for Nigeria and prayed for the leadership of President Bola Tinubu and Oyo State Governor Engineer Seyi Makinde.
He noted that the origins of the Ibadan South Diocese Arch-cathedral can be traced back to over 170 years, right back to when the first European evangelist, Rev David Hinderer arrived to live in Ibadan.
The Ibadan South Diocese was inaugurated on the 13th of July 1999 when the right reverend Dr Jacob A. Ajetunmobi was enthroned at the cathedral church of Saint David, Kudeti, Ibadan as the pioneer bishop.
The Diocese, which began with three arch-deaconries. namely Kudeti, Mapo and Odo-ona, has grown to add ten more arch-deaconries. Anglican churches are grouped into Arch-deaconries administered by a senior clergy called an Archdeacon. A diocese is a group of arch-deaconries led by a bishop consecrated for that purpose.
Speaking on the mandate of the church, Bishop Popoola said the Ibadan South Diocese remains committed and focused to its “vision to be bible based, God centered, Holy spirit guided and committed to pragmatic evangelism and the preparation of men and women to joyfully meet our lord Jesus Christ at his second coming”.
He added that apart from the spread of the gospel, schools and health centers were also established by the Diocese to cater for the educational and health needs of the people. He described the act as a wonderful shining of light into a dark environment.
Reports by John Adio for IbadanCity ANNOUNCER
