Revisionism and schism in the Anglican Communion: Gay culture syndrome and the response of the Church of Nigeria

Abstract

Christianity  has always  maintained that  sexual  acts  have to  be

confined  to   a  marriage  between  a   man  and  a   woman  in  a

heterosexual  relationship.  This  belief   which  is  inherited  from

traditional cultures  of the  world and  strongly affirmed  by  Jesus

forms  the   bedrock  of  sexual  morality.   Christianity  strives  to

uphold this in every generation and as such homosexuality and its

related acts have been traditionally  regarded as aberrations. The

most testing moral  issues facing the Christianity in  modern times

are those  connected with  sexual ethics,  especially as they  relate

to  homosexuality. The  resultant  crisis created  by  the attempted

revision of sexual  morality in the Church has  shaken the unity of

especially Anglican  Communion worldwide, resulting  in a  grave

schism with the  Church of Nigeria is playing  a prominent role in

upholding the  Church’s traditional  teaching on  sexual morality,

and leading  the rest of  the orthodox Anglican  Provinces in their

face-off  with  revisionists  in  the  Western  Churches.  This  study

discovers that the disagreement which has led to the schism in the

Anglican  Communion   is  in  many   respects  a  blessing   to  the

Province   of   Nigeria.  Moreover,   the   resultant   disruption   of

Anglican unity serves as a wake-up  call to the ‘sleeping giant,’ in

that  it  provokes and  subsequently  show-cases  the  potentials of

Nigerian  Anglicanism  as  the  leading  force   in  Africa  and  the

Global South Provinces. The schism  helps Nigeria and the rest of

the Global  South Provinces to  finally shake  off the last  shackles

of   colonial   doctrinal   imperialism,   providing   the   Provinces

involved  the   platform  to  be   much  more   self-governing,  self-

propagating and self-sustaining.