Bishop says elders scuttled bid to unite rival AIPCA factions
AIPCA Archbishop Julius Njoroge speaks during a women’s conference at Mugoiri Girls High School in Murang’a on August 15, 2018 where he revealed how church elders scuttled an attempt to unite three rival factions. PHOTO | NDUNG’U GACHANE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The archbishop said that all the three conflicting bishops had unanimously agreed on three major points.
- He said they had agreed to divide the church into three main archdioceses to be led by the three archbishops.
- He added that his two main arch-rivals had agreed to second him to be the national archbishop.
A bishop who leads one of the three factions of the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA) has revealed how efforts to unite them were scuttled.
Archbishop Julius Njoroge said that he, together with his two rivals, had reached an agreement, only for elders to trash their report, scuttling their new-found unity and reconciliation.
The archbishop said that all the three conflicting bishops had unanimously agreed on three major points that would have seen the church, which had been rocked by leadership wrangles, come together and form one formidable church without turning physical as had been witnessed over the years.
UNITY MEETINGS
Speaking Wednesday at Mugoiri Girls High School during AIPCA’s women annual conference that brought together over 5000 women, Archbishop Njoroge said after a series of reconciliation meetings, his rival, Archbishop Wang’ombe and Archbishop Samson Muthuri had agreed to divide the church into three main archdioceses to be led by the three archbishops.
They had also agreed to the creation of the position of a national archbishop who would be the overall head of the church.
“The agreement was unanimously agreed on by the three of us and we handed the report to the retired bishops Lewis Emathew and Peter Njenga from Methodist Church and the Anglican Church respectively and the State House comptroller who was appointed by the President to spearhead the reconciliation process,” he said, noting that the team comprised of seven people.
NATIONAL ARCHBISHOP
He added that his two main arch-rivals had agreed to second him to be the national archbishop.
But the archbishop noted that two weeks ago, 18 elders drawn from all parts of the country convened in Nyeri and overturned the decision by the three bishops arguing that they had no obligation to appoint on their behalf the national archbishop, a move he said derailed the process of uniting the church.
“Were it not for the elders, we would be so much ahead but all is not lost. We have embarked on the process again and in fullness of time we will be united,” Archbishop Njoroge said.
He thanked President Uhuru Kenyatta for his continued support for the church, saying even after the first conflict resolution process flopped, the Head of State has continued challenging the church to find a solution for their differences
