Primate Ndukuba promises to uphold Anglican orthodoxy

There is nothing and no one that can help us, except Jesus Christ.”Those were the words of the new Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Revd. Henry C. Ndukuba at his presentation as the fifth Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, held at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Gwarinpa, Abuja last Wednesday.

The new Primate explained that in Nigeria and during these challenging times, God is reiterating that Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the solution, so that whoever looks to Him shall be saved. He observed that the message of the cross is not easily accepted, and as such, is often offensive to the world and powers of darkness. He, however, added that there was no other alternative, because God’s solution to sin is Jesus Christ. 

He debunked the belief that there are other routes to God, stressing that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, the Father. He said the bane of Christianity in this generation is “cheap grace,” which he explained as, grace without sacrifice.  

Ndukuba, who is also the Bishop of Abuja, said: “If you are not ready to lose your life, you are not ready to follow Jesus… You cannot serve the Lord, Jesus Christ and faithfully follow Him without suffering.”

The cleric noted that the problem in the Church was that many struggle for positions, simply to gain power and not to pay the price of the gospel.
Urging the congregation to prepare their hearts and be ready to pay the price of following Jesus, Primate Ndukuba informed the Church that he would operate an open door policy, but desires truth, sacrifice, hard work and even suffering, if it is to the glory of God.

He promised to uphold the Anglican Orthodoxy, the Communion’s stance against same-sex marriage and the authority of the Scriptures, among others.

He declared that his tenure would be a decade of God’s reign, even as he pledged to strengthen the teaching of God’s word in the Church, as well as pay attention to theological schools, children, youths and women to ensure the future of the Church.

He added that he would focus on re-evangelisation, discipleship and oppose lifestyles that are against God’s word and purge the Church of all who are against the Scriptures’ authority.