Church Of England Apologizes For betrayal Of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby has
apologised for the Church of England's ill-treatment of its first
African Bishop, Samuel Ajayi Crowther according to the Voice.

Preaching at a 'thanksgiving and repentance' service marking the 150th
anniversary of Bishop Crowther's ordination, Archbishop Justin Welby
said: "This is a service of thanksgiving and repentance. Thanksgiving
for the extraordinary life which we commemorate [and] repentance,
shame and sorrow for Anglicans who are reminded of the sin of many of
their ancestors.
"We in the Church of England need to say sorry that someone was
properly and rightly consecrated Bishop and then betrayed and let down
and undermined. It was wrong."

Regarded as the father of Anglicanism in Nigeria, Bishop Crowther who
was born as Ajayi in western Nigeria in 1807, is credited with
bringing many Nigerians to Christ. So great was his impact that he was
ordained the first African Anglican bishop in 1864, despite great
protest.

A former slave, Bishop Crowther became a great linguist, translator,
scholar and mission teacher. He is also credited with translating the
bible into Yoruba and greatly influenced how government's improved
their view of Africa in the 1800s.

But despite his passion and high achievements, Bishop Crowther's
mission was undermined and dismantled in the 1880s by racist white
Europeans, including some of his fellow missionaries.

Historians said prejudiced fellow Anglican missionaries wrongly
questioned the moral values and competency of Bishop Crowther and his
African staff- and systematically dismantled his mission and
undermined his work. In the end, he resigned.

Researchers at the Boston University's School of Theology in the US
wrote: "Mission policy, racial attitudes and evangelical spirituality
had taken new directions, and new sources of European missionaries
were now available. By degrees, Crowther's mission was dismantled: by
financial controls, by young Europeans taking over, by dismissing,
suspending or transferring the African staff. Crowther, desolated,
died of a stroke." Bishop Crowther was replaced by a white bishop.

In his sermon on Sunday (June 30), Archbishop Welby said of Crowther:
"In spite of immense hardship and despite the racism of many whites,
he evangelised so effectively that he was eventually ordained Bishop,
over mmuchuch protest. He led his missionary diocese brilliantly, but
was in the end falsely accused and had to resign, not long before his
death."

Archbishop Welby added: "Crowther did not make himself grand. He lived
out the commands of the words he took at his consecration. And from
his time forwards God has demonstrated his grace through that
ministry. Today well over 70 million Christians in Nigeria are his
spiritual heirs.
"Today we honour him and in so doing The Lord Jesus Christ whom he
served. We are sorry for his suffering at the hands of Anglicans in
this country.

Learning from their foolishness and from his heroism, we seek to be a
church that does not again exclude those whom God is calling. We seek
new apostles, and the grace to recognise them when they come."
-urnaija