History was made Sunday February 11, 2024 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Diocese of Nnewi Anglican Communion when His Lordship, Rt Revd Ndubisi Obi, Bishop of the Diocese of Nnewi collated and inducted seven Archdeacons and six Canons.
One of the candidates made Archdeacon at the event was Venerable Samuel Onwudiwe of the St Philip’s Church, Okofia Otolo, Nnewi in Otolo Nnewi Central Archdeaconry.
Archdeacon Onwudiwe who hails from Nnewichi with Church of Transfiguration Mbanakwu as his home church is the son of a priest, Revd Alphonsus Onwudiwe of blessed memory.
Onwudiwe who spoke to journalists during reception said he was ordained priest in 2006, preferred Canon in 2019, and later elevated to a Venerable before his current status as an Archdeacon.
“I didn’t just wake up to say I want to become a priest. I discovered that God called me to be a priest, to serve him.
“My father was a priest, so it runs in our family. When I learnt that God had called me, I had no other alternative than to surrender to Jesus, to work in His vineyard. I joined the ministry in the 2000, “he said.
On his challenges as a priest, he said it was not easy dealing with all kinds of human being.
“At some points, people do not understand what you are doing. But you have to forge ahead with the wisdom of God, and you have to make yourself understood. People’s understanding differs, “he explained.
He enjoined Christians to keep trusting God, and to continue to do his commandments while expecting His blessings at the appropriate time.
In his sermon during the service, Venerable Marcel Emeh of the Diocese on the Niger urged Christians to be always hungry to worship God.
He declared that the closer you were to God, the better for you.
“You cannot know the reality of God unless there’s hunger to know him. There’s liberty in the presence of God and the secret thing belongs to Him.
“The Bible says that righteousness exalts the nation but sin is a reproach. Submit yourself to God and receive His power. Don’t forget that in reality, Jesus is coming back soon. You should have the desire to be His son or daughter, “he said.
The newly inducted priests took their oath promising to live up to expectations of the Church or face the consequences. They declared that they belonged to no secret society or had anything to do with homosexuality and things like that.
