AWKA — THE retired Archbishop of Province 2 of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Archbishop Maxwell Anikwenwa, has fueled the controversy trailing the argument on the ordination of women as bishops in the church, saying he did not find anything in theology against the ordination of women.

Addressing reporters in Awka yesterday, Anikwenwa, who also served as the Dean of Church of Nigeria and Bishop of Awka Diocese before his retirement, said though the Church of England had voted in support of women ordination as bishops, he still stood on the side of the Church of Nigeria on the matter.

He said: “As an Anglican priest, I do not find any theology against women ordination. Jesus never said a woman should not serve him. The Bible tells us that women followed Jesus all through his ministry. Why won’t they then serve him?

“So I do not see anything wrong in ordaining women. But I have to abide by the stand of the Church of Nigeria on the matter because we are not on the same page with the Church of England on the issue.”

According to Anikwenwa, the Church of Nigeria has actually not taken a census to know the number of bishops in support of the ordination of women.

He added that what he knew was that some parishes said they were not ready for it.

The cleric also spoke on the controversial gay marriage, describing it as another Sodom and Gomorrah.
He urged Christians to follow the teachings in the Bible, noting that there was nowhere the Bible said men should marry men.