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28
March 1884 Church founder Rev.
Kwamin Ntsetse Bresi-Ando was born, on this date, in the British Colony
of the Gold Coast (today known as Ghana, West Africa). The Ghanaian church
community that he founded (in 1932) eventually became the canonical Orthodox
Church of Ghana, within the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria
(in 1982). Bresi-Ando was very well educated and well known in his day
as a powerful, versatile religious figure. He had a vision for religious,
cultural, economic and political emancipation for the African man during
the days of British colonial rule.
31 March 1926 Originally an ordained minister in the Methodist
Church in the Gold Coast, Bresi-Ando left the Methodist Church, and the
Gold Coast, and started his own independent Protestant church in eastern
Nigeria on this date, under the name, “The United Free Church of Africa.”
1929 Bresi-Ando’s “United Free Church of Africa” was renamed
“The Primitive Apostolic African Church” (still located at this time only
in Nigeria).
1929 Gold Coast native, Laura Adorkor Koffey, founded “The
African Universal Church and Commercial League” in the United States in
1929. Its aim was to repatriate African-Americans back to the homeland
of their forefathers in West Africa.
22 Sept 1931 On this date, Bresi-Ando’s “Primitive Apostolic
African Church” merged with Koffey’s organization, taking the shortened
name, “The African Universal Church.” Bresi-Ando became the church’s “Supreme
Pontiff.” The plan of repatriating African-Americans back to West Africa
became a key plank in the new organization’s platform.
1932 Rev. Bresi-Ando returned to the Gold Coast (Ghana)
and, with the help of his half-brother, Ernest Ando-Brew, launched the
local Gold Coast branch of “The African Universal Church” in his hometown
of Apam in 1932. His new church was an all-African run Protestant church,
with many members defecting from the local Methodist Church to join Bresi-Ando’s
new church.
1932-35 These four years were a period of rapid church growth
for Bresi-Ando’s “African Universal Church” in the Gold Coast. A large
number of parishes were started and quite a few schools were opened. Many
Africans expected their brother African-Americans to come back from America
(to “repatriate”) to the Gold Coast. However, only one came—the American
missionary, Rev. Carey H. Jones. By 1935, the repatriation plan had proven
to be a failure.
1935 Bresi-Ando did not despair over the failure of the
repatriation plan. Rather, while in London in 1935, he searched for a
new religious affiliation. He looked for a church organization with deeper
historical roots. In London he came in contact with a sect headed by an
“episcopi vagante” (“wandering bishop”) of the Archbishop Vilatte succession,
named Archbishop Churchill Sibley. Sibley claimed that he could trace
the “Apostolic Succession” of his own “valid orders” back through Archbishop
Vilatte to the Jacobite-Syrian Orthodox Church, despite the fact that
this same church had excommunicated Archbishop Vilatte and his followers
and considered all ordinations performed by Vilatte to null and void.
8 March 1935 In London, on this date, Archbishop Churchill
Sibley consecrated Bresi-Ando a bishop—“Mar Kwamin I”—and set him up as
“Prince-Patriarch” of his own autocephalous “African Universal Church.”
1935 The newly consecrated Bishop Bresi-Ando, as an “Orthodox”
hierarch (but not canonical), returned to the Gold Coast to re-organize
the numerous parishes which he had founded there. He added “Orthodox Catholic”
into his church’s name, renaming it, “The African Universal (Orthodox-Catholic)
Church.” From 1935 onwards, Bresi-Ando abandoned many of his Protestant
teachings and practices and instead adopted Roman Catholic-style doctrines
and liturgical practices. Ironically, he did not introduce any Syrian-Jacobite
liturgical forms.
1935-1939 Throughout the late 1930’s, Bresi-Ando’s re-organized
church continued to grow and open new parishes, however, at a slower rate
than before.
1942 In response to pleas from his flock in Nigeria (which
he had not seen since 1932), Bresi-Ando left the Gold Coast in 1942 to
once again work with the church communities he previously had founded
in Nigeria.
1942-1944 During Bresi-Ando’s absence from the Gold Coast,
his large church organization there began to deteriorate, divide and dismantle.
1 Feb 1945 Priest Edonu arose as the savior of the crumbling
Bresi-Ando church organization in the Gold Coast. Through the mail, on
this date, Bresi-Ando appointed Rev. Edonu (known later as V. Rev. Protopresbyter
Kyriakos Edonu) as his “Deputy Bishop” for the Gold Coast.
1945-1950s Deputy Bishop Edonu gathered and taught the faithful
of the Fante tribe in the Central Region of the Gold Coast, while his
assistant, Fr. Gregory Labi, worked with the faithful of the Larteh tribe
in the Eastern Region. In all, only about ten parishes remained faithful
to the Bresi-Ando organization. Most others, in the other regions, collapsed
or went into schism, only to collapse at a later time.
May 1951 Bresi-Ando’s church dropped the words “African
Universal” from its name and began to use the simplified name, “The Orthodox
Catholic Church.” This stressed their Orthodoxy. They were convinced that
they were Orthodox. The faithful believed that there were other Orthodox
churches in the world, yet there was little contact at this time with
the outside Orthodox world.
21 Dec 1955 Bishop Bresi-Ando returned to the Gold Coast
for an arch-pastoral visit, arriving on 21 December 1955. After touring
his few remaining faithful Gold Coast parishes, Bresi-Ando returned to
Nigeria, in February of 1956. This was the only pastoral visit that he
ever made to the Gold Coast between 1942 and 1970.
23 Sept 1956 In an effort to solidify the remaining faithful
and build up their spiritual lives, Deputy Bishop Edonu oversaw the construction
of the St. Raphael Healing Shrine, in the town of Fomena. Church members
began to make an annual pilgrimage to this national shrine, which was
dedicated on 23 September 1956.
About 1957 The Greek business community in the Gold Coast
tried unsuccessfully to construct a church building in Accra, the capital.
The Greek Orthodox community did not know of Bresi-Ando’s church (whose
parishes at this time were still located in out-lying towns and villages,
with no parish in the capital city).
6 Mar 1957 Ghana Independence Day. The name of the country
was changed from “The Gold Coast” to “Ghana”. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became
the nation’s the first President.
About 1960 A prominent Greek Orthodox businessman began
construction of a Greek Orthodox church building on his private land in
Accra. Construction was completed on this Church of St. George between
1966 and early 1967, but it was never consecrated.
1960s Throughout the 1960s, a commuting Greek Orthodox priest
of the Patriarchate of Alexandria visited Ghana periodically, providing
pastoral care to the Orthodox Greeks and Lebanese living there (weddings,
baptisms, etc.). There was no contact between this priest and Bresi-Ando’s
organization.
24 Feb 1966 President Kwame Nkrumah and his government were
over-thrown on this date. Most Greek businessmen and families chose to
leave Ghana because of the unfavorable political and economic conditions
during this era. The Greek businessman who had built the unconsecrated
Church of St. George on his private land also sold his business, land,
and church building, in 1970.
1960-1970 Deputy Bishop Edonu tried his best to keep Bresi-Ando’s
church organization running, without the help of Bresi-Ando, who was stuck
in Nigeria because of the Biafran Civil War there. This civil war disrupted
normal church life and scattered Bresi-Ando’s Nigerian parishes. In Ghana,
due to Rev. Edonu and Rev. G. Labi’s unfailing efforts, and despite the
lack of guidance from their hierarch, the number of parishes remained
about the same ever since the mid-1940’s, averaging around 10 parishes,
with several mission posts.
27 May 1970 Bishop Bresi-Ando and his Nigerian wife, Joana,
and three children were repatriated back to Ghana, arriving on 27 May
1970. He was old and ill when he met his Ghanaian faithful once again.
2 Oct 1970 Bishop Bresi-Ando died at Cape Coast Hospital
at the age of 86 on 2 October 1970. His church was left orphaned, with
no link to the global Orthodox community. The “Search” by members of the
Ghanaian church community for true Orthodoxy began.
July 1971 The youth of Bresi-Ando’s church decided to form
the Orthodox Youth Organization (O.Y.O.) in July of 1971, with its chief
aim being the resuscitation of their church. They saw a bleak future,
a need for clergy and uniform doctrines and liturgical practices. The
youth believed that their church was part of a larger global family of
Orthodox churches, but sadly, they had no contacts and did not know where
to find the true Orthodox Church. The enemies of Bresi-Ando’s church,
on the other hand, ignorantly claimed that there were no other Orthodox
Churches in the world. They accused Bresi-Ando’s followers of inventing
the Orthodox Church and inventing the claim that they were part of something
much bigger--the original Church that Jesus Christ had established. The
youth, therefore, dedicated themselves to finding the true Orthodox Church
and linking up with it.
1 July 1972 A special meeting of the clergy of “The Orthodox
Catholic Church” in Ghana determined its numerical strength to be 1,998
members, with 12 parishes (three of which were new).
8 Aug 1972 Youth leader Godfried Mantey found Timothy Ware's
famous book, "The Orthodox Church", in the University of Ghana
bookstore in August of 1972. Excitedly, he notified the other youth of
his find. The youth were certain that they finally had found absolute
proof of the existence of the global Orthodox family of Churches. As a
result of their find, the youth intensified their search for a way to
connect up with representatives of the canonical Orthodox Church.
4 Aug 1974 By God’s miraculous providence, the youth established
a solid "link" with global Orthodoxy. O.Y.O. youth leaders Kwame
Labi and Godfried Mantey discovered that Orthodox clergymen were present
on the University of Ghana's Legon campus for a World Council of Churches
meeting in August of 1974. Fr. John Meyendorff, Fr. Thomas Hopko, theologian
Nicolas Lossky, and Alexandrian Patriarchate representative Dr. Parthelus
met with and interviewed the Ghanaian Orthodox youth on 4 August 1974.
It was determined that Bresi-Ando’s “Orthodox Catholic Church” was non-canonical.
Instruction in the Holy Orthodox Faith, followed by canonical Reception,
would be required. The link to the outside world family of Orthodoxy had
begun.
1975--1977 During the next few years there was a continual
exchange of communication between the O.Y.O. youth leaders, the Patriarchate
of Alexandria, and the Orthodox Christians in North America.
Oct 1977 O.Y.O. General Secretary, Kwame Labi, traveled
on a scholarship to study Orthodox theology at St. Vladimir's Orthodox
Seminary in New York.
15 Jan 1978 Archbishop Irinios of the Archdiocese of West
Africa, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, arrived in Accra, on
this date, to pay a historic first visit to the Ghanaian "Orthodox
Catholic" church community. It was the first of several pastoral
visits by Archbishop Irinios.
May 1979 Other O.Y.O. members traveled on scholarships to
Athens, Greece, to study theology at the University of Athens in preparation
to become future Ghanaian Orthodox priests.
6-10 Aug ‘80 The Orthodox Youth Organization of Ghana is
granted "Affiliate member" status within the SYNDESMOS youth
organization at their 10th General Assembly, held in New Valamo Monastery,
Finland.
25 July 1981 Archbishop Irinios came to visit to the Ghanaian
community in July of 1981 in preparation for their Reception into canonical
Orthodoxy within the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
2 Feb 1982 Kwame Joseph Labi, having graduated from St.
Vladimir's Seminary, returned to Ghana on 2 February 1982, and then traveled
on to visit Archbishop Irinios in the Cameroun. This visit confirmed the
possibility of Reception of the Ghanaian community into canonical Orthodoxy.
The final dates were set for the Reception. Archbishop Irinios charged
Kwame Labi with the responsibility of preparing the communities and clergy
for the Reception. Liturgical translations were made. The Ghanaian community
began to learn the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom as a means of
preparation for the Reception.
Mar-Sept ‘82 Three Clergy Training sessions were conducted
by Kwame Labi (for the three priests and five catechists of the church
community).
3 Aug 1982 Soili Oorni and Paivi Tiainen of the Orthodox
Youth of Finland came to Ghana for a short visit to do youth work among
the Ghanaian communities as SYNDESMOS representatives.
25 Aug 1982 Fr. Theoklitos of the Missions Office of Apostoliki
Diakonia of the Church of Greece arrived prior to the Reception to help
with final preparations.
14-19 Sept ‘82 Archbishop Irinios received the Ghanaian
church community into canonical Orthodoxy through Holy Baptism and Chrismation,
and ordained V. Rev. Kyriakos Edonu, Rev. Gregory Labi, Rev. Samuel Adjei-Kumi,
Rev. Kwame Joseph Labi, Deacon Daniel Aidoo, Deacon Jacob Sey, and Deacon
Emmanuel Bruce. The Reception was held in the town of Larteh, where church
members gathered from their respective towns and villages for Holy Baptism.
About 1,500 Ghanaians were baptized. However, not all members of the fifteen
parishes, sub-stations and mission posts were baptized in Larteh. The
Archbishop performed more baptisms in the next few years at other locations,
bringing the total of Ghanaians received into the Orthodox Church to nearly
3,000.
The above is a condensed version of The History
of the Orthodox Church, Ghana, a U.S. Fulbright history research project
of Andrew J. Anderson. It was begun on 11 September 1992, (the date of
Anderson’s arrival in Ghana). Anderson’s research affiliation was with
the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon Campus. Professor
Kofi A. Opoku, the Deputy Director of the Institute, was the mentor for
the project. The interviewing of the primary source, Very Reverend Kyriakos
K. Edonu in Gomoa Afransi, in the Central Region, Ghana, was begun on
29 September 1992. Interviewing was concluded on 13 October 1994. The
presentation of a draft copy of research findings to V. Rev. Kyriakos
K. Edonu and Rev. Gregrory Labi was on 16 Nov 1994. Anderson departed
to the United States on 18 Nov 1994, to begin work at the Orthodox Christian
Mission Center (O.C.M.C.) in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.
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