(BY NGOZI ADIGHIBE)

According to the Most Rev. Friday Imaekhai, the Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bendel and Bishop of Esan Diocese, “The global environment is very hostile to Christianity and this hostility has led to official persecution of adherents to the Christian faith.” He made this known while reading his welcome address to the delegates of the 2019 standing committee meeting. He added that “the revisionists’ agenda of the Western world, post-modernism, liberalism, ritualism, legalism, intellectualism, atheistic philosophies and the onslaught of radical Islam have not helped matters.”

The Archbishop debunked the perception that Christianity is a passive religion that advocates waiting for God to act; explaining that believers must have active faith, obeying God with courage and doing what they know is right.

He said to fight the good fight of faith means to abide in the word by faith, regardless of what one feels or think. Archbishop Imaekhai challenged Christians “to defend the authentic gospel against errors, correct false and heretical teachings and guard the faith of our fathers once delivered to the Saints.”