The Bishop of Anglican Diocese of the Trinity ADOTT and the Area Bishop for Canada Missionary Region Area 1, Rt. Rev’d Olukayode Adebogun has reacted to his suspension by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion.
Bishop Adebogun was suspended on January 30 on the grounds of insubordination. The letter of his suspension was published on the website of the church.
It describes the bishop’s offense as “willful disobedience to the authority of the Primate generally, and the General Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)”
In a swift reaction, however, the Bishop took to his Facebook page on February 1 to deny being reprimanded for any wrongdoing.
He stated that the letter of suspension was sent to him the same day it was published online. He however gave a background to his suspension which could be his appearance in a contentious court case involving the proposed dissolution of ADOTT
He wrote on his Facebook page:
Dearly beloved,
Thank you for your prayers.Many have asked this question privately or publiclyWhat did you do?As of today January 31, 2024- We are innocent and have not received any notification of any offense, no reprimand, no query, no evidence presentation, and no trial, no meeting of Archbishops or bishops to approve any charges or sentence. To the best of our knowledge and understanding, we have not violated any provision of the Constitution and Canons of the Church.What you have in the public domain is all we receive same day and we appeal for calm as we go through this phase of life. It shall end in praise and the truth must and will prevail.We can confirm that along with other defendants, we received a court summons and I did the needful in attending the court hearing January 29, 2024, at the Marion Superior Court, Indianapolis, IN, USA. This is my civic duty and to answer every question truthfully before the court without any embellishments. That is all we did.The court summons is in relation to the proposed dissolution of the Anglican Diocese of The Trinity (by the General Synod of the Church of Nigeria) wherein we were elected September 23, 2021; confirmed October 31, 2021, and enthroned November 21, 2021, as Diocesan Bishop. Members who felt the diocese should not be dissolved took legal action ahead of Feb 02, 2024 dissolution deadline after a series of communications and publications. I was named as a co-defendant as the Diocesan Bishop and NOT PLAINTIFF (The attached documents speak for themselves).Beloved, we covet your sincere prayers and patience. God bless you.
Remember – for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires (James 1:20)
The contentious letter
