North Africa’s Anglican Church, Alexandria Province, has announced the enthronement of Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi of Nigeria, as the new archbishop for the Anglican Church in the Republic of Chad.
The Province of Alexandria, the appointing authority, oversees the Anglican Church in Egypt, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Chad, Mauritania, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
Most Rev. Dr. Kwashi has been recalled from retirement after serving for 31 years in Episcopal Archdiocese of Jos, Nigeria, where he left the Archdiocese as the Archbishop in 2023. He also served as the General Secretary of the Global Anglican Movement (GAFCON) between 2019 and 2023.
Timothy Olonade of the Anglican Archdiocese of Jos said the appointment did not come as a surprise because of Kwashi’s past experience in doing missions.
“Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi has been called back from retirement to serve on the front lines of the gospel. It is both historic and unusual. It is as rare as it is unique…a veteran servant of Christ, a retired Bishop, has stepped out of retirement to actively participate in world evangelization again, at the invitation of another province,” said Olonade, who serves as an Archdeacon.
“Kwashi is no stranger to enemies' fire! He has cheated death several times and risked everything for the glorious gospel. Tested in the furnace of affliction, tempered in the crucible of pain, and sent by God through Nigeria to reach a nation in desperate need of the gospel - unwaveringly,” noted Olonade.
Archbishop Kwashi served for decades in Nigeria’s volatile region of North Central, where inter-community clashes, armed banditry, mass abductions, and persistent herder-farmer conflicts that have deeply shattered local communities and agricultural livelihoods.
'Bishop for life'
Known for his evangelism and peacebuilding efforts, Archbishop Kwasi and his family have escaped several attacks by extremists. He persistently highlighted the plight of Christians in the face of persecution in the hands of Boko Haram and Fulani herders, insisting the violence in the region has been primarily religious and not social-economic.
The leadership of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican communion, in a statement said that while the recall of a retired Archbishop was unusual, it is not without Anglican precedent.
“In Anglican theology, episcopal ordination is permanent and indelible. Retirement ends administrative responsibilities and jurisdiction, not episcopal identity or orders. A bishop remains a bishop for life."
“Archbishop Kwashi is not being re-consecrated since he is already a validly consecrated bishop, no new consecration is required. He is being canonically appointed, confirmed, and enthroned in a new see.
“The Diocese of Chad sought experienced leadership. Provinces facing missionary, political, security, or developmental challenges often benefit from seasoned bishops with substantial pastoral and administrative experience. Chad is a hard mission field, and the Anglican presence there is small. A bishop with Archbishop Kwashi experiences in Jos and Northern Nigeria will be extremely relevant in providing episcopal leadership in the tough terrains of Chad,” noted the statement.
The Anglican Communion of Nigeria said the appointment demonstrates the missionary nature of episcopal ministry adding that Archbishop Kwashi’s experience in Jos is particularly relevant to Chad having “ministered for decades in areas affected by conflict, religious tension, and significant missionary challenges.”
The Communion clarified that Rev. Kwashi will serve under the Province of Alexandria headed by Archbishop Samy Fawzy.
“Deploying experienced leaders to such strategic mission fields demonstrates serious intent about the Church's witness in some of the most difficult contexts in the world,” Nigeria’s Anglican leadership said.
Chad is a predominantly Muslim nation with more than 55% of the population practicing Islam. Christian population is estimated to be about 7-9 million, about 35% of the country’s 21 million people. Administratively, Chad does not have its own national Anglican province due to the very small but growing Anglican community. It falls under the Diocese of North Africa, which is a constituent diocese of the Anglican Province of Alexandria.
