Akaiso Akaiso, Uyo
It was a weekend of glory, grace and grandeur in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, as Barr. Favour Emmanuel Okokon was consecrated and enthroned as bishop of Blessed Christian City Church, 25, Aka Itiam Street, off Oron road, Uyo.
The epoch-making ceremony, held at the church’s international headquarters, drew a mammoth crowd of worshippers, clergymen, legal luminaries, academics, politicians and traditional rulers from within and outside Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria, at large.
The atmosphere was electric. From the early hours of Saturday, the church auditorium was filled to capacity and even overflowing. The choir, well robed, rendered soul-lifting songs while ushers struggled to control the overflow of guests, who spilled from all directions into the venue after the monthly sanitation exercise on that last Saturday of the month, like a melting pot whose contents have been overturned.
Precisely, after what seemed like a hard start, the procession began. A college of bishops and archbishops, adorned in episcopal vestments, filed into the hall amidst thunderous applause, heralding the arrival of the Bishop-elect.
Barr. Okokon, accompanied by his wife, Pastor Mary Favour Okokon, walked in with measured dignity, his face radiating humility and solemnity with his goatee’s silver shine.
In his sermon, the guest preacher, Archbishop John Praise Daniel, the presiding archbishop of International Leadership Communion of Ministers (ILCOM), described episcopacy as “a call to servitude, not lordship.” Quoting copiously from the Holy Book, he charged the new Bishop to be “blameless, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, apt to teach, and a defender of the faith in Jesus.”
The high point of the service was the act of consecration and enthronement. Kneeling at the altar, the Bishop-elect was prayed for with the laying on of hands by all the consecrating bishops, in line with apostolic tradition and the Episcopal See of the ministry.
Thereafter, he was anointed with oil, invested with the episcopal regalia — the mitre, cope, pectoral cross, ring and pastoral staff — and formally enthroned to a resounding shout of “Alleluia, He is worthy!” by the congregation.
In his maiden charge, Bishop Okokon, visibly emotional and apparently elated, thanked God for grace and paid tribute to his spiritual fathers, mentors in the legal profession, and his family for their support.
“I am a lawyer by training, but a servant of Christ by calling,” he averred. “The courtroom taught me to argue for men; the pulpit has now commissioned me to intercede for souls. I accept this office with trembling trepidation and humble thanksgiving.”
He unveiled his vision for the diocese, anchored on three pillars: Holistic Evangelism, Youth Empowerment, and Community Transformation, promising to expand the church’s welfare, education and health interventions.
Goodwill messages poured in from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and representatives of other professional bodies as even the Governor of Akwa Ibom State Government, Pastor Umo Eno who was said to be spiritually represented, described his elevation as “well-deserved and timely, even though he had to patiently wait for 16 years after being elected.”
The President of CAN, Akwa Ibom State chapter, Bishop Chris Nyong, said the church in Nigeria needs “bishops who are theologians and reformers, not just title holders,” expressing confidence that Bishop Okokon would bring intellectual depth and moral clarity to the episcopate.
The ceremony also featured special thanksgiving, the ordination of his wife, Mary and Engr Chris Godan as Apostles and four others as Pastors.
Speaking with Champion Newspapers, some members described the consecrated and enthroned Bishop as a man of integrity, scholarship and compassion. “He is a father, a teacher and a counsellor. His consecration is a reward for years of selfless service.”
As the service ended with benediction, many worshippers lingered, taking photographs and receiving blessings from the newly enthroned Bishop.
For Blessed Christian City Church, last weekend was more than a ceremony; it was the birth of a new era — the era of Bishop Favour Emmanuel Okokon. You, the reader what do say of the learned Bishop.?
The newly enthroned Bishop is a man who does not take for granted the goodwill of men and women to him. Little wonder he rolled out endless list of appreciation of those that supported the success of the event in cash and kind.
“Archbishop John Praise, Prelate Prof. Isaiah Issong, Governor Umo Eno, Sen. Aniekan Bassey, House member, Itoro Etim, Uruan Chairman, Iniobong Ekpenyong, village head of Ishiet Ekim, Obong Okoyo Okoyo, Archbishop Moses Omonkhuale and Bishop John Peters, chairman and general secretary of Niger Delta Bishops Voice and Ministers Forum, respectively, etc.”
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