Bloodbath Looms In EP Church

Defenders of the Faith, a group in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana (EPCG), has indicated strongly that moves by some General Assembly Members of the Church to share its properties with its rival, the Global Evangelical Church (GEC), could lead to possible bloody clashes between members of the two churches.

At an emergency press briefing in Accra on Monday, the group pointed out emphatically that the move by the new Moderator-elect of EP Church Ghana, Right Rev. Dr. Seth Agidi, to share the properties of the EPCG with the GEC was causing confusion within the Church.

Vice president of the Defenders of Faith, Eddie Ashiagbor, who addressed the media on behalf of the group, pointed out that if nothing was done immediately to stop the sharing process, there might be another bloody war between the two houses of God.

According to him, the sharing process had never been approved by the entire membership of the general assembly of the EP Church of Ghana and 'that the affected congregations were neither involved nor consulted in this booty sharing.'

He also indicated that the Legal Board of the EP Church was not involved 'in this so-called property sharing,' challenging the reconciliation committee to come out openly and tell members of the Church the motive behind their push for the properties of the church to be shared with the GEC.

He noted that it was unfortunate that the Global Evangelical Church, which is a breakaway from the EP Church, was still clinching onto the properties of the latter after nearly three decades.

The vice president indicated that Right Reverend Dr. Agidi and some members of the church's general assembly had not been honest with the entire membership of the EP Church over the dispute between the two churches since their appointments.

Properties
The properties at the centre of the two-and-a-half-decades-old conflict between the EP Church and the Global Evangelical Church include chapels, plots of land, schools, pastors' residences and others spread across the country, which were handed over to the EP Church by the Germans.

Rt Rev. Dr. Agidi recently affirmed the church's commitment to a reconciliation process aimed at arriving at a lasting peaceful coexistence and harmonious relationship with the Global Evangelical Church.

As part of the reconciliation process, the Moderator and other general assembly members of the E.P Church reportedly constituted a reconciliation committee made up of Rev. Dr. Cyril Fayose, Rev. L.J.K. Dzakpasu and Rev. Dr. E.A. Amey, to oversee the sharing of the properties of the EP Church with the Global Evangelical Church, even though the matter is still before the court.

Contempt
President of the Defenders of the Faith, Gobah-Tengey Seddoh, contributing to the media briefing, indicated that it was highly contemptuous for the general assembly to engage in any reconciliation process when the case is still pending before a court of law.

'Holy Bribery'
A senior member of the group and head pastor of Tema Community 1 EP Church, Rev. Hanson Kwame Gbotsyo, in a remark observed that the leaders of EPCG were 'flirting with the GEC.'

He alleged that the Moderator of the E.P. Church and others pushing for the sharing of the properties might have been bribed by the leadership of the GEC for which reason they were taking decisions which are not in the best interest of the EP Church, describing the situation as a 'spiritual adultery.'

Demo
The group has therefore vowed to embark on a protest march against the reconciliation committee if the reconciliation move was not halted.

BY Melvin Tarlue