Church ordains inaugural bishop at Nelson Mandela Bay ceremony

The Reformed Ethiopian Catholic Church of Southern Africa made history on Saturday when it ordained its inaugural bishop, Banele Chris Mente.

Hundreds of congregants descended on the St James Evangelical Anglican Church in Summerstrand to see the Catholic Church in America Archbishop Michael Callaghan conduct the proceedings.

Callaghan was assisted by Archbishop Raphael Fagbohun from Nigeria and Presiding Bishop Peter Ulofu of the Old Catholic Apostolic Church.

Mente, 39 said that while he was looking forward to his new role, he acknowledged it would not be an easy road.

“It is an honour and privilege to be at the helm of the church,” he said.

“However, I do believe there are numerous challenges and undertakings which lie ahead.

“For the moment our focus will be on bringing back the orthodoxy of the church and subsequently the conduct of its members.

“[This] is in order to regain what made the Catholic Church what it is, and not Catholic in the sense of Roman Catholic but rather as a universal church working towards why it was created.”

Church registrar Livingstone Matiwane said the consecration was epoch-making.

“It is a historical moment, the quintessential essence of which lies not only in its representation of unity between Catholics and Anglican streams, but also on the centuries-old role played by the old Catholic Church as a bridge between these two Christian traditions.

“The consecration of Rev Mente as a diocesan bishop is about the granting of Catholic apostolic succession orders to a priest of the South African Ethiopian Church,” Matiwane said.

“The event fulfils the aspirations of the founding fathers of the Ethiopian church in South Africa to have an independent African church whose bishops will hold valid priestly orders but in a church establishment which embraces and practises full Catholic doctrines in its liturgical worship.”