WEST AFRICA: Liberia bishop's election nullified, rescheduled for December 28
Episcopal News Service. December 7, 2007 [120707-03]
Matthew Davies
The November 18 bishop's election for the Episcopal Church of Liberia has been nullified and the Diocesan Council has scheduled another special convention to find a successor to Bishop Edward Neufville.
According to a report in the Liberian Observer, the nullification was made by the Archbishop of the Province of West Africa, the Most Rev. Dr. Justice O. Akrofi, because the leading candidate did not obtain the required two-thirds of votes.
The Very Rev. Jonathan B. B. Hart was elected November 18 on the second ballot out of a field of three nominees. The other candidates were the Rev. Canon Herman Browne, pastor at a church in Caldwell, and the Rev. James Selle, rector of St. Thomas' Church in Monrovia.
Akrofi said that, according to the results of the second ballot, 296 voted for Hart and 157 for Selle, totaling 453 votes. "Mathematically, two-thirds of 453 is 302," Akrofi said in a letter reportedly sent to Neufville and read in Liberia's Episcopal churches on December 2.
Juanita E. Neal, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Church of Liberia, confirmed that the new election will be held December 28 in Monrovia. It is necessary for the election to be completed before the end of the year, she said, because parochial elections of delegates for the special convention are only valid through December 31. Delaying until the New Year would require all parishes to elect new delegates.
Meanwhile, Neufville is required to retire on December 16 when he turns 70. Akrofi has informed the diocese that a vicar general must be in place before December 16, so that Neufville can hand over responsibilities as bishop, Neal said. Neufville is expected to make that decision next week.
ECL was a diocese in the U.S.-based Episcopal Church until 1980, when it became part of the Province of West Africa following the signing of a formal covenant. Both churches share a long history of mutual involvement dating back to 1836 when missionaries first traveled to West Africa.
In 2002, a revised covenant between the two churches followed more than 20 years of civil unrest in Liberia, including a seven-year period in the ravages of war. The covenant committed the Episcopal Church to assisting in the renovations of church-related buildings, including schools, clinics and hospitals and helping "to develop and operate outreach programs to assist Liberians who have lost their homes, possessions and means of livelihood" as a result of civil conflict.
The Bishop of Liberia continues to serve as a "collegial member" of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops, with seat and voice.
A covenant committee meeting scheduled for January 4-9, 2008 in Monrovia, with site visits to Cuttington University and other locations, is to go ahead as planned.