The Anglican Bishop of Lagos West Diocese, the Rt. Rev. (Dr.) Peter Adebiyi, at the weekend closed down St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Mushin, Lagos, for its failure to remit ‘covenant seed’ to him.

The Bishop also sacked the Vicar of the church, the Rev. Canon Edison Chigozie Mgbeokwere, with his assistants following a fracas in the church.

Members of the church, however, defied the new directive by the Bishop.

When P.M.News visited the church yesterday, the members had forced the locked gate of the church open and conducted service without a pastor (vicar) or head.

The cause of the fight, which has been reported to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo, could be traced to a meeting between the bishop and the vicar with his congregation.

At the meeting, P.M.NEWS learnt that Bishop Adebiyi said the church has not contributed the amount of money the parish remitted to the diocese, stressing that loyalty was more important to him than hard work.

The action of the Lordship has prompted the church to protest by writing a petition to the prelate of Anglican Church in Nigeria, Bishop Peter J. Akinola, that they no longer want to be under Lagos West Diocese of the church.

Members of the church, who spoke to P.M.NEWS, alleged that the bishop was fighting with the church’s heads because of money.

They said the church has been paying assessment levy to the bishop but that was not enough for him, as he insisted he wanted more.

Though the Public Relations Officer to the Bishop, Tunji Oguntuase, confirmed to P.M.NEWS that the bishop ordered the closure of the church, he denied the allegation that it was closed because of money.

He blamed the rift on insubordination by the church’s heads.

The Bishop’s PRO attributed the problem to the heads of the church, whom he said do not want to be monitored on how they manage the church’s purse.

He maintained that the bishop has the power to instil sanity in any of the parishes under him