08/06/2026
Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi as Bishop of Chad: 18 Things Anglicans Need to Know
The recent enthronement of Most Revd Dr Benjamin Kwashi, retired Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Jos, and Bishop of Jos, as the Bishop of the Diocese of Chad in the Province of Alexandria, has prompted understandable questions across Anglican circles. It is unusual, but it is not without Anglican precedent.
Here are eighteen things clergy and laity should understand.
1. Retirement in one province does not automatically prevent service in another.
Retirement rules are provincial regulations, not universal Anglican laws. A bishop who retires in one province may be eligible to serve elsewhere if the receiving province permits it.
2. Each Anglican province is autonomous.
The Church of Nigeria and the Province of Alexandria govern their affairs independently. The retirement age in Nigeria does not bind the Province of Alexandria.
3. A bishop remains a bishop for life.
In Anglican theology, episcopal ordination is permanent and indelible. Retirement ends administrative responsibilities and jurisdiction, not episcopal identity or orders.
4. Archbishop Kwashi is not being re-consecrated.
Since he is already a validly consecrated bishop, no new consecration is required. He is being canonically appointed, confirmed, and enthroned in a new see.
5. This is an example of translation.
Historically, moving a bishop from one diocese to another is called translation. Anglican history contains many examples of bishops serving in multiple sees during their lifetime, going back to the early centuries of the undivided Church.
6. The Diocese of Chad sought experienced leadership.
Provinces facing missionary, political, security, or developmental challenges often benefit from seasoned bishops with substantial pastoral and administrative experience. Chad is a hard mission field, and the Anglican presence there is small. A bishop with Archbishop Kwashi experiences in Jos and Northern Nigeria will be extremely relevant in providing episcopal leadership in the tough terrains of Chad.
7. This reflects growing cooperation between African Anglican provinces.
African provinces increasingly work together in mission, theological education, church planting, and episcopal ministry. The deployment of senior leaders across provincial boundaries is part of that pattern.
8. The appointment demonstrates the missionary nature of episcopal ministry.
Bishops are called to serve the wider Church of God, not merely a geographical territory or national church. The episcopate is, by its nature, an office of the whole Church.
9. Retirement ages differ across provinces, and in some provinces they can be extended.
Some Anglican provinces require retirement at sixty-five, others at sixty-eight, seventy, or seventy-two. The Church of England's retirement age for bishops is seventy under the Ecclesiastical Offices (Age Limit) Measure 1975, but the Sovereign may, on the advice of the Prime Minister, authorise a bishop to continue in office beyond seventy. This has been applied historically to Archbishops of Canterbury where the Crown judged it in the interests of the Church. The Church of Nigeria's mandatory age of seventy operates without such a mechanism, but the wider Communion shows that retirement rules vary and are sometimes flexible at the highest levels.
10. His experience in Jos is particularly relevant to Chad.
Having ministered for decades in areas affected by conflict, religious tension, and significant missionary challenges, he brings directly transferable experience to a neighbouring region of the Sahel.
11. This does not reverse his retirement in Nigeria.He remains retired from the Church of Nigeria and does not resume authority over any Diocese in Nigeria. His jurisdiction is now in Chad, and only in Chad.
12. The receiving province has formally approved the appointment.
Such appointments require canonical processes, including nomination, election or appointment, confirmation, and enthronement, according to the constitution of the receiving province.
13. This highlights the catholicity of the Anglican Church.
While provinces are autonomous, Anglicans recognise one another's ministries across provincial boundaries. The orders he received in Nigeria are received in Alexandria, just as they would be in ACNA, Sydney, or Kampala.
14. Retired bishops serving as diocesans is rarer than other forms of post-retirement ministry, but it is legitimate.
Throughout Anglican history, retired bishops have most commonly served as assistant bishops, honorary assistant bishops, missionary bishops, or interim bishops covering vacant sees. It is far less common for a retired bishop to be appointed as a full diocesan in another province, but it is not without precedent and is canonically valid where the receiving province's constitution permits it. The unusual feature of the Chad appointment is the diocesan status, not the post-retirement service itself.
15. The Province of Alexandria has authority over its own dioceses.
The decision rests with the ecclesiastical structures of the Province of Alexandria under Archbishop Samy Fawzy, not with the Church of Nigeria. Once enthroned, Bishop Kwashi sits in the House of Bishops of Alexandria, not of Nigeria.
16. The move strengthens Anglican witness in North and Central Africa.
The Province of Alexandria covers Egypt, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Chad, Mauritania, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Deploying experienced leaders to such strategic mission fields demonstrates serious intent about the Church's witness in some of the most difficult contexts in the world.
17. The ministry of a bishop extends beyond administration.
Teaching, pastoral oversight, evangelism, mentoring of clergy, and representation of the Church remain central responsibilities regardless of age. A bishop's work is not exhausted by the management of structures.
18. The appointment is a reminder that vocation does not end at retirement.
Anglican retirement generally marks the end of a particular office under a province's canons, not the end of active ministry. Many retired bishops continue to serve the Church in various capacities, and some, like Archbishop Kwashi, return to full diocesan ministry where another province calls upon their gifts.
A final Anglican observation...
The key principle is that retirement is from a particular office under a province's canons, not from the episcopate itself. Archbishop Kwashi's enthronement in Chad does not mean he has ceased to be retired from the Church of Nigeria. It means that another Anglican province has called upon his gifts and experience to serve as a diocesan bishop under its own constitutional and canonical authority. This illustrates both the autonomy of Anglican provinces and the lifelong nature of episcopal ministry.
Digital Archdeacon
