On Sunday the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe convened and bid farewell to the Bishop of the Diocese of Harare, Rev. Dr Chad Nicholas Gandiya after serving the church for 29 years, nine of which he served as a bishop.
In his valedictory message, Bishop Gandiya said part of his legacy is encouraging clergymen under his leadership to empower themselves through education.
He said it was with great joy and satisfaction that he was retiring as head of the diocese of Harare as he had no regrets after serving for 20 years as a priest and nine-and-a-half years as a bishop.
“After I was ordained, we went through a terrible time, untold suffering, arrests, the ridicules and the teargas, but our God was with us. He remained faithful to our diocese. The five years in exile were difficult years. God increased our numbers and blessed us materially. That is how our God is,” he said.
The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa said the government respects the role of ecumenical leaders because they are crucial in propagating the message of tolerance, peace, love and unity in the nation.
“I am happy to be here to witness Bishop Gandiya’s farewell. The church is the best religion for our nation as it brings unity. We have our President Mnangagwa, who is talking about the importance of unity, and making sure that we remain in a peaceful country. If there is unity, there is peace which fosters development.
What we need in this country is for us Zimbabweans to love each other. The church should promote love and unity among each other. The church should also promote forgiveness. We are Zimbabweans first and our country requires us to love each other, to unite and move together for the success of our beautiful country.”
Minister Mutsvangwa said the church should also preach tolerance amongst different political parties.
“For us to go far as a nation, we need to tolerate each other no matter the differences we may have, be it politically or religiously. After the harmonised elections and the inauguration of a new President, it is the duty of every church to pray for their leader so that God grants him the grace to lead them,” she said.
Minister Mutsvangwa congratulated Bishop Gandiya for the role he played in uniting the Anglican Church saying he took over when the church was deeply divided.
Before Bishop Gandiya was inaugurated, there was a long-standing dispute between the rival factions, one of them led by excommunicated Archbishop Nolbert Kunonga over control of church property.
Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) General-Secretary and a clergy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe Rev Dr Kenneth Mtata commended Bishop Gandiya for the efforts he put in empowering the church and the nation.
The Bishop of the Diocese of Worcester, John Inge invited Bishop Gandiya to become his deputy in the United Kingdom.
Dr Gandiya will be succeeded by the former dean of St Mary and All Saints Cathedral in Harare, Dr Farai Mutamiri, who served as dean from 2008 before moving to Canada.
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