History

Christ Church Port Harcourt is a unique Ecumenical Church that is a product of the British missionary activities in Nigeria. Established in 1938 in the old GRAof the City alongside the Rivers State Secretariat and the State Governor’s residence, it is associated with the Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches in Nigeria. Its Vision is to build a Unity Church that is focused on Jesus Christ, with a Mission to foster a conducive environment for all who seek Christ, irrespective of their denomination, to come together in total obedience to Him, and in line with its motto: “Enter to Worship Depart to Serve.” It grew from House Fellowships by the Europeans following the establishment of Port Harcourt by the British in 1914. In 1919 the Primitive Methodist Mission took the pioneering step of sending missionaries to the town, and in 1925 posted to the town the rst resident European minister, The Rev. Robert Banham, who conducted religious Services for the European community. Upon his death in 1926, Banham was succeeded by The Rev. Frederick Dodds who also continued to conduct Services for the Europeans. The efforts of these Methodist pioneers were reinforced in 1933 when the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S) posted the Principal of their College at Awka, The Rt. Rev. Alfred Morris Gelsthorpe, to Port Harcourt as their rst European minister to be resident there as Assistant Bishop of the Niger Delta, and who also held Services at his Warrior Chapel under his decked wooden house at No. 4 Harley Street, old GRA.

Thereon, the Methodists and Anglicans held separate European Services at their different residences. However, after Christmas Morning Service in December1936,alayMethodistmedicaldoctor,Dr.EdwardC. Braithwaite, suggested to the Europeans to pool resources towards building a European United Church, and made a generous donation of £100 (one hundred pounds) to start the subscription list. By 1938, cash donations had reached £500 (ve hundred pounds) towards the Church building, from one hundred and thirty (130) white people who supported the fundamental concept of an ecumenical venture, in addition to individual gifts of pews, lecterns, Hymn Board, organ etc, while Trustees were elected and a Constitution was drawn up to guide the operation of the budding Church. The Founders had also hoped that their small ecumenical venture would later be aligned with a similar bigger venture of a United Church East of the Niger being then negotiated by the three main denominations of their mother Country, namely, Church of England, Methodist Mission, and Church of Scotland Mission, which was to embrace all their Churches in Eastern Nigeria and ultimately in West Africa and the world. However, this hope never materialized. The construction of the building was started early in 1938 and it was dedicated to God as Christ Church Port Harcourt on Sunday 4th December, 1938.

During the rst 12 years (1938-1950), the Church remained exclusively for the European dwellers. For this purpose, the Church building was small and the congregation was characterized by the constantly changing nature of the European population of Port Harcourt. The 1950s saw an early rapid development of the Church with the start of Sunday School in 1952, weekly Evening Services in February 1953, while in January 1954 a Choir was formed following a very successful Carol Party that Christmas. In 1955 the Constitution of the Church was revised, with a small Committee elected from the Congregation to take care of the constantly changing population. The rst extension of the Church building was made in 1956 incorporating a vestry, a cloakroom and a store and thus allowing space in the Church for greater seating accommodation.

As Port Harcourt experienced rapid growth after the striking of oil at Oloibiri in 1957, Nigerians and Africans started becoming members of Christ Church. Further, with the assistance of the Commonwealth & Continental Church Society in London, the Port Harcourt Christian Council established a Christian Council Project in 1962 which helped to develop the populace through Education, Industrial Management, and Social Welfare. This Project was centred on Christ Church, and the rst Dean of the Project, The Rev. Michael Mann, also became the 1st Minister-in-charge of the Church. He developed the Sunday School for Children to an enviable level and invited the Children of Nigerian Senior Staff to attend, while their parents were ultimately invited to attend the Sunday Services. Furthermore, a Primary school – St. Nicholas School – was then established in the Church compound for Primary Education and Evening Classes. Within this period, Christ Church became one of the proposed centres for the development of a Nigerian ecumenical scheme which was initiated by The Most Rev. Cecil John Patterson (Archbishop, Province of West Africa 1961-1969) to create one, United CHURCH OF NIGERIAby the Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches in Nigeria by the year 1965. Consequently, the second extension of the Church building was undertaken in 1962 to accommodate this national ecumenical initiative, but the concept was not to be.

At the end of the Nigerian civil war, the Commonwealth & Continental Church Society in 1971 sent The Rev. Martin Wright to Port Harcourt as the 2nd Dean of the Christian Council Project, who then took charge of Christ Church in conjunction with a Nigerian minister, The Rev. S. D. J. Manilla who held fort at the Project when all the European Ministers left on account of the Civil War.

In 1975 the Church started engaging full time Nigerian Ministers for Pastoral care, from the Methodist, Anglican and Presbyterian Churches of Nigeria. The Church had continued to grow in numerical strength, spiritual holiness, evangelism and social responsibility. During its early years of development, the Church was the choice centre of worship for many families of the then developing Port Harcourt city. The Choir was particularly a leading one in the city, and continues to render excellent performances up to this day.

In March 2000 the Church undertook the crucial step of establishing its rst ecumenical Branch outside Port Harcourt, namely, Christ Church Yenagoa in Bayelsa State. In 2013 it also established a Retreat Centre, including an ecumenical Chapel, at Iriebe on the outskirts of Port Harcourt.

In 2010, the Church appointed the three National Spiritual Leaders of the associated Churches as members of its Spiritual Advisory Council: these are the Archbishop, Metropolitan & Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, and the Prelate & Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.

On 29th April 2013 the Church commissioned its rst set of 24 spiritual Elders to provide quality assistance to the Priests in all facets of the life of the Church.