General Overseer and Senior Pastor of Household of God Church, Pastor Chris Okotie has come hard on Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) because of the new guidelines issued for the reopening of churches across Nigeria.
The vocabulary loving preacher describes the guidelines as an abomination in an open letter he wrote to the leadership of CAN.
CAN had last Thursday said it released a 10-point guideline to be presented to the federal government for approval.
Samson Ayokunle, CAN president, said the guidelines, drafted in compliance with the government’s efforts to tackle the COVID-19, would determine the operations of churches when they reopen.
The guidelines, among others, propose that churches should strictly observe social distancing during services.
“Every worshipper must wear face mask. Social distancing should be observed in the sitting arrangement with one meter gap between two worshippers. One and a half hour service is enough for a start. There should be a gap of 25 or 30 minutes between one service and another where there are multiple services to avoid crowd,” Ayokunle had said.
A visibly angry Okotie reacted with the following strong admonition for the christian body:
“Greetings. I am Rev Chris Okotie. I called earlier to discuss a report in today’s Sun Newspaper in which CAN recommended guide lines for the Opening of Churches. Social distancing in the Church of Jesus Christ is tantamount to blasphemous infidelity and an impeachment of the integrity of the word of God. Healing is fundamental to the redemptive work of Jesus. To allow the idol of coronavirus to determine the scope of congregational worship in the house of God is an abomination of gargantuan proportions. No true minister of the gospel will succumb to such travesty of the faith. This is a summary of my objections. I have sent this message hoping that you would respond as one who bears the burden of the cross of Jesus. I have restrained myself from making a public outcry of this desecration and profanation out of respect for you and the CAN hierarchy. But be assured that this position is transient.”