Karowei Dorgu

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The Right Reverend

Karowei Dorgu
Bishop of Woolwich
Dorgu in 2016
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of Southwark
In office17 March 2017 – 8 September 2023
PredecessorMichael Ipgrave
Other post(s)Vicar of St John the Evangelist Church, Upper Holloway (2012–2017)
Orders
Ordination1 July 1995 (deacon)
1996 (priest)
Consecration17 March 2017
by Justin Welby
Personal details
Born
Woyin Karowei Dorgu

(1958-06-27)27 June 1958
Burutu, Delta State, Federation of Nigeria
Died8 September 2023(2023-09-08) (aged 65)
London, England
NationalityNigerian
DenominationAnglicanism
SpouseMosun
ChildrenTwo
Alma materUniversity of Lagos
London Bible College
Oak Hill College

Woyin Karowei Dorgu (27 June 1958 – 8 September 2023) was a Nigerian-born Church of England bishop and medical doctor. He was the Bishop of Woolwich, an area bishop in the Diocese of Southwark from his consecration on 17 March 2017 until his death.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Dorgu was born on 27 June 1958 in Burutu, Nigeria.[2][3] He was the 11th of 12 children born to George Kpunakpu Dorgu, a civil servant and Anglican lay reader, and Matilda Elizabeth (née Torru), a church warden.[4] From 1979 to 1985, he studied at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, graduating with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees.[3][5] He then worked as a general practitioner (GP).[6]

In 1987, Dorgu moved to the United Kingdom.[7] From 1990 to 1993, he studied theology at the London Bible College, an evangelical theological college in Northwood, Greater London.[3] He completed a Diploma in Evangelism in 1991, a Diploma in Pastoral Studies in 1993, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1993.[3][5] In 1993, he entered Oak Hill College, a Conservative Evangelical theological college, to train for ordained ministry.[5] He left after two years to be ordained in the Church of England.

Ordained ministry[edit]

Dorgu was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon, by David Hope, Bishop of London, on 1 July 1995 at St Paul's Cathedral;[8] and as a priest in 1996.[5] From 1995 to 1998, he served his curacy at St Mark's Church, Tollington Park, Islington in the Diocese of London.[3][6] He then joined St. John the Evangelist Church, Upper Holloway; he served as an assistant curate/associate vicar from 1998 to 2000, team vicar from 2000 to 2012, and was the Vicar (incumbent) from 2012.[3][5] On 6 March 2016, he was additionally made a prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral.[9]

Episcopal ministry[edit]

On 20 December 2016, Dorgu was announced as the next Bishop of Woolwich, a suffragan and area bishop in the Diocese of Southwark.[6] He was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, during service at Southwark Cathedral on 17 March 2017.[3][10] As such, Dorgu became the first ever Nigerian bishop in the Church of England,[11] and the first black person to be consecrated a bishop in the Church of England since John Sentamu in 1996.[7] At the end of the service, Sentamu, now the Archbishop of York, gifted Dorgu a mitre; this mitre had turn been given to Sentamu by Wilfred Wood, the first black bishop in the Church of England and a former bishop of the Diocese of Southwark.[10][4]

Views[edit]

Dorgu identified with the evangelical tradition of the Church of England.[7] He supported the Church's current position on human sexuality; it defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and requires gay clergy to be celibate.[7]

In 2023, following the news that the House of Bishops of the Church of England was to introduce proposals for blessing same-sex relationships, he signed an open letter which stated:[12]

many Christians in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, together with Christians from across the churches of world Christianity, continue to believe that marriage is given by God for the union of a man and woman and that it cannot be extended to those who are of the same sex. [...] Without seeking to diminish the value of many committed same-sex relationships, for which there is much to give thanks, we find ourselves constrained by what we sincerely believe the Scriptures teach which cannot be set aside.[12]

Unusually for an evangelical, he suggested that as the death and resurrection of Jesus was the centre of the Christian message that "We should celebrate the Eucharist every day."[4]

Personal life and death[edit]

Dorgu was married to Mosun; she also trained as a medical doctor in Nigeria and now works as a consultant child psychiatrist.[11] Together they had two children.[6] One son died while at school in 2015, and his parents set up the "Joshua Dorgu Foundation" in his memory.[4][13]

After "a long struggle with his health", Dorgu died on 8 September 2023 at King's College Hospital, London, England, from pneumonia; he was aged 65.[14][15][4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Area Bishop of Woolwich, Dr Karowei Dorgu". Thinking Anglicans. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Woolwich, Area Bishop of, (Rt Rev. Dr (Woyin) Karowei Dorgu) (born 27 June 1958)". Who's Who 2023. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Bishop of Woolwich Appointed". southwark.anglican.org. Diocese of Southwark. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e "The Right Rev Karowei Dorgu obituary". The Times. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Woyin Karowei Dorgu". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d "Suffragan Bishop of Woolwich: Dr Dorgu". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d Sherwood, Harriet (20 December 2016). "Church of England appoints first black bishop in 20 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Petertide ordinations (cont.)". Church Times. No. 6908. 7 July 1995. p. 8. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 21 December 2016 – via UK Press Online archives.
  9. ^ "Report and Consolidated Accounts" (PDF). St Paul's Cathedral. 31 December 2015. p. 7. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Karowei Dorgu consecrated as Bishop of Woolwich". London SE1. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  11. ^ a b Gledhill, Ruth (20 December 2016). "First Nigerian Bishop In Church of England Counters Islamist Terror With Message Of Love In Jesus Christ". Christian Today. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  12. ^ a b "LLF: a paper on the Doctrine of Marriage". Thinking Anglicans. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  13. ^ "About Us". Joshua Dorgu Foundation. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Rt Revd Dr Karowei Dorgu, Bishop of Woolwich". The Archbishop of Canterbury. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Death announced of The Rt Revd Dr Karowei Dorgu". The Diocese of Southwark. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
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