Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie in a recent interview with Vanguard, reprimanded the divorce saga going on between Pastors Chris and Anita Oyakhilome which he described as ‘disturbing’.

According to him, when pastors refuse to honor the vows they took at the altar of God, what do they expect from the ordinary members of their congregation?

He further stated that “When the going was good, they took vows on the altar of God to stay together in sickness and in health, until death do them part. They promise to make one another faithful partner in the presence of God, their family and friends and vow to be each others faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. They promise to love one another unconditionally, to support each other, honor and respect and cherish themselves for as long as they both shall live.”

Asked what the development portrays for the Church of God, the cardinal replied with a question

“What Church are you talking about?.

It is not good. Are they true pastors? Good shepherds of the Lord are expected to do everything to shepherd their flock including their spouses even when they err. If God forgave us in spite of our filth, why can any man who is truly called pastor not forgive any malfeasance?”

Okogie however, blamed the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, which registers every organization which goes about deceiving people in the name of church, noting that there are several “useless” institutions that have been registered churches which are currently painting the Church of God in bad light.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has finally responded somewhat to the allegations made by wife Anita.

The pastor talked about the whole issue during the church’s monthly global communion service, saying that he was a man of God and not a preacher, and that the allegations were crazy.

“I heard that some media houses – especially in Nigeria – are writing some things against me. All sorts of frivolous charges, that’s crazy,” he said. “You have to understand something about a man of God. A man of God is not just someone who worships God or preaches God. A man of God is handpicked by God, set on course by God. If you study the scriptures, you will not find one man of God go against God, sinning against God. “The only things you might find will be a man of God, maybe in two different kinds of ways. Moses, for example; when he struck the rock twice, [he] was provoked by the anger of the people. [It was] not because he wanted to do something against the Lord. No man of God does something against the Lord. “Are you hearing me? A man of God is set on a course; there is a type of life that he is given. Then you have a young man, a young prophet; he wasn’t named; he was deceived by another man of God and so he went in a direction that God said ‘don’t go’. “That is the only kind of thing you find about a man of God when he misses the message of God or he acts beyond what God said. But a man of God settles himself in the fight against the world… like those writing those silly things about me, that I did this and I did that. “You don’t know who a man of God is. I don’t go in that direction. I wasn’t accused of the things you said, nor did I commit those silly things that you said and I don’t need to go into that level in such discussions.

Jesus Christ was accused by many – a lot of frivolous charges. There will always be those who would like for it to be true. But you know, in spite of the accusations against Jesus, It didn’t change who he was. It didn’t change him. “There are preachers and there are men of God. I am not a preacher; I am a man of God and I go in the way I’m asked to go. It may cause some troubles with individuals but that’s not because I have done something wrong and when it comes to Reverend Anita, what I will say to you is ‘pray for her’. “Don’t act like those people. If you are married to a man of God, it doesn’t make you automatically mature. You can make mistakes; you can do something that is wrong. But some people expect the wife of a minister to definitely be at the level of that minister and so they may be looked upon and the expectation may be like that, but it’s a positional thing. “If a man of God is married, it doesn’t automatically mean that the wife of a man of God is therefore a woman of God. That’s not the way it is in the Bible.

That’s why you don’t really find the wives of men of God mentioned in the Bible. How many of them? Who was Peter’s wife, did you ever know her name? You never find that out. Who was John’s wife? Did you ever read the name? What about all the other Apostles? How many of their names are written in the Bible. You never find their names.” At this point, one of the female pastors sought to know why the names of wives of the men of God were not found in the Bible. Oyakhilome’s response was that she should ask God whenever she finds him. “Why? You ask God when you find him. Ask God when you find him,” he exclaimed. “So, they are little things; don’t try to make something big out of them. So when journeying, doing the things that God called us to do, Christians should not have a divorce; it shouldn’t be but you see, that doesn’t mean a Christian may not take the step. “They may do it but [they] have to make things right and we shouldn’t take one another to court. But when it happens, not that we don’t just want to go, it means someone is taking us there. That’s a problem, but be wise and stay focused in the word of God and don’t let those who want to feast on things like this, including Christians… “There are Christians who like things like this; they want to make something big out of this: ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, we said it’. You said what? Judge nothing before the time. Be wise. Glory to God. “So we are not working in sin and living in sin and hoping that we can mix sin and righteousness together. We are the manifestation of his righteousness. We walk in that light only, and that’s the way it’s gonna be.”

The crash of the marriage between Chris & Anita Oyakhilome has been widely reported after Anita requested for a divorce.

According to ThisDay, who claimed to have obtained a copy of Anita’s divorce petition, the reverend is filing for the divorce on the grounds on unresaonable behaviors on the part oh her husband. Read the statement below.

“The wife has discussed with the husband his inappropriate relationship with some of his female staff members. She has explained that this has given her cause for concern. The husband has minimised her worries and taken no step to alleviate her grievances.”

“The wife submits that her marriage to the husband has irretrievably broken down and there is no hope of reconciliation. The wife will submit that it is the husband’s unreasonable behaviours which have led to this.

“The husband and the wife are both Pastors. The husband undertakes his work, in the main, in South Africa and Nigeria. The wife lives in the United Kingdom. The wife will say that they have lived separately for 16 years and over this time have drifted apart. The wife has come to realise that the husband will only visit the UK for annual church programmes that he holds rather than to be with this wife. The wife feels that he has been unavailable as a father to their children during their developing years.

“The wife feels that their marriage suffered under the pressure of their work. They would rarely spend time together due to the husband unavailability. Special occasions such as Christmas, Birthdays and family occasions and anniversaries past them by and their rarely spent any time together as a family as the husband was more devoted to his work than he was to them.

“The wife feels that she has been used to portray and enhance the husband’s image as a family man when the reality is that there is no existing relationship between them. She feels that she has been present for official functions simply for his convenience. On occasions she has been copied into his travel itinerary which has been given to him by his staff on a need to know basis.
“The wife has tried to discuss her concerns with the husband. He claims that she is carnal and he is insensitive to her feelings and her needs.”

“As a result of the husband’s attitude to their marriage, the wife will say that he is virtually not recognised as a married man in the ministry. His teachings and beliefs on marriage is that the husband is a master and a controller and the wife will say that his concept of biblical; submission is so extreme that it is impossible for her to meet his expectations. She feels humiliated by the way he treats her in the presence of his close female staff members and she feels that she has been taken for granted which has become unbearably stressful for her.

“The wife will say that the relationship with  the husband is non-existent to the point that his itinerary which was announced  publicly at the beginning of the year had no provision for time with his family. His staff members who travel with him organise both his personal and professional life without any input from her. The wife will say that she is treated with disregard almost like akin to an intruder.

“The wife feels that she has been mentally, physically and emotionally deprived of the experience of a marital relationship. She feels that the husband has persistently judged her  and his communication with her has been unduly harsh. The wife knows that he was hard to please and has been extremely critical.

“The wife reserves the right to expand on all of these particulars if the divorce petition is defended.”

He recently sent out a statement through his lawyer Mr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) stating that the accusations of adultery against him are ‘false and malicious’ and he will not hesitate to sue journalists who publish matters between him and his wife. 

Church members and other well-wishers hoping the matrimonial squabble between popular televangelist, Chris Oyakhilome and his wife, Anita, would be resolved in no time should forget it as Mrs. Oyakhilome has ruled out the possibility of ever reconciling with her estranged husband.

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, through her lawyers, Mrs Oyakhilome said her relationship with Pastor Chris had terribly degenerated that there is no room for any reconciliation or out-of-court settlement.

This newspaper had contacted Mrs. Oyakhilome through her lawyers, Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors, after news broke that she had filed for divorce, to enquire whether any out-of-court settlement option was being explored.
In their response Tuesday, her attorneys said there was no chance the estranged couple would ever live as husband and wife again.

“It is with great sadness that our client, Pastor Anita Oyakhilome, has come to the conclusion that her marriage to Pastor Christian Oyakhilome has irretrievably broken down and regrettably there is no hope of any reconciliation,” said Stephen Goddard, Business Development Manager of Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors.

From early this year, there had been speculation that the marriage between Mr Oyakhilome, the founder of Believers Love World (aka Christ Embassy), and his wife, who is also Vice-president of the ministry, was collapsing.

Some church members even set up a Facebook page, “Where is Rev Anita Oyakhilome”, in May dedicated to addressing the issue.

The church initially denied reports that the couple were estranged and possibly divorcing.

But TheCable news website reported on August 29 that Mrs. Oyakhilome had filed for divorce since April 9, accusing Pastor Chris, as he is fondly called by his followers, of “adultery” and “unreasonable behavior”.

Pastor Chris has denied the allegations. He however warned church members against analyzing his problem with his wife adding that the church is not a political party.

He said his wife is a bitter and angry woman who is being influenced by bad friends who are out to seek his downfall.

The pastor added that most pastors’ wives usually think they are equal to their husbands after they get married.

He said his wife wanted to overpower the authorities of the elders she met when she joined the Christian ministry.

As the divorce battle rages, Mrs. Oyakhilome’s profile has been pulled down from the church’s website.

Sources: Saharareporters