Benjamin Paul Mwanzia Nzimbi (born 1945) is a Kenyan Anglican archbishop. He was the archbishop and primate of the

Anglican Church of Kenya The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is a province of the Anglican Communion, and it is composed by 41 dioceses. The current Leader and Archbishop of Kenya is Jackson Ole Sapit. The Anglican Church of Kenya claims 5 million total members. Accordin ...

and Bishop of the Diocese of All Saints Cathedral, from 2002 to 2009. He is married to Alice Kavula and the couple has five children.

Early life

He was born into a poor family of eight children and attended Ithookwe Primary, Mulutu Intermediary and Kitui School. He later attended Kenyatta University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Education, with majors in Religion and Kiswahili. Afterward, he worked as a lecturer at Machakos Teachers Training College, where he was dean of students and the head of social studies department. He felt his religious call then, so he was trained and ordained to be the college chaplain.

Priesthood

He finally decided to leave teaching to become a full-time priest. He studied for the priesthood at the Trinity and St. Francis College, in Karen in 1984. Afterwards, Nzimbi was elected as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Machakos, which he served from 1985 to 1995. In 1995 he was elected the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Kitui. Nzimbi was elected the fourth archbishop and primate of Kenya and Bishop of the Diocese of All Saints Cathedral on 16 August 2002 and served from 2002 to 2009.A profile of Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya, 9 November 2008, Anglican Mainstream
/ref> He opposed the acceptance of non-celibate gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

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branches of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, becoming a leading name in the

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episco ...

as a member of the

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and the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. He attended the

GAFCON The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a communion of conservative Anglicanism, Anglican churches, aligned with the Confessing Movement, that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in th ...

meeting in

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in 2008 and supported the creation of the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. ...

in June 2009. He was one of the Anglican Primates that attended the new church inaugural assembly in

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeastern Tarrant County, Texas, United States, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 49,928 at the 2020 United State ...

References

External links

A profile of Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi, Anglican Mainstream, 9 November 2008
1945 births Living people Anglican archbishops of Kenya Anglican bishops of Machakos Anglican bishops of Kitui Anglican bishops of All Saints' Cathedral 20th-century Anglican bishops of the Anglican Church of Kenya 21st-century Anglican bishops of the Anglican Church of Kenya 21st-century Anglican archbishops Kamba people People from Kitui County Anglican realignment people {{anglican-bishop-stub

Early life

Priesthood

References

See also

External links