The Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Dr. Jackson Ole Sapit has consecrated the new Bishop of the ACK Diocese of Mt. Kenya West. The Consecration and enthronement service of the Rt. Rev. Gerald Muriithi took place at the ACK St. Peter’s Cathedral in Nyeri on the 23rd of March 2025.
The service was attended by about 2,000 Christians among them National and County Leaders. A Host of Bishops and Clergy from across the Province also attended the event. Featuring a procession within parts of Nyeri town’s Central Business District, various departments and groups within the church brought out the excitement of the day as the Kenya Police’s General Service Unit (GSU) band played several tunes. Inside the packed Cathedral, Jubilant Christians drawn from the 122 parishes in the expansive Diocese waited to welcome their third Bishop. Mass choirs were at hand to offer a blend of worship songs to the service which started a few minutes past 9:00am.
The Provincial Chancellor, Tom Onyango declared the Archbishop’s mandate for the consecration of the Bishop. A Psalm was taken from the 28th Chapter, beginning from Verse 1- by two pre-selected lay Readers. The Old Testament Reading came from Genesis 1:1-31 with the Gospel being taken from John 15:10-15.
The Sermon was delivered by the Rt. Rev. Alphonse Mwaro Baya, the Bishop of the ACK Diocese of Mombasa who had accompanied the incoming Bishop and his family for a weeklong retreat.
“I note that this is a service full of Expectations about the future,” he said. He went on to make observations about the significance of the transitional expectations.
“This transition incorporates you into God’s Vision for Creative and relationship Leadership … for impactful leadership,” he encouraged the incoming Bishop in a sermon that lasted 28 minutes.
Then followed a series of episcopal consecration proceedings that involved proclamations, oaths, vesting and prayers, led by the Archbishop- and assisted by Bishops and the Chancellors. Amidst legal declarations, about two dozen Archdeacons enthroned the newly consecrated Bishop on the Diocesan Cathedra “to Serve the Church of God in the office of third Diocesan Bishop of the Church and the Episcopal see of Mt. Kenya West.”
“As we begin our ministry, we are clear that this Diocese has a goal and a mandate to realize and we call upon all of us to join together in unity of purpose,” the newly installed Bishop read out his mandate.
He thanked the Archbishop’s Commissary Rt Rev. Julius Karanu for supporting the Diocese during the transition.
Based on 2nd Kings 19:30, he outlined his ministry focus of ‘taking roots below and bearing fruits upwards.”
The Charge focuses on:
- Strengthening Diocesan Governance
- Deepening Mission and Evangelism
- Human Resource Development.
- Spiritual Growth and Maturity
- Physical Development
- Financial Management and Stability
“We look forward to the success of the Diocese in the future,” the Archbishop responded to the Charge.
The diocese covers the whole of Nyeri, about two-thirds of Laikipia, and a small part of Meru Counties. It was established in 1993, with ACK St. Peter’s serving as the Diocesan Cathedral. It was curved out from the Diocese of Mount Kenya Central and has had three Bishops.
The inaugural bishop, Rt. Rev. Alfred Charles Chipman, was consecrated and enthroned at St. Peter’s Church on July 4, 1993, by Archbishop Manasses Kuria. Following Bishop Chipman’s tenure, Rt. Rev. Joseph Kagunda assumed leadership of the Diocese, retiring in April 2024.