The Enthronement of Kongor Diocese
The Enthronement of the Diocese of Kongor
Revisiting the Role of the Church and the Purpose and Meaning of Christian Faith among the Jieeng Believers
By Abuna Nathaniel Athian Deng, Canada
Introduction
February 19, 2015 (SSB) — A quest for answers amidst different life paradoxes and events results in tremendous shifts in how believers express their faith. Through the divine role of the Church, the Jieeng believers find the purpose and meaning of Christian faith and solace in God. Drawing significant examples from the enthronement of the Diocese of Kongor on February 1, 2015, this paper defines the name Kongor,which has been at the centre of complaint during the creation of the diocese, and describes the distinct roles of the Church among the Jieeng believers. The Church is both an institutional authority that gives moral and spiritual support, advocates for peace and unity, and stands up for the citizens against the marginalization and oppression and a divine entity through which God passes important messages that reveal His will among the believers.
What is in the Name Kongor?
As I explained in the first article, Unmasking the Assumptions and Misunderstanding about the Diocese of Kongor, nobody knows the circumstances that influenced Duk and Twic East politicians and civic leaders to name the new district Kongor in 1976. Similarly, nobody knows what factors prompted the campaigns to change the name Kongor to Bor North in 2004, then to Twic East and Duk counties in 2007. As a result of these changes, the name Kongor has been at the centre of complaint and controversy during the creation of the Diocese of Kongor. What then is in the name Kongor? This sections defines Kongor, its meaning and how it came about.
Mythological stories, particularly,the dispersion of Lith communities (Ayual, Adhiok, Abek, Kongor, Dachueek and Awulian) from Pakou (of Ajak Kur Ayuel), explain the meaning and origin of the name Kongor. After the dispersion from Patunduur, Lith communities settled in Pakou under the leadership of Ajak Kur Ayuel, while the two other Twic East sections of Ajuong and Pakeer communities migrated to their respective lands. After a long residence in Pakou, Lith members decided to move further in search of pastures and agricultural land. This was when Ajak Kur blessed and instructed one group, saying, “Kon Ngor”, meaning “Go First”, before other members would follow. The name of the first group to leave from Pakou, while Ajak Kur’s descendants remained in their present land, then became known as Kongor, meaning “Go First”.
There was no particular group that possessed or owned the name Kongor. In fact, few individuals such as Twic Ariem of Kuach section of Ajuong community, Ajak Kur of Paande Dabek section of Ayual community, and Ajak-Amot and Leek of Panwiir and Paleh sections of Kongor community, respectively, have been mentioned during the two phases of Twic dispersions from Patunduur and Pakou. The leader of Kongor group, the individuals that left Pakou, and how the name Kongor remained with the present Kongor community (Apioloc, Biödït and Padol) after the rest of Lith communities resettled to their respective places are unclear.
The ownership of the name Kongor is possibly synonymous with how the name Lith remained with Adhiok and Abek (the residents of Lith Payam). As aforementioned, Lith was initially a general name for Adhiok, Abek, Kongor, Ayual, Dachuek and Awulian communities. Currently, the name Lith has remained with Adhiok and Abek because Kongor and Nyuak (Ayual, Dachuek and Awulian) have formed their own separate identities or payams. There is likelihood that the name Lith will remain with one community between Adhiok and Abek.
From these mythological stories, the name Kongor was a common identity for the “Go First” Lith group that left Pakou during the immigration and settlement. In 1976, Kongor became a name for the new district (currently Twic East and Duk counties) that branched out of Bor. Twic and Duk leaders possibly based their choice of the name on the settlement stories. Because the Church embraced the names of the existing districts to name the dioceses, the Church authorities picked up the name Kongor for the area diocese that branched out from the Diocese of Bor. However, even after the enthronement, most Twic East members oppose the Kongor of Diocese with the excuse that the name Kongor belongs to one particular community in Twic East. It is undeniable that the name has remained with one community (Kongor) after the rest of Twic East communities acquired new identities. Does this mean the rest of Lith and Twic East communities should work hard for the demise of the name Kongor because they no longer identify with it?
A name is anything people choose to identify themselves. Once it is adapted, its original meaning changes whether to general or specific identity. That also applies to the name Kongor, and other Twic East communities that have left the name Kongor and their visitors and friends should be supportive because Kongor is keeping the joint legacy of Lith communities alive. They are partisans to this legacy, and nobody should wish they would have been there when the name Kongor came about, whether under the leadership of Ajak Kur Ayuel or Elijah Malok Aleeng.
The Significance of the Enthronement of the Diocese of Kongor
The enthronement of the Diocese of Kongor on February 1, 2015 stands out as a special social, religious, and cultural event among different groups and communities in Jonglei State, in particular, and South Sudan, in general. Around 10, 000 congregants, including the politicians and officials from different county, state and national governments, for example, the caretaker governor of Jonglei, John Koang Nyuon, and commissioners of Uror, Duk and Ayod counties, and church and community leaders, celebrated the day in Panyagoor. Some young men killed cattle (riong), a practice commonly done among the Jieeng when such important occasion approaches, to usher in the enthronement of the Diocese. Different community and church leaders and representatives and politicians from the state and federal governments gave moving speeches about peace and reconciliation among the communities in Jonglei. Muslims and Christians from different denominations and dioceses attended the enthronement and affirmed their moral and financial support to the Episcopalian congregation in the Diocese of Kongor.
The occasion also revealed the implications of lack of separation between the Church and the government and the subsequent reliance of the Church on the politicians and community leaders. For example, more politicians than clergypersons and congregational representatives gave administrative and political speeches. The interference of politicians in the Church affairs could make the Church misuse its institutional role. It should be noted that this proposition about the separation of duties does not discourage cooperation between the Church and the governments and communities at different levels. It recommends that the roles and responsibilities of the Church and the government should be distinguishable from, and non-manipulative on other. Generally, the enthronement has proven that religious activities can unite different groups.
The enthronement is usually the last occasion in the creation of new dioceses, such as the Diocese of Kongor. The congregation and friends of the Diocese of Kongor celebrated the provincial approval or confirmation of the diocese in Bortown on November 30, 2013, the inauguration or official certification of the diocese in Juba on October 11, 2014, the consecration of the diocesan bishop in Juba on November 30, 2014, and the enthronement of the diocesan bishop in Panyagoor on February 1, 2015. These procedures—provincial approval, inauguration, consecration and enthronement—are officiated according to the requirements of the Episcopal Church of the South Sudan and Sudan. In some cases, the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church takes over the diocese and supervises the new bishops before giving them full institutional authority over the diocese and other responsibilities which are given during the enthronement.
The Institutional Authority Role of the Church
The above procedures give legitimacy to the parishes, bishops and clergy, authorizing them to coordinate some of the activities that meet the needs of the believers and citizens under the umbrella of the Church. For example, during the concurrent and recurrent civil wars and tribal conflicts in Sudan from 1955 to 2005, the institutional Church stayed with the believers and citizens through the bishops, clergy, teachers, catechists and other personnel. The Church was the only institution which remained intact in the villages and in the refugee and internally displaced camps. The clergy provided moral and spiritual support to the believers, appealed for relief assistance from donors, followed the flock into the country side or in exile, and worked tirelessly to meet the needs of the citizens affected by persecution, insecurity and displacement.
To achieve these goals, the Church formed alliances with the governments and national and international non-governmental organizations. For instance, Bishop Oliver Allison of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, Bishop Augustino Baroni of the Catholic Church and other Church leaders founded the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) on 29th January 1965 to work for peace, national reconstruction, Christian unity and solidarity in the face of state persecution. The SCC, together with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and the World Council of Churches (WCC), became consulting partners during the 1972 Addis Ababa peace negotiations.
After the SCC was restricted from operating in Southern Sudan, Bishop Paride Taban of the Catholic Diocese of Torit and Bishop Nathaniel Garang Anyieth of the Episcopal Diocese of Bor created the New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) by 1989 to take care of the people in areas under the control of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). In addition, the Sudanese Relief and Development Agency (SUDRA), the relief and development agency of the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, played a significant role in providing food, shelter, clothing, clean water, and health and education services to the displaced persons.
In 1986, the international non-governmental organizations, such as Oxfam, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), and national agencies, such as SUDRA, Sudan Aid and SCC, jointly formed the Combined Agencies Relief Team (CART) to coordinate relief assistance among the civilians in different war zones. The CART was under the supervision of the government through the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association/Commission (SRRA/C). In the SPLM/A controlled, or liberated, areas, the Church cooperated with the organizations such as the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) to form the Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan (CEAS) by February 1996. The founding bishops admitted SCC and NSCC as members of the CEAS governing bodies.
The Episcopal and Catholic Churches worked more closely to promote the peace and support the work of SCC and NSCC until the two organizations merged into one agency in May 2007. Generally, the institutional Church delivered basic social and humanitarian services and provided leadership and security in the absence of government in the rebel (SPLM/A) liberated areas and stood up against the hostile government in Khartoum. The Church mediated local and national conflicts, playing a decisive role in giving the voiceless a voice in the international arena. The South Sudanese of all faiths looked to the Church for leadership, and the Church gained tremendous credibility and moral authority to play a public role in the nation.
Despite these accomplishments, leadership challenges, both internal and external, usually interfere with the activities of the institutional Church. For example, under the leadership of Archbishop Elinana Ngalamu, the Episcopal Church experienced leadership crises that lasted for six years from 1987 to 1992. The crises ensued when Archbishop Ngalamu refused to retire after serving for 10 years and attaining the age of 70 in 1986, as required by the 1983 Constitution. Bishop Benjamin Wani Yugusuk, who was about to take over the archiepiscopacy, and Archbishop Ngalamu, who had refused to give up the archiepiscopacy, ended up running two parallel administrations, claiming legitimacy and ordaining their loyal bishops. The Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey intervened and resolved the dispute in 1992. After returning to relative peace, the Episcopal Church created thirteen more dioceses in 1992 to accommodate the newly consecrated bishops for Torit, Lainya, Rokon, Rejaf, Ibba, Ezo, Port Sudan, El Obeid, Lui, Cueibet, Yirol, Malakal and Renk. The dioceses increased from 11 in 1986 to 24 in 1992.
Apart from the 1987 leadership wrangles between the Archbishops Elinana Galamu and Benjamina Yugusuk, another leadership crisis erupted in the Episcopal Church in 2003 between Archbishop Joseph Marona and Bishop Gabriel Roric Jur. After Gabriel Roric was appointed a minister in Khartoum government, the Episcopal Church authorities requested him to resign from his church duties, as required by the Constitution for all clergy who join politics. In response, Bishop Gabriel Roric disobeyed both the Constitution and the archbishop, defected from the Episcopal Church, formed the Reformed Episcopal Church of the Sudan (RECS), declared himself an archbishop of his new denomination, and started the search for followers.
When Gabriel Roric came to Kenya on December 28, 2003, he attracted three senior clergy: Daniel Dau Deng, John Machar Thon and Philip Angony Chol, who had disagreed with Bishop Nathaniel Garang’s reluctance to approve Kongor Area as a full diocese. Gabriel Roric ordained the three clergy as bishops in his new Church at Thika Chapel on Tuesday, April 13, 2004. On the same day, Gabriel Roric ordained seven defected bishops: Wilson Garang Chan, John Machar Thon, James Yuot Chol, Philip Angony Chol, Jeremiah Ayiei Mayuen, Daniel Dau Deng, and Abraham Mayom Athian. The defected bishops later disagreed with Gabriel Roric and formed their own independent Anglican Church of South Sudan in 2004. The bishops in the Anglican Church of South Sudan disagreed among themselves again and the new denomination ended up having two archbishops, Abraham Mayom Athian and John Machar Thon.
Bishop Peter Bol Arok led a second splinter group from the Diocese of Bor in 2005 after Daniel Dau, John Machar and Philip Agony had already defected in 2004. On April 13, 2004, Bishop Peter Bol Arok had declined the ordination and the call to join Gabriel Roric and his new denomination. Peter Bol could have defected with Daniel Dau and John Machar because the three shared the same concerns about the delay in promoting Kongor Area into a full diocese. However, Peter Bol hoped he had high chances to win the Kongor Area diocesan elections after his fierce competitor, Daniel Dau, defected from the Diocese of Bor. Daniel Dau and Peter Bol were the most senior clergy from Kongor Area (later changed to Twic East), who worked closely with Nathaniel Garang, and who were popular among the Kongor Area believers, both in the remote villages in Sudan and in displaced and refugee camps in Kenya and Uganda. Peter Bol eventually defected from the Episcopal Church, Diocese of Bor, on June 11, 2005 after Ezekiel Diing Ajang won the Kongor Area diocesan elections in 2004 and denied his challengers (Peter Garang Thieel Lual, Peter Bol Arok, Bartholomew Bol Deng, and Elijah Abuoi Arok) the responsibilities in the newly independent Kongor Area administration.
Nathaniel Bol Nyok led the third splinter group to Lutheran Church, away from the Diocese of Bor, after he lost the Bor diocesan election to Bishop Ruben Akurdit Ngong in 2011. Mark Atem Thuch led another defecting group after he lost the Twic East diocesan election to Ezekiel Diing in 2009. Mark Atem returned to the Episcopal Diocese of Twic East due to pressure from Twic East politicians, particularly his cousin Elijah Malok Aleeng who stood with him in 2005 after Peter Bol’s defection caused conflict among Nyuak communities. Since then, Mark Atem’s loyal group has remained in opposition against Bishop Ezekiel Diing in the Diocese of Twic East.
By December 28, 2005, there were many subdivisions within the Episcopal Church and among the defecting clergy members, leading to creation of four different denominations. These subdivisions include the Reformed Episcopal Church of Sudan (based in Khartoum with Gabriel Roric Jur as the archbishop), the Anglican Church of South Sudan (based in Rumbek with Abraham Mayom Athian as the presiding archbishop), the Anglican Church of Sudan (based in Bor with John Machar Thon as the presiding archbishop), the Anglican Church of Sudan (based in Wangulei with Peter Bol Arok as a presiding bishop for Twic East Area under the Anglican Church of Kenya) and the Episcopal Church of Sudan (based in Juba with Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul as the archbishop after the retirement and death of Archbishop Marona).
The cooperation among different groups during the enthronement of the Diocese of Kongor and the peaceful elections in the four elections of the dioceses of Athooc, Malek, Duk and Kongor signify some positive steps in the progress in the institutional Church. The leaders are learning better ideas about democratic leadership, and the believers and leaders are finally shunning the dictatorial tendencies that have crippled different African associations and governments.
The Divine Entity Role of the Church
The congregation of the Diocese of Kongor have had frustrating experiences in adopting the Christian faith. The first phase of Christianity in Kongor was thwarted with mysterious death of the first Christians, namely, the Equatorian Deacon (his name is not remembered) and three Kongor-born evangelists: Dau Deng Jurkuch, Diing Arok Kongor, and Kongor Duot Bior.
After Rev. Daniel Deng Atong (who had been ordained as a priest in 1941 and later as the first Sudanese assistant bishop in 1955) led the first evangelism to Kongor in the 1950s, he left the Equatorian Deacon among the Kongor believers in Pawel and returned to Juba. The deacon spent few days before he died a mysterious death: he did not spend a day after falling ill. The believers buried the deacon with much sorrow and Evangelist Dau Deng Jurkuch took over the leadership. Dau also died a mysterious death. After he went for fishing in Payai, his Anyang communal ancestral cattle camp, Dau was the first to step into the water then he remembered the people did not pray. He turned to the land, faced the people and while he was about to say a prayer, the hippo attacked him behind and cut his body into halves from the abdomen. Dau died in winter, around January, and Evangelist Diing Arok Kongor, who had assumed leadership of the Christians, also became sick and died in spring in the same year. In the fall, Evangelist Kongor Duot Bior, the last leader for Christians, died.
These sequential, mysterious deaths of their leaders frustrated the early Christians in Kongor, among whom there was a teaching—possibly a misinterpretation of the Christian teaching about resurrection—that the dead would resurrect with the new moon. The whole of Kongor community and the Christians waited for each of their Christian leaders, but none resurrected. As a result, many Christians in Kongor returned to the worship of Jieeng animist deities, such as Mayom, Akoi (Akoi-Maruur), Deng, Garang, and Abuk. None of the animist believers converted to Christianity until the third and subsequent phases of Christianity.
The second phase is characterised by the activities of the few Christians, such as Simon Thach Gaal, Tito Chuol Ayii, Nyoc Malang, Rebecca Lueth Wel, and Mary Achol Deng-Nuer. These Christians, most of whom were ordained as lay leaders in the 1970s, did not return to the worship of the animist deities because of their firm belief in God. They continued with their Christian activities, mostly at closed doors, until the third phase Christians joined them.
The third phase, which was pioneered by Nathaniel Garang Anyieth, started with evangelism from Khartoum to Duk-Padieet. After the Christians taught the Gospel in Duk, the elders proposed that they should not remain alone for fear that the evil spirits (jak) would finish them like the early Christians in Kongor. The evangelizing team then decided to leave one member in places where the elders and believers accepted their message and converted to Christianity.
Samuel Majok Deng remained in Duk-Padieet (Hol), Simon Majok Anyang remained in Duk-Payuel (Nyarweng), Joseph Akol Gak remained in Kongor, Simon Anyang and John Kelei Chiengkou remained in Bor, and Ezekiel Diing Ajang Malang and Hilary Garang Deng were sent to Bar el Ghazal in 1975. Christian women also took up greater responsibilities during this third phase. For example, Darukah Nyagaak hosted Majok Deng in Duk-Padieet and Sarah Achok Jok and Sarah Anoon Nuer hosted Akol Gak in Kongor. Tito Chuol Ayii, Rebecca Lueth Wel and Mary Achol Deng and other Christians in the second phase cooperated with the returning Christians. To support Christian activities, Bishop Benjamin Wani, the dean of the province, ordained Nathaniel Garang, and Bishop Kezekiah Barach Mabior ordained Ezekiel Diing, Hilary Garang, and Daniel Deng Bul and sent them back to Bar el Ghazal. After his consecration, Nathaniel Garang ordained other pastors, particularly, Samuel Majok Tuil, Mathayo Mabior Garang, Michael Ajang Mabior, Joseph Mabior Garang, and Simon Majok Anyang, and assigned them to different parishes in Bor, Twic East and Duk. It should be noted that although Christianity became preferable during the third phase in Kongor, fewer Jieeng believers converted to Christianity in the third phase than in other subsequent phases after 1991.
The kidnapping of Isaiah Chol Aruei, Jacob Aleer Longar and Mading Akueth interrupted the excitement after the enthronement of the Diocese of Kongor and triggered stressful reactions among the Christians. The incident happened immediately after the enthronement of the Diocese of Kongor, a historical and religious occasion that had brought together different groups to exchange ideas about peace and reconciliation and commemorate a final stage to a long journey that Isaiah Chol had devoted much effort. Like Sarah Achok, Sarah Anoon, and Darukah Nyagaak, Isaiah Chol had opened his home to senior clergy, including Daniel Dau Deng, Nathaniel Garang Anyieth, and Ezekiel Diing Ajang, in Kenya and in the displaced camps. Isaiah Chol’s involvement in the Dioceses of Bor and Kongor, including partaking in writing the letter to the archbishop where he and other nine representatives declared Kongor as a diocese in 2009 and welcoming the senior clergy in the Diocese of Bor, was not political. It has been his passion and responsibility to serve as a member of the congregation.
Among the Christians who see the world as a stage where each event is a manifestation of the plans of Almighty God, the release of the three believers was both a learning process and an opportunity to assess their faith and appreciate the divine intervention from Almighty God who tirelessly fulfills His plan for His people at His convenience. It revealed a healing intervention whereby God had approved the enthronement by affirming His powers over the animist gods who had formerly interfered with the spread of Christianity in Kongor.Like the September 7, 1997 incident in Chueidoor (Kongor) where God intervened by lightning and thunderstorm and stopped the war between the Jieng and Nuer, the release of the three detainees was the last intervention in the celebration of the Diocese of Kongor. God’s manifestation prevail among the believers in the divine role of the Church: their release was the answer to the prayers and fasting among different Christian groups who turned to God and denounced other divine powers (jak).
Conclusion
The enthronement of the Diocese of Kongor elaborates the distinct roles of the Church and the purpose and meaning of Christian faith among the Jieeng believers. As an institutional authority, the Church, through the believers, bishops and clergy, gives moral and spiritual support, advocates for peace and unity, and stands up for the citizens against the marginalization and oppression. As a divine entity, the Church is a vessel through which God passes important messages that reveal His will among the believers.
Leadership wrangles, that is, lack of knowledge about democratic leadership, negatively impact how Christians express their faith among the Jieeng believers. The above leadership struggles and other manifestations of institutional role of the Church highlighted in the first article about the inauguration of the Diocese of Kongor on October 11, 2014 are distinct from the divine role of the Church where God uses mouthpieces and theophanies to pass important messages that reveal His will among the believers. The Church lives on because it is a divine entity.
The frustrating experiences of the congregation of the Diocese of Kongor confirm that human beings are helpless creatures entangled between invisible powers. The overall impacts of such helplessness include the shift in cultural, religious and social values, all contributing to the sustenance of Christian faith and other opportunities for the believers to make informed choices about their own spiritual needs. Such experiential self-knowledge is a miraculous encounter with God and the subsequent transition from animist worship to Christianity among the Jieeng believers, whom God has called through miracles that are congruent to the believers’ own lives and experiences. When I put the manifestations in the first phase of Christianity and other subsequent phases among the Christians, I come to a self-reflection that there is One True God who is drawing humanity to Himself from all walks of life and who is taking over from other animist deities and powers who compete with God for human attention. I only could not tell with surety when all human beings will completely come to God. It may be during our earthly time. It may be after our earthly time. It may be that we are already living with Him: the divine Church.
References
Ashworth, J. (2012, May 20). A reflection on the New Sudanese Countries and Churches. South Sudan: Comboni Missionaries South Sudan. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
Deng Mayen, N. A. (2015). Christian Faith among the Jieeng: the Shift in Values, the Stages of Faith, and the Cultural and Religious Experiences of Jieeng Believers in the Episcopal Diocese of Bor. Denver, Colorado: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Tombe, Rev. Enock. 2012. “The Episcopal Church of Sudan in the History of Divided Sudan.”Comboni Missionaries South Sudan.
The writer, Athian Deng Mayen, is the author of “Christian Faith among the Jieeng: the Shift in Values, the Stages of Faith, and the Cultural and Religious Experiences of Jieeng Believers in the Episcopal Diocese of Bor” published in 2015 by Outskirts Press, Inc.
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