History of the Episcopal Church of Liberia Since 1980

A Sequel

D. Elwood Dunn

• Publisher: Hamilton Books
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9780761870999
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

This study is a sequel to A History of the Episcopal Church in Liberia 1821–1980 (1992). It is a narrative shaped by contexts—context of the Episcopal Church and its Christian witness through the episcopacies of Diocesan Bishops George Daniel Browne, Edward Wea Neufville II, and Jonathan B. B. Hart; the context of a modernizing Liberia plunged into unprecedented political violence by a military coup d'etat in 1980 and a devastating civil war that ensued and consumed the country for some 14 years; and the context of shifting external ties with the American Church, the Liberian Episcopal community in the United States, and the Church of the Anglican Province of West Africa. D. Elwood Dunn also examines what the church's contemporary history uncovers about Liberia's social history in its juxtaposition of national identity issues with religious syncretism (a mixture of African traditional religions, Islam, some elements of Christianity, and basic human secularism), while suggesting challenges for the Episcopal Church's Christian witness going forward.

All of this is done in four concise chapters successively addressing the episcopate of Bishop Browne, a critical interregnum period between Browne and his successor, Bishop Neufville, the episcopate of Neufville, and initiating the episcopate of incumbent Bishop Hart. This is followed by a general conclusion and assessment of the church's work. The study ends with an epilogue on the Episcopal Church that was, the Church that is, and the Church of the future.

Table of contents

• List of Illustrations and Tables
• Foreword Bishop Jonathan B. B. Hart
• Prologue
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Episcopate of Bishop George Daniel Browne (1970–1993)
• 2 Interim Between Bishop Browne and Bishop Neufville (1993–1996)
• 3 Episcopate of Bishop Edward Wea Neufville II (1996–2007)
• 4 Episcopate of Bishop Jonathan Bau-Bau Bonaparte Hart (2008–)
• Conclusion
• Epilogue: Church That Was, Church That Is, Church of the Future
• Appendix 1 Bishops of the Episcopal Church of Liberia
• Appendix 2 Biographical Data of Episcopal Church of Liberia and Diaspora Clergy
• Appendix 3 Chancellors of the Diocese Since 1976
• Appendix 4 Presidents of Cuttington College/University, 1949–2019
• Appendix 5 Brief Historical Sketch of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lower Buchanan, Grand Bassa County
• List of Interviews
• Bibliography
• About the Author