The Cathedral Church of Christ in Marina, Lagos, Nigeria is the center of worship for many Lagos Anglicans and an icon of colonialism. The idea for the construction of the church dates to the 1900s when a proposal for the Church was first presented.
The oldest Anglican Cathedral in the Church of Nigeria. The foundation stone for the first cathedral building was laid on March 29, 1867, and the cathedral was established in 1869. Construction of the current building to designs by architect Bagan Benjamin started on November 1, 1924. The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) on April 21, 1925. It was completed in 1946. In 1976, the relics of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a former enslaved Yoruba man who became the first African bishop in the Anglican Church, were translated to the cathedral. There is a cenotaph erected as a memorial of him.
The organ of the cathedral was built by Oberlinger (Orgelbau), Germany on the right side of the altar with two façades – one looking to the altar and the second looking to the right nave. One of the sections, Antiphonal, is located at the organ loft above the main entrance to the church. At the beginning of the 21st century, the whole instrument was renewed (and console rebuilt) by English company Harrison & Harrison; it consists 64 stops on 4 manuals and a pedalboard. It is the largest organ in Nigeria.
When Queen Elizabeth of England and her husband Prince Philip came to Nigeria on January 8, 1956, they both worshipped at the cathedral. She donated a chair which is still preserved in the cathedral till today. When Princess Alexandra of Kent represented her cousin, the Queen of England at Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960, she worshipped at the cathedral. On April 19, 1969, the then head of state, Yakubu Gowon got married to Victoria Zakari at the cathedral.
Many decades after, the Church continues to exert so much influence not just on the landscape but also on the identity of Lagosians.
Source: Eric Teniola, artcentron.com
