The Diocese of Northern Malawi has consecrated its first African bishop to succeed the Rt. Rev. Christopher Boyle, the last British bishop in Central Africa.
The Rev. Canon Fanuel Emmanuel Chioko Magangani was consecrated by ten bishops of the Church of the Province of Central Africa at a 5 and a half hour service at a football stadium in Mzuzu on Nov 7. His consecration fills the last vacancy in the House of Bishops of the Church of the Province of Central Africa, which will now permit the province to elect a new primate to replace Archbishop Bernard Malango, who retired in 2007.
Canon Magangani is the first African to serve as Bishop of Northern Malawi. His predecessors were British, Bishop Boyle, and American, the Rt. Rev. Jackson Biggers. In June 2009, the Rev. J. Scott Wilson SSC of the Diocese of Fort Worth withdrew as sole candidate in Northern Malawi election, prompting the diocese to conduct an abbreviated internal search that produced Fr. Mtekateka.
Bishop Mangani served as dean of St Peter’s Cathedral on Likoma Island for five years and was educated at Zomba Theological College and Mzuzu University. His election canceled plans for a two-year leave of absence from the diocese to begin advanced studies at Nashotah House, an American theological college.