Peter Nyanja
Malawian Anglican bishop (1940–2005)
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Peter Nathaniel Nyanja (1940 – 8 March 2005) was a Malawian Anglican bishop. From 1978 until his death in 2005, he was the second bishop of Lake Malawi in the Church of the Province of Central Africa.
Peter Nyanja | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Lake Malawi | |
| Church | Church of the Province of Central Africa |
| Diocese | Lake Malawi |
| In office | 1978–2005 |
| Predecessor | Josiah Mtekateka |
| Successor | Jameson Mwenda |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1972 (priesthood) |
| Consecration | 25 June 1978 by Donald Arden |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1940 Ntchisi, Malawi |
| Died | March 8, 2005 (aged 64–65) Lilongwe, Malawi |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Children | 9 |
Biography
Nyanja was born in 1940 in Ntchisi to non-Christian parents.[1][2]: 63n67 He converted to Christianity in 1962 while studying at a teacher training college and came to the attention of Bishop Donald Arden and trained for ordination in Tanzania and Zambia.[2]: 63n67
He was ordained a priest in 1972[1] and appointed archdeacon of Nkhotakota in 1977.[2]: 63n67 Not long after, he was appointed the second bishop of Lake Malawi, succeeding Josiah Mtekateka, in 1978. Nyanja's election was controversial; clergy from Likoma Island, the heartland of Malawian Anglicanism, opposed the election of a mainlander and boycotted the elective assembly. After no candidate achieved the required two-thirds support, the election was sent to the bishops of the Province of Central Africa, who selected Nyanja.[3]: 424–425 Nyanja was consecrated at All Saints Church in Nkhotakota in June 1978,[4] but due to objections from Likomans, Nyanja was not enthroned at St Peter's Cathedral until January 1979.[3]: 430
During his episcopacy, Nyanja angered Anglicans in Nkhotakota by relocating the diocesan headquarters to Lilongwe.[3]: 430 He chaired the Malawi Council of Churches during the 1980s.[5]: 24 According to future bishop Alinafe Kalemba, whom Nyanja confirmed in 1981, Nyanja began his episcopacy with an administrative focus, but after experiencing spiritual renewal in the 1990s, he grew into a role of spiritual fatherhood later in his tenure.[2]: 64
He died of prostate cancer at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe on 8 March 2005, a few months before his planned retirement as bishop.[1][3]: 424n124