Biography
His Eminence Metropolitan Archbishop +Mark of America, Most Honorable Exarch of Africa, President of the Holy Synod of the True Orthodox Church Holy Metropolis of America was born in Ondo City, Ondo State to the family of Prince Michael and Veronica Doyeni of the Tewogboye Ruling house of Ondo Kingdom. Metropolitan Mark’s family also includes one brother who is a Hieromonk and six sisters.
| He went to St Paul’s RCM, Ondo for his primary education and proceeded to Saint Joseph College, Ondo where he concluded his Secondary education, Metropolitan +Mark joined the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools, an International order of educators in 1996 and entered the Novitiate in 1998 at Nairobi, Kenya where he studied Lasallian Spirituality, Adolescent Counselling, Teaching Skills, Scripture and Church History. He taught in classrooms and and provided counsels to youth and briefly worked as a Clinical and Marriage Counselor. While in Kenya, he met the Coptic Orthodox Church under the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and began to learn about the Orthodox Faith through these oriental Orthodox Jurisdictions which will explain later his Journey to True Orthodoxy having passed through Western Orthodoxy to Oriental and finally Eastern Orthodoxy of the Patristic Calendar commonly known as the Genuine Orthodox Church or the True Orthodox Church. After careful deliberation on his vocation, he continued the discernment process through prayers and reflections. |
As part of his apostolate, he had had to minister to the weak, elderly, youth, people living in abject poverty, those that have health challenges and especially those living with HIV/AIDS, those struggling to survive financial constraints and those whose case were considered hopeless. He had worked in Kuwinda and Kibera Slums of Kenya. His Eminence has been charged to provide education, alleviate the plight of the impoverished and win hearts for God while inculcating human values and dignities in those whose life and heart are touched by his lives and teachings.
This mission, coupled with his divine calling in the ministry which again brought him into close proximity with the sufferings of people, made so deep impression on Archbishop +++Mark that it soon became his lifework, edging out the ministry of religious life. But does Archbishop +++Mark agree that secular life has replaced religious calling?
Not at all! Rather he insists. “I am a wholistic Minister. I cast out the demons from their spirit in prayer, feed their soul with a positive mental attitude – a burning desire to live a just life with teachings and writings, to thrive and to win. Then I put food in their mouth to give them strength and support them as they face the world. Towards becoming self reliant I empower them with skills that enable them to make money. The glory of God is a person fully alive.” Prayer, Knowledge and Wealth as the key to successful living. Because this takes care of the total being, the spirit, the soul and the body.
In his passion to take care of the sick and the homeless children in our society, Archbishop +Mark as a Religious Counsellor worked as foster father to numerous orphans at the Nyumbani Children of God Relief Institute, home for the HIV/AIDS Orphans in Nairobi –Kenya, the largest of its kind in East Africa.
He also worked with Africa Peace Point (a Non Governmental Organisation for children’s right) in Kenya and also in Tanzania for another two years before coming to Nigeria to continue his charity and evangelical work. Filled with the Holy Spirit, in response to God’s call he founded the Signum Fidei a Charity Organization in 2004 to establish and foster his God given mission in a secular world through writing and teaching not neglecting the charity towards the needy. He published several articles in the National Newspapers in Kenya, and Nigeria respectively among other published books and poets. He continue to cater for the needy and those living with the scourge of HIV/AIDS pandemonium while spreading the gospel.
Education
He studied at the Rhema College of Theology, Nigeria affiliated to International Christian University — School of Pastoral and Social Theology, from which he graduated in 2008. In 2009, he finished his postgraduate studies at the Confraternity of Apostolic Seminary, Northridge, California, USA under the hospice of Archbishop Leon submitting a dissertation entitled, “The Holy Spirit is God.”
Ordination in Western Rite Orthodoxy
He was ordained a Deacon on January 27, 2010 at the Diocesan Cathedral of Saint Angela of Gratitude in Younde, Cameroun following recommendation from His Archbishop and was thereafter appointed as the secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Patriarchate of the Byzantine Catholic Church.
On January 29, 2010, at the proposal of His Holiness Patriarch Mar +Markus, he was promoted by the Holy and Sacred Synod to the position of Chief Secretary and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Peter of Yaounde at the Cathedral. In 2011, he was elevated Exarch of Africa, a position he held until his election as Bishop of Lagos.
HIs Eminence, Archbishop Mark founded the Western Orthodoxy in Nigeria in February, 2010 and soon gained tens of thousands of members across the Country. There were a total of 23 Parishes and total of 57 missions. He traveled across the country to establish missions and teach catechism classes to the new converts that were eager to learn between 2010 and 2014 in a period of three years.
Consecration
The Holy Synod of the Byzantine Catholic Church elected His Eminence and he was approved for consecration to the Holy Episcopacy. On April 18th, 2011, he was consecrated and elected as the Metropolitan Bishop of Lagos by Archbishop Peter Tang and Archbishop Jean Jewel as co-consecrator at the and full voting member of the Holy Synod of the Byzantine Catholic Church. Later on in the year he was conferred the Rank of Archbishop to oversea the English speaking African Countries including Central Africa Republic and the Congo.
Conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy
In 2012, after the discovery of the Western heresies and that of the Uniates, and at the death of Patriarch Mar Markus I of the Byzantine Catholic Church in California, Archbishop +Mark sought to unite the church in Africa with the Autonomous Canonical Orthodox Jurisdiction. The Syrio Russian Orthodox Church received his petition and he was accepted. Archbishop +++Mark was incardinated through cheirothesia by His Beatitude Metropolitan Stephen and His Eminence Archbishop Timothy, he was immediately admitted into the Holy Synod assigned as the Archbishop of the First Diocese of Africa and later in 2014 was appointed by the Primate as the Primatial Legate.
During these years, he worked tirelessly to convert the Byzantine Catholics in Africa and beyond to orthodox faith with remarkable success. Some Bishops maintains their western Rite Orthodoxy while new Priests were trained to become Eastern Orthodox clergies. However, the church in Nigeria suffered set back in 2014 as most departed to follow their old way of life having fund Eastern Orthodoxy Faith rigorous, they thought orthodoxy was an alternative way to western Catholicism. His Eminence, Archbishop Mark insisted that Orthodox faith is a way of life.
Hence two monasteries were established to cater for those who have dedicated their lives to God and the Orthodox Church.
Chancellor and Rector
In 2015, His Eminence Metropolitan Archbishop +Mark established Byzantine University in affiliation to American University, Florida, USA to provide education for the less privileged around the world. He is a philanthropist and Doctor of Naturopathy Medicine as a Bivocational Clergy. His Eminence opened new missions and trained clergies in the Seminary which he established for the same purpose, the Byzantine Seminary under the patronage of Saint Athanasius. He also established the Monastery of Saint Anthony De Great and the Pokrova in Makogi for the monks.
Conversion to True Orthodoxy
The Syrio Russian Orthodox Church Synod opened a dialogue to join the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch under Patriarch Ephreim, by this time Archbishop Mark knew it was time to move forward and begun the search for Genuine Orthodoxy, a lot of these Genuine Orthodox Jurisdictions that maintain the old calendar are marked with one form if irregularities and other, either is it schism or heretic or the Hierarchs deposing each other and the list continues.
Against Ecumenism
In 2017, after realization of the heresy of the World Orthodoxy which has fallen into Heretical Ecumenism, His Eminence decided to pitch tent with the Genuine Orthodox Church through declaration and confession of faith as confessed in 1925 by the local synod when the Greek Patriarchate decided to adopt the New Calendar and through that singular act intensified the new ecumenical movement and thus, HIs Eminence, Archbishop Mark also founded the Genuine Orthodox Church in Nigeria in the Seventh year of His Episcopacy.
Persecution in Nigeria
Nearly all Orthodox Christians under the Jurisdiction of His Eminence in Nigeria have lost family members in attacks by Boko Haram or Fulani Islamic Fulani militants. Several congregations have been displaced, and many Priests and Deacons have been forced to leave the region. Being active in church looks much different than it did at the beginning of the 21st century. It now takes great courage and faith to openly worship and serve Christ. Thousands of Christians remain in camps designated for internally displaced people. With few schools able to function because of the violence, families are concerned about their children’s education. Life is a constant struggle, and in some places it is difficult for Christians to find food. Famine threatens farms in the north as a result of ongoing Islamist violence; Fulani Islamic militants kill farmers when they attempt to return to their farms. In addition, many villages and farmlands have been taken over by the Islamist militias. Toward the end of 2019, the Islamists began stopping commercial vehicles and removing Christians for execution and abduction. Boko Haram is also reportedly backing ongoing attacks on Christian villages by Islamic Fulani militia, who have concentrated their attacks in the central region of Nigeria. Churches were burnt with members inside, missions were destroyed and monasteries were touched.
To further advance the course of True Orthodoxy, and after having faced several challenges with the church in Nigeria due to lack of financial resources to continuing funding the church with the on-going, Islamic Persecution of the Church and the inability of the faithful to gather for worship, His Eminence, reverted to the early church pattern of house churches, where family pray at home and maintain contacts with the faithfuls that are reachable through available means and he moved to the United States to preside over the True Orthodox Church Holy Metropolis in order to avoid the acrimony, prejudice, religious nepotism and racial discrimination found among the Genuine Orthodox Church Bishops and adherents around the world, in order to bring together all faithful Christians that confess and practice the True Faith.
HIs Eminence, Archbishop Mark Presides over the Synod of the True Orthodox Church Holy Metropolis with four Bishops as members.
