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Nigerian Priest Receives The Geneseo Central Presbyterian Church—Squires Fund Scholarship to Fund Doctor of Ministry Studies at PTS

“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. . . . And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:6, 8). It is in the light of those verses that the Rev. Fr. Maximos Kevin Onyebuchi Nnachette, expresses his “utmost gratitude to the individuals and institutions that made my financial aid possible that I might achieve my dreams for ministry: getting a better and solid education, thereby equipping myself with profound knowledge for my priestly ministry, and, most importantly, helping my people, who are still very new in the faith.”

Kevin—a student in PTS’s Eastern Christian Doctor of Ministry cohort—is a priest of Cathedral of Resurrection, Lagos State, Nigeria (archdiocese of Nigeria under the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa). Ordained in December 2003 after converting to Orthodoxy from the Roman Catholic Church, August 2004 saw him helping perform the first group-baptisms of catechumens from the Isoko tribe of Nigeria’s Delta Province, despite the prevalent dangers of abduction and murder there. The ceremony took place in a river of the region.

Intent on expanding his theological education as he furthered his ministry in Nigeria, Kevin began seeking to participate in the Antiochian House of Studies (AHOS), established in 1980 in La Verne, Calif., by the Antiochian Christian Orthodox Diocese of North America “with the express purpose of offering a theological education to as broad a public as possible.” “Coming from Nigeria, it was very difficult to arrange for attending the mandatory Residency Programme at AHOS,” Kevin notes. But “Glory to God for the opportunities he gave me to work and save money over two years finally to be able to attend—in 2013. It was more than worth all the sacrifices I made to participate and earn the AHOS certificate.”

Eager to continue deepening his equipping for ministry, despite the expected financial challenges, Kevin sought out further educational opportunities and learned of PTS’s Eastern Christian focus within the Doctor of Ministry Program. Scholarship assistance from PTS helped him enroll in 2017.

And last academic year, he received The Geneseo Central Presbyterian Church—Squires Fund Scholarship, established in 2014 through the N.Y. church pastored by PTS alumna and Board member the Rev. Dr. Nancy Lowmaster ’11. “The scholarship is awarded to international students who plan to work in a foreign country after completion of their theological studies,” Nancy explains. “And it includes an annual visit to the church, which Kevin made in September. We had a fabulous time together, and we hope to bring him back again next year,” she continues.

Kevin concludes, “I am deeply grateful to PTS, as well as for the financial and moral support of our Orthodox archdiocese through my archbishop, Metropolitan Alexander Gianniris. Through my D.Min. studies, it is my desire to become a better priest and a better person by contributing my own part in making a more peaceful world. This for me is the hallmark of living in the image and likeness of God.”

Nigerian Priest Receives The Geneseo Central Presbyterian Church—Squires Fund Scholarship to Fund Doctor of Ministry Studies at PTS

“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. . . . And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:6, 8). It is in the light of those verses that the Rev. Fr. Maximos Kevin Onyebuchi Nnachette, expresses his “utmost gratitude to the individuals and institutions that made my financial aid possible that I might achieve my dreams for ministry: getting a better and solid education, thereby equipping myself with profound knowledge for my priestly ministry, and, most importantly, helping my people, who are still very new in the faith.”

Kevin—a student in PTS’s Eastern Christian Doctor of Ministry cohort—is a priest of Cathedral of Resurrection, Lagos State, Nigeria (archdiocese of Nigeria under the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa). Ordained in December 2003 after converting to Orthodoxy from the Roman Catholic Church, August 2004 saw him helping perform the first group-baptisms of catechumens from the Isoko tribe of Nigeria’s Delta Province, despite the prevalent dangers of abduction and murder there. The ceremony took place in a river of the region.

Intent on expanding his theological education as he furthered his ministry in Nigeria, Kevin began seeking to participate in the Antiochian House of Studies (AHOS), established in 1980 in La Verne, Calif., by the Antiochian Christian Orthodox Diocese of North America “with the express purpose of offering a theological education to as broad a public as possible.” “Coming from Nigeria, it was very difficult to arrange for attending the mandatory Residency Programme at AHOS,” Kevin notes. But “Glory to God for the opportunities he gave me to work and save money over two years finally to be able to attend—in 2013. It was more than worth all the sacrifices I made to participate and earn the AHOS certificate.”

Eager to continue deepening his equipping for ministry, despite the expected financial challenges, Kevin sought out further educational opportunities and learned of PTS’s Eastern Christian focus within the Doctor of Ministry Program. Scholarship assistance from PTS helped him enroll in 2017.

And last academic year, he received The Geneseo Central Presbyterian Church—Squires Fund Scholarship, established in 2014 through the N.Y. church pastored by PTS alumna and Board member the Rev. Dr. Nancy Lowmaster ’11. “The scholarship is awarded to international students who plan to work in a foreign country after completion of their theological studies,” Nancy explains. “And it includes an annual visit to the church, which Kevin made in September. We had a fabulous time together, and we hope to bring him back again next year,” she continues.

Kevin concludes, “I am deeply grateful to PTS, as well as for the financial and moral support of our Orthodox archdiocese through my archbishop, Metropolitan Alexander Gianniris. Through my D.Min. studies, it is my desire to become a better priest and a better person by contributing my own part in making a more peaceful world. This for me is the hallmark of living in the image and likeness of God.”

Nigerian DMin student Kevin Nnachette