Nwoba Chika Nwoba writes
What’s knighthood and who are knights? Knighthood is a social organization in the church regarded as the army of the church, a paramilitary organization membership of which are carefully selected men and women of substance who are members of the church. Knights are the members of the knighthood who have been selected, screened and invested into knighthood. There are three churches globally that practise knighthood. They are the Anglican, Catholic and Methodist churches. Another form of knighthood is the one outside the church which is invested on selected influential personalities by the British kingship family. For instance, a late Nigerian political figure, Sir Ahmadu Bello. He was a Muslim, but was invested into the knighthood by the British kingdom to appreciate and recognize his efforts in building an egalitarian society and for being an exemplary public figure worthy of reference.
Let’s look into the Anglican knighthood. In the Anglican, the following are the knighthood groups that exist. They include Knight of Saint Christopher (KSC), Knight of Saint Paul (KSP), Knight of Good Shepherd (KGS), etc. Female knights are called Dames, while wives of knights are called Ladies. For instance: Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan. She was invested into the Anglican knighthood. The current governor of Rivers State, Sir Sim Fubara is an Anglican knight of the saint Christopher group. His wife is Lady…
Ten things to note about the Anglican knighthood:
1. Incoming member must be wedded in the Anglican
2. Must not marry more than one wife
3. Must be baptized in Anglican and duly confirmed
4. Must not be a proven secret cult or occult member
5. Must not be serving a current term of criminal conviction anywhere
6. Must be seen as having contributed to the growth of the church in cash or in kind
7. Must be a member of the diocese in which he or she wants to be invested
8. Must be active in marriage as divorced persons aren’t admissible into knighthood
9. Knighthood isn’t a secret cult or society as peddled by members of the society. It’s purely a social and spiritual organization in the church
10. There’s no age barrier to admission into knighthood so long as the person was wedded. Bishop of the diocese makes nominations and the so nominated can accept or reject the nomination. It’s not compulsory.
Roles of the knighths
1. They fund activities of the church
2. They help in defending the church in a situation of crisis
3. Knights help in the mission of planting churches
4. They are people of moral compass in the church and are expected to be dedicated in the activities of church
5. They help in the spreading of evangelism, among other roles.
Benefits of knighthood:
1. Members of the knighthood are usually influential people. So, it’s a means of connection.
2. Knights are paramilitary officers. So, there’s an esprit de corp cordiality existing between them and the conventional security forces.
3. One gains favour from a brother knight as knights are bonded by the spirit of comradeship. There’s a pinup that identifies a person as a knight in Anglican. A brother knight can’t abandon a fellow in a situation he or has a power of adjudication over.
4. There’s a dedicated uniform for knights. This uniform is worn only to events that take place at the diocese level. It’s not an everyday dress. In a period of one year, it might only be worn thrice or twice or once, except for the case of burying a member or inducting another set of would-be members which happens maybe once in every five, four or three years. Only the bishop carries it out at his discretion in line with the established procedures which are uniform world over.
5. After the bishop and the clergy in a diocese, knights are the next in command. They’re the next in line at the level of laity.
Miscellaneous:
People have always asked between Catholic and Anglican knighthoods, which is the greatest. See it from the Anglican of which of these churches came to Nigeria first. Catholic came ten years after Anglican came through the colonial British emissaries. I think this should answer the question, however, knights are the same. No one is greater. Knights in the three churches are the same.
But generally, the following are the knighthoods that exist in the Anglican, Catholic and Methodist Churches:
Anglican:
Knight of Saint Christopher (KSC)
Knight of Saint Paul (KSP)
Knight of the Great Shepherd (KGS)
Catholic
Knight of Saint John (KSJ)
Knight of Saint of John International (KSJI)
Knight of Saint Paul (KSP)
Knight of Saint Mulumba (KSM). All these are practised in Nigeria.
Methodist:
Knight of John Wesley (KJW)
Order of Wesley (OOW)
Member of the Order of Wesley (MOW)
Knight of John (KOJ)
Knight of Charles Wesley (KCW), etc.