Abstract:
Ecumenism is currently a topical issue in Christendom, and is aimed at promoting unity
among different Christian denominations. In Nigeria, it began initially among the
Protestant missionaries while the Roman Catholics were indifferent. But with the
impetus drawn from the Vatican II Council, she later joined the ecumenical movement.
This research work is geared towards probing into the contribution of the Roman
Catholic Church towards the ecumenical work in Nigeria. It also seeks to determine the
efforts of she has made so far in her ecumenical work as well as discovering the
challenges facing this work. This research work is both historical and sociological; as a
result, it adopts a multi dimensional approach to the study. It combines both primary and
secondary sources of data collecting techniques. Textbooks, journals, periodicals and
internet sources were extensively used, while oral interviews were also administered to a
few and accessible respondents as a guide to the work. Consequently, it was discovered
that ecumenism, which began among the Protestant missionaries has been enhanced with
the entrance of the Roman Catholic Church into the dialogue in Nigeria. The work also
discovers that although the Roman Catholic Church has been doing her best in promoting
the dialogue in Nigeria, she has not done enough because of deep-seated denominational
biases, rivalry, antagonism and persistent schism, in the country. One implication of
these findings is that the Roman Catholic Church has not succeeded in her ecumenical
work in Nigeria. And this is a sign that the Christians have contradicted the Lord’s
injunction of unity for his followers (Jn 17: 21). The researcher, by way of conclusion,
enjoins all Christians to desist from their uncompromising denominationalism and
unanimously embrace, unity as is taught by our Lord Jesus Christ.
