The Founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide has dedicated the largest six-figure capacity cathedral in Nigeria.
Bishop David Oyedepo has dedicated the 120,000-seat Hand of God Cathedral, belonging to Pastor David Ibiyeomie's pentecostal Salvation Ministries group.
The church, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in southern Nigeria, is around 400 miles away from Abuja and covers over 56,000 square meters.
Bishop Oyedepo prayed that the cathedral would remain a place of worship and said that the church was completed without borrowing or foreign aid.
“The fire of the Lord will never go out from this altar. This will never be reduced to an altar of entertainment,” he said.
The bishop warned against attempts to declare Nigeria an Islamic state, stating that the church would prevail.
A company which assessed the building reportedly valued building costs at ₦46b, approximately £25.7m.
Pastor Ibiyeomie also spoke about asking for guidance and advice from Bishop Oyedepo.
He said: “Every time I get to a crossroad, I position myself to hear from Bishop Oyedepo and he always says the thing I want answers to.”
Salvation Ministries was founded in 1997. Construction reportedly began in 2010 and the exterior design shows five fingers coming out of a central hub.
A 40,000 capacity design initially began construction 16 years ago, but the capacity has since tripled with eight floors and large LED screens inside auditoriums.
Christian persecution charity Open Doors presented Downing Street with their 'Arise Africa' petition, calling for greater protection for Christians in sub-Saharan Africa.
Open Doors' 2026 World Watch List reported that nearly 3,500 people were killed in Nigeria because of their faith - nearly three-quarters of all Christians killed worldwide due to their Christian idently.
A senior adviser to Nigerian president President Bola Tinubu rejected claims of a Christian genocide in March.
“There is nothing like Christian genocide. What we have is a security challenge which also affects many countries in the world,” Bayo Onanuga said.