A National Cathedral of Ghana symposium and workshop was held in Accra, Ghana on
October 18 - 20, 2021. The National Cathedral of Ghana, originally conceived by the
President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to address the lack of a
sacred space and infrastructure for the formal religious activities of the nation, such as
state funerals, has been expanded to include a Bible Museum and Biblical Garden. This
integration of the Bible Museum and Biblical Gardens, potentially, transforms the
National Cathedral into a key legacy project with major religious, civic and economic
implications for the country.
With its path-breaking design as an architectural expression of African Christianity; its
Bible Museum as the largest in the world with a focus on the role of Africa and
Africans in the Bible; and its Biblical gardens with the trees, shrubs and flowers of the
Bible; the project has been transformed into a religious “tour de force” with the
potential to serve as an (intellectual) home for African Christianity.
This symposium explored the integration of the Bible Museum of Africa, and the
Biblical Gardens of Africa, into the National Cathedral Project, and assessed its
potential contribution to African Christianity. Specifically, the symposium reviewed,
and institutionally validated, the report on the concept development for the Museum
and Gardens --in relation to the aspirations to develop the National Cathedral into a
key site for national, continental and international tourism, pilgrimage, and research.
Participants at the symposium included i) the Trustees of the National Cathedral; ii)
the National Cathedral team, including the main consultants, Adjaye Associates; iii)
the US technical team, led by Nehemiah Group, coordinating the design of the Bible
Museum and Biblical Gardens; iv) the National Cathedral’s Research Working Group
providing scholarly input to the design team; v) National and International experts;
and v) key national, regional and international stakeholders of the National Cathedral
project, including the church and theological institutions.
The Symposium also marked the formal launch of the convening platform of the
National Cathedral Project, which seeks to develop the National Cathedral as a site for
deep national and international conversations on faith.
The three-day gathering included about 80 attendees with distinguished presenters such as:
• Apostle Prof Opoku Onyinah – Chairman, NCG Board of Trustees
• Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah – Executive Director National Cathedral and Convener of the Symposium
• Hon Akosua Frema Osei-Opare- Chief of Staff, Office of the President
• Archbishop Emeritus Peter Kwasi Sarpong
• Ken Faulkner – Adjaye Associates – Architect
• Rev Prof Kwabena Asamoah Gyadu
• Cary Summers- CEO, The Nehemiah Group
• Rev Prof Emmanuel Martey – Member, NCG Board of Trustees
• Wintley Phipps – Entertainer, ministery leader, and global speaker
• Dr. Cynthia James – Jakes Divinity School
• Dan Murphy- CEO, The PRD Design Group
• Rev Dr. Joyce Aryee – Member, NCG trustee
• Prof David Ekem - VP, Methodist University College
• Grace Adjekum – Translation Consultant
• Prof Aloo Mojola – Translation Consultant
• Archbishop Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle – Chairman NCG Research working group
• Dr. David Trobisch – African antiquity consultant
• Rev Gilbert Ansre
• Apostle Dr. Alfred Koduah – NCG Research Working Group
• Rev Dr, Nana Opare Kwakye – NCG Research Working Group