It is with great sadness that the death of The Rt Revd Dr Karowei Dorgu, Bishop of Woolwich and a member of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), has been announced.
Bishop Karowei died peacefully in hospital, after a long struggle with his health, on Friday 8 September surrounded by his family.
Revd Canon John Dunnett, National Director, CEEC, said: “CEEC is saddened to hear of the death of Bishop Karowei. He was man with a passion for the gospel and committed to evangelism – we valued enormously his membership of our Council. We rejoice that Karowei is now in the presence of His heavenly Father and offer our condolences to his wife Mosun, son Timi, and his twin sister Collette, and the whole family. We pray that in their grief they will be reassured of the hope that Karowei knew and that we share (1 Thessalonians 4v13)”.
About Bishop Karowei
Bishop Karowei studied at Oak Hill from 1993 to 1995, and was deaconed in London Diocese to serve a curacy at St Mark, Tollington Park. In 1998 hejoined St. John the Evangelist Church, Upper Holloway as assistant curate/associate vicar from 1998 to 2000, team vicar from 2000 to 2012, and then Vicar from 2012.
On 20 December 2016, Dorgu was announced as the next Bishop of Woolwich, a suffragan and area bishop in the Diocese of Southwark and consecrated at Southwark Cathedral on 17 March 2017.
Born and brought up in Nigeria, Bishop Karowei worked as a medical doctor before ordination. He studied theology (BA Hons) at London Bible College. Whilst training for ordained ministry at Oak Hill College, Southgate, he undertook his postgraduate theological research for MA Missiology at All Nations College, Ware. He was always keen to share the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He had a deep concern for mission and regularly led open-air evangelism in his parish which saw his church grow remarkably.
Bishop Karowei also had a keen interest in training candidates for lay and ordained ministry, offering his expertise as a tutor on a number of training programmes. He was for many years Assistant Director of Post Ordination Training in the Stepney Area. Prior to his appointment as Bishop of Woolwich, he was a Prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral.