By TINA TIMOTHY

A Nigerian scholar in Britain has made history by officiating at the church funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Samuel Nwokoro, during the full order of service for thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth on Monday, September 12, 2022 offered prayers at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

“We pray for wisdom to become worthy stewards of your good gifts. Give us a constant concern for the earth and all its creatures, a spirit of understanding in our dealings with others, and keep the nations of our Commonwealth united in bonds of cooperation and friendship.

“Lord in your mercy”, Nwokoro prayed.

A Commonwealth Student and Assistant Minister, Samuel Nwokoro is the only Nigerian among those officiating at the Funeral Church Service of the Queen, who died on September 8 and is being mourned by billions of people across the world.

Nwokoro is pursuing a PhD in Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on interfaith encounters between Christians and Muslims in the eighth century, the impact of these encounters on social and religious identities, and the implications for interreligious dialogue today.

Before his studies, Samuel Nwokoro served as a lecturer at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria in Bukuru and ministered at the Anglican Diocese of Jos.

As a second-year PhD research student at the University of Edinburgh, he studies early interfaith encounters. This involves learning about early medieval Middle Eastern city spaces, and how their capitulation or conquest impacted social and religious identities during the eighth century.

The queen’s funeral, which is estimated to be watched on TV by over 4 billion people, climaxes with her burial on September 19.

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