By Matthias F. Larbeindee
After decades away from Liberia, Suffragan Bishop Wilmot T. Merchant II has returned home to lead the LoBoNi Archdeaconry of the Episcopal Church of Liberia (Lofa, Bong and Nimba). He will be based in Bolahun Holy Cross Mission, Lofa County.
Bishop Merchant has described his return as deeply personal and institutionally significant, saying he is here to help reshape the Episcopal Church of Liberia and lay the foundation for the new diocese covering Lofa, Bong and Nimba Counties.
Merchant, a Liberian-born priest who spent much of his professional life in the United States, was recently elected and consecrated as a suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Church of Liberia.
He was elected to lead the area being referred to as LoBoNi, comprising Lofa, Bong and Nimba counties. On October 4, 2026, he will be officially Welcomed with a Thanksgiving Service at the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Bolahun.
His election comes at a historic moment for the Episcopal Church, which has operated as a single diocese covering the entire country for more than 150 years.
Hence, the church is now pursuing a major decentralization plan that would transform the existing structure into three dioceses: LoBoNi in the north-central region, a southeastern diocese, and the existing national structure. For Merchant, the change is about more than church administration; it is about bringing leadership closer to congregations, strengthening the church’s presence across Liberia and, ultimately creating a church that can stand on its own feet.
“The hope is that within four years, Liberia will have three dioceses instead of the one diocese that has existed for more than 175 years,” Merchant said.
A Church Too Large for One Bishop
For years, the sheer geographical size of Liberia has posed a challenge to the Episcopal Church’s ability to effectively reach its congregations. The problem becomes particularly acute during the rainy season, when travel between Monrovia and remote parts of Lofa, Bong, Nimba and the southeastern counties becomes difficult.
Merchant said the decision to decentralize the church has therefore been under consideration for years. The Episcopal Church’s proposed structure would resemble that of the Roman Catholic Church in Liberia, which already operates through multiple dioceses.
“We are not there yet,” he cautioned. “We are in the process of creating the other two.”
His colleague, the Right Reverend Michael T. Sie, has been assigned to the southeastern region, covering Grand Gedeh, Maryland, Sinoe and River Gee Counties.
Merchant, meanwhile, faces the enormous task of establishing the LoBoNi archdeaconry as a fully functioning diocese within four years.
Building Beyond the Existing Churches
Despite the size and population of Lofa, Bong and Nimba, Merchant acknowledges that presence of the Episcopal Church in the three counties remains relatively limited.
Bong, he said, currently has five Episcopal churches, while Nimba has four. Lofa has nine churches and preaching stations. For the new bishop, those numbers represent not merely a statistic but an opportunity to expand.
“We hope to begin doing more work in these counties, `Lofa, Bong and Nimba-to expand the church’s presence,” he said.
But expansion, in Merchant’s view, must go hand in hand with financial independence. One of his most immediate objectives is to help congregations become self-supporting and autonomous.
Within five years, Bishop Merchant says the church hopes that each archdeaconry will have at least five congregations capable of sustaining themselves. For LoBoNi, the challenge is particularly daunting. “At this time, I do not have one,” Merchant acknowledged.
That reality means his assignment will involve more than preaching and pastoral care. It will require organizational development, fundraising, congregational strengthening and a fundamental change in how church members view their responsibility to support the institution.
“Nobody is coming to rescue you from your situation,” he said. “You have to figure out, what do we do in our context to be self-supporting”
Calling Beneficiaries to Give Back
Merchant believes the Episcopal Church has another resource that it has not fully tapped into: generations of Liberians who benefited from its educational and institutional legacy. The church historically educated thousands of Liberians, including many prominent citizens.
Merchant says the church is prepared to reach out not only to Episcopalians but to anyone who has benefited from its work.
“If you have benefited from Episcopal education and Episcopal institutions, then we will welcome your support,” he said.
For him, the appeal is not about denominational loyalty. It is about supporting and preserving an institution and a legacy that once served the wider Liberian society. The church’s challenge, however, is to convince Liberians that supporting it is not simply an act of charity but an investment in the future.
Faith, Culture and Community
Merchant’s new assignment will also place him in an environment where Christianity exists alongside deeply rooted traditional and cultural practices. The Bolahun area, where he expects to be based, has a long history of interaction between traditional communities and Christian institutions.
Rather than viewing cultural differences as an automatic source of conflict, Merchant says the church must learn to distinguish between traditions that can coexist with the Gospel and those that cannot.
For him, however, the deeper responsibility is to see every person first as a human being created in God’s image. Whether someone is Christian, Muslim or does not profess a particular faith, Merchant says the church should not allow religious differences to prevent it from serving humanity.
“If I see someone as created in the image and likeness of God, then I want to do what is in that person’s best interest and not allow religion to divide us,” he said.
His philosophy is straightforward: people should be able to work together for the common good regardless of religious affiliation.
“You are my brother, she is my sister, and we together serve humanity as best as we can, to the honor and glory of God,” he said.
