African Church structure has the Primate who serves as the spiritual head and is also the head of the clergy, and the Lay President who is the head of the laity. Major decisions affecting the Church are taken by both the clergy and the laity. The highest governing body is the Conference. Since 1983 clergy are trained at the African Church College of Theology, which since 1992 has been affiliated with the University of Ibadan until recently. The Church has had several Primates in the past, it is spread all over Nigeria with seven Provinces comprising forty-seven Dioceses in every geopolitical zone of the country. The church membership numbers about 2,080,000. It has 580 priests in 47 dioceses, primarily in Nigeria. Its individual parishes number 720. Church membership dropped as the rise of new day Pentecostal churches challenged older-established orders in Nigeria. The Church runs several schools, two hospitals and some social centers and development projects. It publishes a guide for daily Bible reading (in English and Yoruba). The Church is widely popular in major cities outside Lagos, especially in Oyo, Ijebu, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Kwara, Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Benue and other areas. The Church is headquartered in Lagos, Lagos State; participates in the activities of the Christian Association of Nigeria and World Council of Churches. Doctrine The World Council of Churches enunciates the doctrine of the church as follows on its website. In its doctrine and liturgy The African Church has remained close to the Anglican tradition. Its mission statement reads: The African Church receives and accepts the Bible as the standard of its faith. She also accepts the Old Testament and the New Testament as being canonical, and sufficient for salvation. She accepts and believes in the Fatherhood of God and the Holy Trinity. The church practices the sacraments of baptism and holy communion. Unification Efforts of ecumenism by unification talks between the Anglican Communion in Nigeria (Church of Nigeria) led by its Primate, The Most Revd. Peter Akinola and the African Church due to their common historical/orthodox position on the allowance of non-celibate gay men in the priesthood have taken place. However the two churches differ on doctrines of marriage, burial of the dead, ministerial hierarchy and the authority of the clergy. Eight delegates from each church—including bishops, clergy and laity—met formally on 29 Aug. in Ibadan for dialogue on issues relating to the