The National Cathedral, the City of David and the Significance of Its Location There are moments in the life of a nation when a physical structure becomes more than concrete, steel, glass and stone. Its location, purpose and symbolism communicate something about the values by which a people wish to be remembered.
It is within this context that I reflect on the National Cathedral of Ghana and offer the theme: “
THE ARK OF GOD SITS AT THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.”
This statement should not be misunderstood as a constitutional proposition that Ghana is a theocracy. Ghana is a constitutional democracy and a religiously plural nation. Rather, I use the expression as a biblical metaphor to examine the original vision of the National Cathedral: the deliberate acknowledgement of God within the national life of a country whose population is predominantly Christian.
The location of the Cathedral therefore deserves serious consideration. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LOCATION The National Cathedral site is situated within the central governmental and national precinct of Accra.
This is not an obscure corner of the capital. It lies within the wider Ridge and central Accra area associated with major institutions of national life.
Within this broad national precinct are Jubilee House, Parliament House, government ministries and agencies, the Supreme Court and other superior courts, the Bank of Ghana headquarters, Police Headquarters, Independence Square, the Accra International Conference Centre, Accra Sports Stadium and the National Theatre, among other important institutions.
This geographical setting gives rise to an important theological question: What does it mean to establish a national place of prayer, worship, thanksgiving and Christian heritage in proximity to the institutions through which the affairs of the Republic are conducted? For me, 1 Chronicles 13–16 provides a compelling biblical image through which to consider that question
. DAVID, THE ARK AND THE NATIONAL CAPITAL
When David became king, one of his significant concerns was the Ark of the Covenant. In 1 Chronicles 13, David gathered Israel with the intention of bringing the Ark back into the centre of national life. His first attempt ended disastrously with the death of Uzzah. Consequently, David became afraid and diverted the Ark to the house of Obed-Edom. The Bible records:
“The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.” — 1 Chronicles 13:14 The significance is unmistakable within the biblical narrative.
Where the Ark remained, blessing was associated with its presence. Obed-Edom experienced that blessing for three months.
David subsequently learned that the household of Obed-Edom had been blessed because of the Ark of God. David therefore resumed his intention of bringing the Ark into the City of David. First Chronicles 15:1 records that David prepared a place for the Ark and pitched a tent for it.
This time, having learned from the previous tragedy, the Ark was transported according to the prescribed order. The Ark was brought into Jerusalem—the City of David, the royal capital. That is the basis of my metaphor: The Ark of God came into the city from which the king governed.
It was not hidden somewhere beyond the life of the nation. The symbol of God’s covenant presence occupied an honoured place within the national capital. The National Cathedral can similarly be understood—not as an attempt to place the Church above the Constitution or government, but as a national Christian monument located within Ghana’s civic centre, symbolically reminding generations that political authority is exercised under moral accountability.
WHY DID DAVID WANT THE ARK NEAR HIM?
David understood something profound about leadership. Military strength was not enough. Economic resources were not enough. Political authority was not enough. A palace was not enough. David wanted the consciousness of God’s presence at the heart of the nation’s life.
That principle is powerfully captured elsewhere in Scripture: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” — Psalm 33:12 The biblical narrative does not teach that possessing a religious monument automatically guarantees national prosperity. Israel itself repeatedly demonstrated that religious symbols without righteousness, justice and obedience could not substitute for faithfulness to God.
Therefore, the deeper meaning of having the Ark in Jerusalem was not superstition. It was covenantal: the nation and its leaders were continually reminded that there was an authority higher than the throne.
That is a principle worth contemplating in modern governance.
FROM DAVID’S DESIRE TO A NATIONAL PROJECT
There is another interesting parallel. David personally desired to build a house for God. In 1 Chronicles 17, he observed that he lived in a house of cedar while the Ark remained under curtains. His desire to construct a temple was personal and deeply spiritual. God subsequently determined that Solomon, rather than David, would actually build it.
David nevertheless prepared extensively for the project. By 1 Chronicles 29, David could speak of what he had personally provided from his own resources. The leaders of Israel also gave voluntarily and generously, and the people rejoiced at their willingness to give. This distinction is important.
The Temple project involved David’s personal devotion, national leadership and the participation of others. It became larger than the private spiritual desire of one man. There is a useful, though not exact, analogy with Ghana’s National Cathedral. Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo publicly described the Cathedral partly in terms of a personal pledge to God.
But once the project entered the machinery of government—through public policy, state land, institutional arrangements, procurement, parliamentary budget statements and public expenditure—it acquired a public dimension beyond the President’s personal devotion.
Indeed, the National Cathedral Secretariat described the project in 2022 as a national monument being developed through a State-Church partnership. Under that framework, the stated responsibilities of the State included providing and preparing the land, appointing the architect and design team, establishing and equipping the Secretariat, and providing seed money.
The wider Christian community was expected to become central to mobilising resources for construction. The question therefore cannot be reduced simply to: “Was this the personal promise of one President?”
The more useful question is: What happens when a presidential commitment is subsequently translated through the institutions and resources of the State into public policy? PRESIDENTIAL PROMISES AND PUBLIC POLICY Ghana’s democratic history contains many examples of campaign or presidential commitments becoming government programmes. President Jerry John Rawlings’ administration pursued major rural electrification programmes.
President John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration established the National Health Insurance Scheme and introduced major social interventions, including free maternal healthcare.
President John Evans Atta Mills and his party campaigned on changes to the National Health Insurance premium structure. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo campaigned on Free Senior High School, which subsequently became a major government programme financed through public resources.
These examples are not identical to the National Cathedral, and their constitutional and policy foundations differ. They nevertheless demonstrate a basic feature of representative government: political commitments made by elected leaders can, after assuming office and going through governmental processes, become programmes of the State rather than remaining private undertakings of the individuals who proposed them.
That distinction is important when discussing the Cathedral.
THE STATE-CHURCH PARTNERSHIP
The original framework presented for the National Cathedral did not envisage the State carrying the entire construction cost indefinitely.
The State’s defined commitments included the land, preparation of the site, architectural and design arrangements, establishment of the Secretariat and seed funding. The subsequent construction and completion strategy depended significantly upon the Christian community, individuals, institutions, businesses, Ghanaians in the diaspora and other supporters.
That model now deserves renewed examination. The project undoubtedly suffered a severe loss of public confidence amid the controversies over expenditure, procurement, governance and funding. Those concerns cannot simply be dismissed as opposition to Christianity. CHRAJ subsequently recommended a forensic audit after examining aspects of the project, and questions about accountability must receive transparent answers.
Accountability and completion need not be mutually exclusive propositions. Indeed, for a project dedicated to God, financial accountability, stewardship and integrity ought to be considered spiritual obligations as much as administrative ones.
THE PRESENT MOMENT
The National Cathedral has again reached a defining point. In September 2026, the Christian Council of Ghana announced that Christian leaders and the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs had agreed on the establishment of a technical committee to examine practical questions concerning the project, including funding and location.
Christian leaders also called for the forensic audit to be completed and its findings shared to help inform the discussion.
The Government subsequently dissolved the existing Board of Trustees and directed that the project site be handed over to the Ministry by 31 October 2026, stating that this would enable Government to determine the project’s future.
These developments make the question of location particularly significant. Minister Mahama Ayariga has publicly stated that while he personally supports the idea of a National Cathedral, he had concerns about the original location, including the earlier demolition of residences occupied by senior judges.
Those concerns form part of the legitimate national debate. But there is another perspective that should equally form part of the discussion: the existing location has acquired historical, financial, institutional and theological significance through the development already undertaken there.
Any assessment of relocation therefore has to consider much more than the availability of another parcel of land.
THE ARK IN THE CITY OF DAVID
This brings me back to David. After what happened in the house of Obed-Edom, David did not abandon the Ark. He prepared a place for it. He organised the Levites. He corrected the errors of the first attempt. He mobilised worshippers.
He gathered the people. And with celebration, sacrifice and thanksgiving, the Ark entered the City of David. There is a principle here that transcends architecture: David wanted the consciousness of God’s presence close to the centre of national leadership.
For Christians who understand the National Cathedral in similar symbolic terms, the present location therefore carries meaning. A Cathedral in Ghana’s national civic precinct can stand as a permanent reminder to Presidents, Ministers, Parliamentarians, Judges, public servants, security leaders and citizens that political power is temporary, but moral accountability transcends political office.
It can say to every government: There is an authority beyond political authority. To Parliament: Justice and righteousness must accompany legislation. To the Judiciary: Justice ultimately belongs to God. To public officials: Leadership is stewardship. And to the citizen: Nation-building requires more than economic development; it requires character, truth, justice, reconciliation and moral responsibility.
THE ARK IS NOT A MAGIC CHARM
Here Christians must exercise theological caution. The physical presence of the Ark did not automatically protect Israel when the people walked contrary to God. In 1 Samuel 4, Israel carried the Ark into battle as though the sacred object itself guaranteed victory—and suffered defeat.
Therefore, neither a Cathedral nor any other religious monument should be presented as a formula that automatically produces national prosperity. The Cathedral’s highest value would be realised only when the symbolism of God’s presence is accompanied by the values Scripture associates with godly government: Justice. Righteousness. Compassion. Integrity. Truth. Accountability. Care for the poor. Peace. National reconciliation.
The building must point beyond itself.
A PROJECT THAT MUST ALSO LEARN FROM ITS CONTROVERSIES
The controversies surrounding the National Cathedral cannot be erased from its history. Questions have been raised concerning expenditure, procurement, governance, funding and value for money.
Those questions deserve answers. But the existence of controversy does not by itself resolve the separate questions of whether Ghana should ultimately have a National Cathedral, what its national character should be, how it should be financed, and where it should be located.
Those are matters that require careful consideration by Government, the Christian community and the Ghanaian public. The forensic and accountability processes should establish the facts. The Christian community must determine the level of ownership it is prepared to assume.
Government must clarify its policy. And any future governance structure must command confidence through transparency, professional management and clear financial controls.
FROM STATE INITIATIVE TO CHRISTIAN OWNERSHIP
If the State’s originally defined obligations have substantially been undertaken— particularly provision of the site, architectural arrangements, institutional infrastructure and seed funding—then the next phase raises a different question: Can Ghana’s Christian community mobilise itself to complete what has been started?
The answer to that question should not depend solely upon government expenditure. Churches, Christian organisations, institutions, businesses, professionals, philanthropists, the diaspora and individual believers constitute an enormous constituency.
A credible completion strategy would therefore require unity, transparent governance, independently verifiable accounts, realistic construction costs and a fundraising architecture in which contributors can see precisely how their resources are being applied.
The Cathedral cannot be rebuilt merely with concrete. Trust must also be rebuilt.
THE NATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE CATHEDRAL
There remains another important question: What makes this project truly “national”? Is it national merely because Government provided land? Is it national because a President initiated it? Is it national because it is located in the capital? Or must its national character be expressed through something deeper—Christian unity, national prayer, reconciliation, heritage, culture, tourism, biblical scholarship, public service and an institution that serves generations beyond the political administration that initiated it?
That question deserves a discussion of its own. I will share my personal reflections on the national character of the National Cathedral in the next edition. For now, I leave Ghana with the image from Chronicles:
The Ark left the house of Obed-Edom and entered the City of David. The king prepared a place for it. The people participated. Worship accompanied it. And the presence of God was acknowledged in the royal capital. Perhaps that ancient picture explains why the location of Ghana’s National Cathedral has become more than a question of geography. For those who see the Cathedral through this biblical lens, its location represents an idea:
THE ARK OF GOD SITS AT THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.
Not because the Church should control the State. Not because Christianity should erase Ghana’s religious diversity. And certainly not because a building can manufacture the blessing of God.
But because, within the Christian understanding of national life, the institutions of human authority should never become so powerful that the nation forgets the higher values of truth, righteousness, justice, accountability and reverence for God. That is the deeper conversation the National Cathedral invites Ghana to have. —
Rev. Ebenezer Saka Ameyaw
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