Until his last day on this Earth, he worked hard to bring God to Nigerians. [7], The ecclesiastical provinces of the Church of Nigeria are Lagos, Ibadan, Ondo, Edo, The Niger, Niger Delta, Owerri, Abuja, Kaduna, and Jos. Jerusalem was to remain important to the Christian Church until the Roman Army destroyed the city in A.D. 70, after which Their first Christian service was held … Islam penetrated Nigeria through the Northern Part of her borders. Join us as we talk about the history of how Christianity came into Nigeria centuries ago. He later went on to become an Olu himself and proved to be a devout Christian. In 1964, he became the first black Bishop of the Anglican Communion. The Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), formerly Church of Christ in Nigeria, is a Christian denomination in Nigeria. And it was divided into five chapters; Chapter one deals on the introduction, statement of problem, purpose of the study, significance of … It was established as an independent church in 1913 from the Sudan United Mission, Danish Branch (SUMD), known today as Mission Afrika. [17], In 1970, 87,000 Jehovah's Witnesses were present in Nigeria,[18] which grew to more than 360,000 by 2014. What early mission minded workers failed to comprehend were the problems, which were bound to arise out of Africans hearing and accepting this new religion. Among the first missionaries was the Rev. It was from Jerusalem that the Church expanded to other parts of the world. At worst, they destroyed anything the African people held holy, alienating them even further. As a result of this, many African converts to Christianity began forming their own churches and breaking away from the European churches. The General Council of the Assemblies of God Nigeria has its origins in the Nigerian Church of Jesus Christ and a partnership with the Assemblies of God USA in 1934. This meant that Europeans and Americans were seen as ruling Africans both in political and ecclesiastical matters. [citation needed], The Nigerian Baptist Convention has about 6.5 million baptized members spread across the nation. It had 16,300 churches and 3.6 million members as of 2019[citation needed]. The earliest known presence of Christianity in Nigeria was registered in 1842, through the establishment of a branch of the church of England, Anglican communion at badagry by renowned missionary and clergy Henry Townsend. READ ALSO: Colonialism in Nigeria: positive and negative impacts, Get the hottest stories from the largest news site in Nigeria, Bandits reveal why they killed students of Kaduna private university, Popular Nigerian socialite Kayode Badru dies after being involved in fire accident at a Lagos church, Mikel Obi tops Martins, Ahmed Musa in 2021 stunning list of richest Nigerian super footballers. The council was founded in 1964. 1) The story of the coming of Christianity in Arondizuogu began in 1910 with a blind man named Akweke. Ositelu was born on 15 May 1900 at Ogere, ijebu-Remo, Ogun State in Nigeria. The first Christians came in contact with Nigerians in the fifteenth century, when Roman Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese. All the different denominations fought each other, trying to convert more people than their ‘rivals’. This movement later metamorphosed to Living Faith Church Worldwide (whose headquarters is the Faith Tabernacle) and to the Christ Apostolic Church. [19], The New Apostolic Church reports for 2016 300.000 members in 1.[20][21]. [8] The Church of Nigeria claims about 18 million members with an estimated 2 million members being active. … Pretty much every denomination has made its way into Africa. 2. This was the man who developed African writing system which the colonial masters destroyed (photos). ‘Christianity lies in achieving greatness in the face of the world’s hatred.’ Fifteen-year old Leah Sharibu’s refusal to deny Christ and convert to Islam, which cost her freedom, exemplifies what Christians are going through in Nigeria. These include the mostly charismatic and Pentecostal denominations such as Mountain of Fire and Miracles, Christ Embassy, Celestial Church of Christ and Dominion City. THE COMING OF CHRISTIAN IN NIGERIA In the 15th h century, Augustinian and Capuchin monks brought Christianity to Nigeria. The first Christians came in contact with Nigerians in the fifteenth century, when Roman Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese. What they brought with them was denomination. These workers often came with little or no education beyond religious instruction. While the contribution of mission churches to the development of education, medicine, and language standardization in Nigeria has certainly received its fair share of attention, historians have neglected this research topic since nationalist scholars criticized them for not writing about the creative activities of African Christians in the late nineteen-sixties. [citation needed], The Methodist Church Nigeria is one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world and one of the largest Christian churches in Nigeria, with around two million members in 2000 congregations. A new era began with the settlements of Black Christians from Nova Scotia in Sierra Leone in 1787 and the missionary advance inland from Cape Town beginning with the arrival there of J. T. van der Kemp in 1799. However, despite all the efforts of the Portuguese missionaries, there was not much fruit from this. Thus, the advent of colonial masters led to the introduction of a new religion, Christianity, which is added to the two available religions, African traditional religion already exiting then. The Church of the Lord (Aladura) is an African Initiated Church founded by Josiah Olunowo Ositelu in 1925, and inaugurated in 1930 in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. According to various researchers, denominationalism is one of the worst divisive elements in modern Africa. What began happening was that if the Africans did rebel against this control, they would simply be excommunicated. These churches have further many millions of members and followers in Nigeria.[22]. For Nigerians, as well as other people in Africa, this felt very alien. In 2008, it had 14,000 churches and 5 million members in Nigeria. In 2015, a study estimates some 600,000 believers in Christ are from a Muslim background living in the country inspite of the violence towards non-muslim especially in the north where muslims are more concentrated. Henry Townsend who went from Sierra Leone to Badagry in 1842 in his company was the Rev Ajayi Crowther. It was founded in the mid-1800s, by ministers of the Church of Scotland. The numbers of Christians in Nigeria have grown from 21.4% in 1953 to 49.3% in 2010. At best, they simply disregarded them as something lesser. Christianity actually entered into Nigeria to counter the slave traders and their trades. This was the reason why many people across Africa found themselves involved in various conflicts because of the differences in their religious views. You are already subscribed to our newsletter! What early mission minded workers failed to comprehend were the problems, which were bound to arise out of Africans hearing and accepting this new religion. Taking into account how widespread and important Christianity is in the modern Nigerian society, it is interesting to look back and learn about how it first came into the country. The National Church of Nigeria (previously known as the Nigerian Ecumenical Centre and officially known as the National Christian Centre) is a non-denominational church building of the Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella body of many of Nigeria's Christian denominations[citation needed]. Cardinal Francis Arinze is a Roman Catholic Cardinal from Nigeria. The Christian missionaries on the other hand avowed to, according to Aloy (2001),“liberate the dark minds of the Africans from barbarism and idolatry.” The economic and political factors came much later. https://the234project.com/arts-and-culture/nigeria/christianity-in-nigeria These were the native people of West Africa that returned to their homes bearing the knowledge of God and gospel. Coming to West Africa, the first inroad of Christianity was through the Portuguese catholic missionaries as part of the growing quest for adventure and discovery of new places, … For instance, when Portugal’s Henry the Navigator tried to carry out his exploration with three Gs in mind (those being God, Gold and Glory), he was mostly met with indifference. The way they communicated it to the people in Nigeria made Christianity seem like something that was confined to the church walls. They made it look like people had to worship some god only twice a week by singing some weird hymns with no rhythm. Top facts you should know about the person who discovered Nigeria as a country. It used to have the name of Ekklesiyar Kristi A Nigeria. Missionaries hoped that their dedicated hearts would be enough to convert the people of Africa. Mr Andrew Wilhelm and Mr. John Michael had both been converted to Christianity and so were eager as well as interested in returning home in order to share the good news of the kingdom with their kinsmen. The church in Nigeria “has one of the most dynamic evangelical and missionary movements in Africa and indeed the world, with about 7,200 missionaries and a missional presence in about 196 countries.” The church is located in Abuja. You might be surprised by what history has in store. Christianity is the most sought after religion in Nigeria. Their mission to the Kingdom of Benin was not very fruitful, as, once again, the king was not all that interested in a new religion. At that time, the main churches that first established places of worship in Nigeria were the Roman Catholic Church and several of the Protestant denominations from Europe; it happened that the two of them did not oppose the idea of the slave trade. Christians are dominant in the southern (south-east/south-south/South west and central region in Nigeria. A few decades later, other Portuguese missionaries tried to turn the people from Kingdom of Benin and Itsekiri Kingdom to Christianity. Europe and the United States became increasingly interested in the continent of Africa. The history of western education in Nigeria was traceable to the Portuguese traders who came to Benin in the early part of the 15th century. Mark the Evangelist made history in the year 43 when he became the first bishop to serve in the Orthodox It was seen as a vast open world whose people needed to hear the gospel of Christianity. When one begins to look at the history of Christianity in Nigeria, one might expect to find its origins in Europeans bringing this new religion across to Africa. In the eighteenth century, Christianity gained grounds in Nigeria after slave trade ended in 1833 by the British while the slaves were freed and sent to Freetown, Sierra Leone with new name and new religion. According to the Pew Research Center, Nigeria has the largest Christian population of any country in Africa, with more than 80 million persons in Nigeria belonging to the church with various denominations. On the other hand, the history of Christianity in Nigeria dates back to the 15th century when … The purpose of this research work is to investigate into the problems militating against the coming together of Christians in Nigeria. The General overseer (most senior pastor) is Enoch Adeboye, ordained in 1981. Who is the most respected pastor in Nigeria? A few isolated mission stations and mission bookstores, along with churches serving southern enclaves in the northern cities and larger towns, dotted the Muslim north. The first attempts to bring Christianity to the area where the modern country is today date back to the 1470s and 1620s. Another big reason why it took so long for Christianity to take hold in the hearts of Nigerians was the way the missionaries treated the traditional religions. Arrival of Islam in Nigeria. [citation needed], The QIC-United Evangelical Church (Founded as Qua Iboe Church) is a Christian denomination in Nigeria. One of the reasons why most of the missionary attempts failed in Nigeria was because of the way missionaries presented Christianity. It convincingly argues that Christianity has thrived and triumphed in Nigeria. What they did not take into consideration were the already established religious traditions, which were so heavily engraved within the society of Africa. These followers were found "along the coast from Sierra Leone to Nigeria". “The history of Christianity in Nigeria is the story of men and women determined to see the banner of Jesus Christ raised throughout the nation, and this story has the power to speak afresh to us today,” writes Ayodeji Abodunde. However, that is a story for another time. This new religion of Christianity began by trying to control its converts. The examples and perspective in this article, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria, Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim, African Methodist Episcopal Church in Nigeria, General Council of the Assemblies of God Nigeria, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, The Lord's Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement, Church of Christ in the Sudan Among the Tiv, Within Nigeria, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "2017 Report on International Religious Freedom:Nigeria", "Global Christianity: Regional Distribution of Christians", "Human Rights Brief: Rights of Religious Minorities in Nigeria", "Current Dioceses in Nigeria (Catholic Hierarchy)", "Catholic Dioceses in Nigeria (by Ecclesiastical Provinces)", "The Guardian profile: Cardinal Francis Arinze", "Anglican membership figures could be out by millions", "History Of The Apostolic Church Nigeria", "Nigerian Brethren host the Fellowship of Christian Churches in Nigeria", "Site of the Nigerian Baptist Convention", "Presbyterian Church of Nigeria — World Council of Churches", "2019 elections: SDA Church alleges disenfranchisement of over 250,000 members", "LDS Newsroom- country information- Nigeria", "Mormon Church announces in missions in Vietnam and Africa", "100 Congregations - Mississippi State Department of Health", "Ordinations and a retirement in Nigeria : New Apostolic Church International (NAC)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christianity_in_Nigeria&oldid=1018038350, Articles needing more viewpoints from May 2014, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 April 2021, at 23:51. 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