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TRANSCRIPT
S University of Nigeria Research Publications
Aut
hor
OKEKE, Benjamin PG/MA/97/24689
Title
The Emergence and Impact of Pentecostal Churches in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State
Facu
lty
Social Sciences
Dep
artm
ent
Religion
Dat
e
August, 2002
Sign
atur
e
L,-L&C*:--P --------- *- Rev. I+. (Dr.) A. Ekwu~~ife
I lead oS Dl)c.pw-ifiwnt
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
idiormation supplied by people arid books written by virious a u h r s . To thii erul
therefore, 1. whli ti, thank my infunna~rts at Orlu and the numerous authors of the
books I used in writing i t& project reporl. I sincerely vvLh to expres:, my
gratitude to niy sup~s , isor, L,W, Dr. A. U. Ag1a for all his encouragements and
gui&uice wlkh greatly clarised my ideas on the topic of this prqject report.
I dso iippreciatt: the invol~ia'hlt. assistance of my Lord 13ishop - the Rt.
Ibv. Dr. R. C. I. Okola. Others to s h e in the appr~.ciation ;we: Mrs. Ulomrr
Okeke, Master Praise God iIhinedum Junior Okeke and Ixke Enleka Ugwueye.
I reserve special thadcs fur my lecturers - Dr. S. J. Obeta, C.O. Ugwu, Dr.
M. I. Okwueze, Rev. Cmon (Dr.) N. S. Nwigwe, k v . Prof-. N. Orwu, Dr. S.O.
Onyeidy Professor O.U. K d u md tlu present Ilead of Department, Rev. Fr.
(Dr.) A. EkwmXc.
Firdfy, my rl~&i go to iuy Lord %shop Ernoritus - Kt. Rev. and Mrs. S.
C . 13x1, Sir. Chid Dr. J. LT. Nzegwu, and Mr. Edy Ugllo. 0111~ arc Sir. Uriidl
This research work: The Emergence and Impact of Pentecostal
Churches in Od.;, surveyed the genesis of I~entecostalism in Orlu. In
furtherance of this task, the work studied the horixontd and verticul puttm of
growth and expansion of lkerltecostiil Churches and their interaction with the
mainline churches and the old religion and culture of Orlu.
Following this, the theology and liturgical features of these
Pentecostsls wen: investigated to show that Pentecostal theology is a part of
the larger complex of Clxistian theology but it is the only Christian tradition
that enjoys the distinctive divine charisma of inspiration that chxacterized the .- - .-
descent of the holy spirit upon the twelve apostles on the Pentecost day.
Through the prayers of the Pentecostals, many problems of man are today
being taken care oi: l'he cther many impacts of the Pentecostals upon Orlu
people are well treated in the work.
Finally, firom the evaluation of Pentecostalism in Orlu, it was
discovered that the future holds a brighter prospect for it. As long as these
Pentecostal Ci~urches exist lo proffer workable solutions to man's problems,
and sincc man is idways engaged in finding solutions to his problems; these
Pentecostal churches will continues to grow and have more adherents in Orlu.
vii
TABLE OF C0L"dTENTS
... vlll
3.1 '[lzc Genesis of Pentecostalism in Orlu ----- ----- 3 3
3.2 T 1 x Anglican Church in Orlu ----- ----- ----- 3 7
3.3 me Roman Catholic Church in Orlu ----- ----- 38
3.4 The %it among these Churches ----- ----- ----- 3 9
4.2 'Ihi: Strategies adopted for 13vangelism ----- ----- 47
40 <. - -- 4.3 The People's Reaction .to Pentecostalisni ----- -----
4.4 IWAcrns Encountered ----- ----- ----- 5 0
5.1 Mait: or W omhiplClergy Attire ----- ------ ----- 58
5.2 Pentecostal Main Theology and Doctrine ------ ----- 60
5.4 Mode of Baptism and Holy Communion ------ ----- 65
CHAPTER SJX: THE ZMqACT ANY) FUTURE OF FEN'I'ECBSTkl,S;lr;lM Y W OKLU ----- ----- 7 1
_ .-- 82 6.7 lrrte~nal Kifl Since Ir~ception ----- ------ ----- ----- E .
CHAY'I'ER SEVEN: QVkLUATlON AND CONCLUSJON ---- 87
CHAPTER ONE
The p~pavcctness of the propag~mtfists of'Christianity to adapt it to a new
errviromnenl and in particular to the customs, ceremonies and rituals of thc
people they seek to convert is one of the sources of its strength (12abalollt,
1976:149). The origislal .Jewish Sabbath was clanged to the day formerly &t
I'he new churches in turn produced even newer sects like the Methodists
who separated ii.om Anglican. This process was c i e d on and even
accelerated in America with the emergence of its variety of Baptists, Apostolic
and Pentecostal types plus Seventh Day Adventists und Jel~ovah's Witness.
Added to the above were a rlumber of churches such as the N i i c a n
Methodist EpEscqml,' National 12aptists a d Afirican Orthodox, which
ropresenied !he separation of Afro-Americans &om white dominated
dcnorninations,
It is clei~; t l ~ t s~lli~rn witl~i~l the cllurch is not peculiar to Aliica but a
worldwide phznct~menn~l within the Christian world at large. Several < - --
indepcnclent AliIcan churclm arose in pwts of West Africa in the 19' century.
Ethiopim or Afiicm Cl~urclies represent the iirst major division; ~rlost of them
were founded between 1890 and about 1920 ~ u d were, according to Turner,
conce~~tnttd in what were then some of the more long-established Christim
areas (Turner; 1967:XVI).
Accorclii~g to Tunler, a quite diff'eren( form of independent Church h i
appeared in l?ru last fiLiy yeim a112 spread over much of sub-Sahwdn Africa. It
is tlris form of independent Paitecostal Churches that. forms the background of
this study.
Africa have conhued to multiply arrd expand has been described in many
clrurch circles as alarming, and at prcsent it shows no signs of abating, rathcr it
is increuing. Any eiwrnpt' at compiling up-to-date slitistics has proved
impossible as 13amtt (1 968:165) observes:
This massive proliferation is figuratively speaking only the tip of the iceberg - hundred more of such indigenous movements of renewal or protest remain in embryo inside the historical churches at varying depths without Ihc disalTection they represent having irs yet brokrm surf:dce in schism. ?he schismatic bodies are therelore otrly part of a much li~tger movement of dissidence, the bulk of which still remains in cmorphous f m within h e Protestant and Curl!oiic Ch~uchcs. _ I--
In Nigeria, the prolifei.trtion and growth of these Pentecostal chuches in
various arcas have been tremendously phenomenal. Professor 0. II. K :
noticed that t:wry nook m d cnmy in T1:gcria is endowed with a couple or more
of these chiwchcs, poised like pubs on London streets (1975:22). He however
adJct3 t!:st their ;r~~pcfii?nce i s ur\tially ackmwledped w t t h t the c ~ t t t ~ of
litmature on h e m lmci increased rxcordil@y. '
'lhese Ikentecostals scmetirnes are held in jaundiced contempt by the
Mainline churches. Ihey are cor-Gved as queer, unimportant magical set-up,
arid rual.e:riuli stimily oriert ted cults employed by their protagonists to fetter the
souls of their ruK~,-rerlt.ci lbr the sinister purpose of economic exploi~ation. They
we like multi-purpose modern agencies who achieve their goal through a wide
variety of methods.
It is interesting, however, to note that the leaders and adherents of these
I'entecostal churr;hes believe that they alone have recovered the doctrine of the
Holy Spirit, ~ ! ; i ch they say is missing In other churches. A typical Penteccst;4
rnernber fils well info Dr. 4.U. &hays description of the early missionwy:
. . . Re is m instrument of God representing Christ and ccmveying hi:., message in1i:lligcntly and faithfully to t 11 3 PCOP~C' ( 1 !)97:9).
1h;y regard thcrnselves as thc vocal organ in the crusade of spreading the
gospel.
I~uticulwly noticeable mong these religious groups is the emphasis on
post-conversion religious experience - aften referred to as 'baptism of the holy
c:j~irit' - which manifests itself in the speaking of tongues, typical of the
cxpcrizncc of tlle early apostlcs on the ci;iy ol'l'c.ntccost.
This spcalcing in tongtics which is one of their salient fc:rtures, is the
weird sound of glossolalia, spoken or sung and without any apparent meaning.
This krs caused geat cc;nrwrn and disturbance among Christians outside the
moveme~lt. Scnlc people describe this strange soirnd as a kind of orienlirl music
- the sort that is played in movies as sound effects for snake chmers .
Wht we beholds ;n their Pniyer meetings is no way dilTercnt from what
ohlitins in the trragician's house, a yearning arrd seeking after extrmrdinwy gills
of the spirit, viewing this ~w primary evidence of 'spirit baptism'.
In what 1 rnay describc as congregational ppusticipation, the spirit
m:u~ifests its presence in diverse ways - in lusty und vociferous singing,
Jldlelujahs, 'praise the lord', .and Amens. Every member is expected to fill his
or her lungs and make a 'joyfiul' noise unto the lord, as the spirit hlls on people
ar~d actually moves u?4m them. The spirit can also manifest its presence in a
d y h n i c wily, nnd cun suddedy fall on any individual, taking possession of
him.
Strange stories k ? v e been told of how the lights were switched off in . ---
Pe~rtccostal srteetlngs and pcuple would roll on the floor in orgiastic Firemy. 1
have witnessed the incident of neatly-dressed people, mostly ladies, violently
hlling down and rolling an the ground. This happens at the release of spiritid
power by the olficiating pastor who shouts and commands the power of God to
move around. ,\zcordi:,g to their exylmxition for this during my reaearch, the
violent fdls and rolling signifj, the expulsion from the vict!m of demons, which
origirrrilly j(rossesscd him.
N'hntevcr absurdities one may insist txist in suclr a phenomnon as
'spirit p~sse~j!;iw', one c m only point orit that it is no diflkre~~t f?om what
obtains elsewilere in utlrcr f i r m of religious worship, b d l Christian md non-
Christian, arid therefore oiTers no cause for almn. Answers to pdculur
questions, such ;is those concerning the 'media of revelation' or the identity of
the spirit who inspires, cannot be found without first of all tiking recourse to the
biblical parallels, uy well us tcl otlrer mcient religious pricticeu from which these
phenomena must have derived their origin.
Toctay, tlrz igbo I3entecosknls in Orlu Local Government Area, where this
xxsearch w . u cciuried out, have been able to attract highly placed government
otlicials, lecturers a d students simply because of the variety introdaced in
wo~xhipping, ranging fiorr clapping, dancing, singing to giving testinlunies by
individuals. 'ihc ri~u~iders or preacllers may take more tkrm four hour^ during
thc homily or semun, yet people du not gct bored becausc hcy can lixl a1 home
uid gct involved actively and metuiinghlly in the act of worship. The opposite
is the case in the Mainline or Mission Churches.
It is bccause of h e above reasons that scholars argue tkat people feel
inore satisfied there because of their indigenous a5pects of worship and polity.
ID a similar vein, the Igbo people as a r x e in Aftica are said to be highly
rcceptite chmge and ii is this desire to change to a prxtical church coupled
with social, political and economic reasons
the Mission Churches tc the Pentecostals.
that attracted the Igbos of 0.h from
This gave the Pcntccost.als of Orlu
t h c opportu~iity to tahc ovc r all vcl-itable clemcnts li-om Afi-ican rcligion arid the
Mainliiie ('Ilurchcs, and inip~uvcd upon them thus making the Christian religion
niore relcv.~nl mil lncimingti~~ to [lie people.
With tlic pssagc ol'lirnc, the Mission ('llurchcs have seen that the ever-
increasing i111Iux of I~er adherents into these Pentecostal churches will
jeoparcli/.c their rrieans ol' livelihood and probably bring to a demise tile
r 7 niissi~ ,il;iiy cliurclw. I hey tiavc in the recent past joincd this wave of religious
c l ~ ~ i g , ~ . !y cnco.t~~:giiq~ t l~c ;,r:nvt~1 0 1 ~ ' I I ~ L I I M I ~ L ; ! ~ kcrwva! hlwcnxnt :i!:~o~~g
h e ('i~tholic C'hurch and thc 1'v;rngAiciil t:ellowship of Anglican Co~n,.lunion
(MFA(') among the Anglican Church.
'lhis gs1~1~ionic.nor~ d j t ' religious upsurge, with sorne of its salient fzatures
;is rmletii;onetf in ihis background i~ilimialioii, is nut peculiar to the area under
study. ; , I . t! lc N igcriarl sccric ge~icrally, the term pr,,iiferai ion, rnultipiicity or
upsurge of religion has bscome se common and even native to the language of
1.2 The Slaternacnt of rilrc IIBrablem
01.1~1 hid only two ('hristian dcnon~inations - - Catholic and Anglican
Cliurches - iiefbre the Nigerian civil war. Ii was after the war that Pentecostal
churcfies emerged in Orlu (Okeke, 1998:4).
'Ihe war, wllici-1 la:it~ti l i~r thirty nionltis, lclt so many lgbo people
Irustrated and helpless. Many lives were lost out of hardship, social tension,
tiunger m d oIhkr c ! ~ ~ , \ t i l ; , t i ! >~'ti\L:> , ix~)cl :~~cd will1 r~~i~k~i~l t r~ l io i~ . 1 o r 1n\th11w.
'kwiishiorkor. iiai~llccj 1 1 1 , 1 1 1 ~ ir ~ c . ~ , i l i ~ 1.. ( ) r t r r pcoplc rill1 t t r [ I N - Mainlinc
churches tiw protection but could not adequately get what they wanted there.
' l ' l ~ n~\,scent i'cn!i.cost:il ~11urchoi rcidily dclivercd thcln out ol' their pl-ublems.
'I'hrough t b ~ numerous hcaling iniruclcs the Pcntecostals petiornletl, the
~)cqdc 's melanchoiic and li.u.;lr.atcct conditions improved remarkably.
A Inan c!airned tlwt lie Ielt the Arrglica~l Church irrimediatcly after the
war when 11;:; kill; and t . w sons dicd. 1 le took his sick wilk and son to the
tnglicm Church ti>r prayers and al'ter prayers, they not only died but another
son died also. When he heard about the prwtical praying band, he left his
church and joined thcrn. Acccxding to him, he was able to h d out what went
wrong in his t in i ly here and that brought an end to sudden death in the family.
'l'his principal reason of providing succour 10 the helpless and the
l'mstmted ccprxplcd with other reasons accelerated the spread of Pentecostal
Churches, which tmiiicc the MG:iline Churches were championed by the
indigenous agents. 'Ihis cmsetl a seriirus concern lo h e mainline c l ~ c h e s .
According to kalu, the memberships of the mainline churches were decimated
hy the new mwtr~: 6 1 988: i j.
'lhc Ibnnc:r Archbishop of Cririt~.rbury o f the Anglican Communion
visited Nigeria and during a1 interview, blamed the mainline churches for their
problem. tic: had this to say: '
I think the great churches are largely to blame for being stereotyped in their attitude. It is said that so many of these charismatic movements have something we must ic;~rn Liorn tlrem. l'hc power of healing fbr instance, which somc 01' them possess has the backing oi'the New 'l'eslrur~ent (1 979:4).
Pops: Paul BIV when he was invited to address the representatives at the
International !dce:ting csi' the Charismatic Revival held at Grott;rforetta, on
October 9, 1973, said:
Vde are very interested in what you are doing. We have heard so much about what IS happening mong you. And we rejoice. We have many questions to ask you, but there is no time (1975:93).
In spite of a kind of ccmsensus between the two leaders of the Mainline
Churches, their hllowers argue b t there is no spiritual motivation behind the
emergence of n:list 13f these I'entecwtal Churches. Many of then are sole
proprietorship, some are p~irtfierships and others are just meant t:- grant
"'religious uylwn'7to evil, hungry, pagan, fugitives for selfish reasons. Many of
these Pentecostal Churc%cs charge rnoney alter of'fering prayers fi.r their
worshippers. The Mainlhre Chwches frown against this.
Although tlw I'enlccostul ('hurci~es I I ~ L V C cured many people of their
1.3 1'he hwrpose of the Study
?'tie broad purpose of this study is to investigate the emergence and
, , 1 1x spec j tic purposes are:
1. 'I'o denti$ these Pentecostal Churches;
Churches in Orlu;
3. To idcnt@ the nerds they fullil which the Mainline Churches
have failed to fulfil and to find out what tools they usc to achieve
4. To urxlcrstitnd what sort of people join the Pentecostal Churches
and the kind that do not;
5. '1'0 find out how they rclatc: with tllernsclves, the Mainline
Cl~urclzes and Ihe 'I'rxlitional Religion and Culture;
6. To identity the clmcteristic indigenous elements in them;
7. To assess their merits, demerits and their general impact upon the
people.
It is thereiore significant that this research work be carried out to instill
into the difkrent 41urch rn~wements the implicaticms of this great command.
Agau~, it is clear hat the Chwch of God propagated through its gem
seed - Jesus Christ: is mc, ad 'nm the same objective to !cad man unto
salvation. It is significant to use this research work to re-orientate man back to
his source of creation via his son Jesus Christ.
Another significance of this study is to enlighten the public that most
leaders of these I'efitecost,21 Churches who claim tc be dining w1 wirzkg with
Jesus Christ, art: cheats, charlatans, unreliabl~ and 419 experts who engdge in
church busiaess simply fix self-aggrandisement.
Lastly, the study of thel emergence and impact of Pwttecostal Churches
in Orlu is sigrrificmt because, it will provide answers and solutions to many
questiorrs and pmhlems 1X'c:a"Lhave been posed by these churches themselves.
11is research work mainly relied on fieldwork, which designated
prunasy sources in which some library works were used.
Fudhcr to this, the participant observation method was also used. In the
1.6 The Assumptiolms of the Study
Some of hs: leaders and founders of Pentecostal Churches in Orlu who
soem to run churches for purposes other than salvation sake, it is assumed by
this study, should have a change of haart after going through this piece which
will be made available to those of them who are interested. 'llese few people
who are interested are t!is 1her;tte enes who know the importance of education
and can aitbrd to pay for the cost of production for their own copies. The
researcher is rroi rich enough to produce for those who cannot afford to pay.
In a sirnilar vein, it is assumed thiit the aclhcrcnts of Ihcse Pentecostal
Churches and the general public through this study will be aware of the positive _.. --
and negative activities oi, the Pentecostal leaders in Orlu.
Another assumption of this study is that it will help create a cordial
relationship between die Pentecostals and the mainline churches. The mainline
churches because of inadequate information on the Pentecostals, do not
understand lhern, It is assunecl this study will help bridge the gap.
Lastly, it is asux l~d *at tk study will enrich the knowledge of scholars
and studen~s, especially those interested in Pentecostal move~nezits across sub-
Salram Afi-icii.. rl'PIe study, it is assumed, will trigger oEmore researches on the
subjcc t of Pent~:costalism
1.7 Defirni63cn of the Key Term - Pentecostalism
PenkccrsL~!ism is irom the Greck word, which means Pentecost. It refers
to the Jewish festival of 'Shabuoth' celebrated on the seventh Sunday or the 50'
day after the Passover, hence it is called Pentecost which is a Greek word for
fifiieth.
Although the f'east of the Pentecost was strictly speaking a Jewish
festival, it took wl a new meaning in Christianity when in the first century A.D
the occasion of the celebration of hat was used as a medium to endow the group
which fomcd the nucicus of the i i ~ t Clrristims with the gift ofthe power of the
Holy Spirit. From Acts 2 5 to the end of the book we see the ehborate __ -- testimony of the use to which t b t power was put by the direct recipients.
The ~mlezr*tmdiirg of some Christians is that beyond the direct
rwipien?s; this gift of the I-ioly Spirit avails every Christian who cares to wield
it. Howcvzr:, h history of the church for a long tinx showed the fear of the
church hierwchy in the 'uncontrolled' exercise of the gift of the Spirit.
According to Okwueze,
But sooner or later, a =umber of smaller churches with !ittlc :w no eq:!xwis on orgzlnization und structure md who bclicvcd tEw h e lili: slnd practice of Christian should be guidcd only by the Bible and not by ecclesiastical hierarchy, sprang up and encouraged the fiee exercise of this gift of the Holy Spirit as received and used by all the Apostles of Jesus on the Pentecost ( I 9993.
The day of the Pentecost on which this gift was received came to
symbolize and epitomize the gift and use of spiritual gifts in such a manner that
any who tended to emphasize and encourage the use of spiritual gift was
referred to as a Penkcoctiil. 'I'he churches, which became known far this, were
called Pentecostal Churches and tneir members Pentecostal Christians.. The
nrovemerlt itself came to be called Pcnkcostalism.
Chapter One - Notes
I. E.O. Dabalola (1976). Christianity in West Africa: An Historical h a f y s i . ~ . lbadan, P . 149.
2. H.W. Turner (1957). Afiican Independent Church Volume II. 3xford University Press, P. XVI.
3. D.B. Barrel (1968). Schism and Renew in Apica. Oxford University Press, Nairobi, P. 165.
4. O.TJT. K:4u (1975). '''rra~ii~iosvlism and Modern Evatlg;rlical Stsi;egy", War XVI, No. 2, P. 22.
5. A.U. Agha (1997). Early European Missions to West Afiica: An Introduction to West Afiican Church History, Enugu: Calvstryside Publishing & Printing, P.9.
6. D.C. Qkeke (1998). "Prolikration of Churches in Arnaifeke". Ul:published 13.A. 'I'hesis, Uept. of Religion, U.N.N., P. 4. - - -
7. 3.T-T. Tldu (1958). Afiicun Church Ilistor;cgrup!y. An E ~ ~ ; ) r < t r ; ~ d '
Perspcctjvc (ed) Rased, Evangelische, Oekumene, 1'. 1.
8. QuesC Illccguzine, (1979). Issue No. 10, January, P. 4.
9. J. Leo (1975). Cardinal Suones, A New Pentecost. London: Longman, P. 31-1.
10. h4.Z. 3Erwuexc (1999). "Exorcism in Igbo Primal Religion, Old Testament and Pentecostalisnl": A Seminar Paper Presented a1 the University of Nigeria, NsuMca, 10" - 13 April, P. 3.
"Chriutiiuiity has been both cause ar~d cstblyst of social change in hE-ic;l;
md one of the proniinenf; features of mrdcrn Africa has been the emergence of
irldcpendznt clrurches ..." (Peel; 1968:l). These independent cl~urcllet; wort
hst h e concern only of the aifillinistxators, and it was Sundklw (1951:ll) who
publish~.c! the tinit full and probitly the best account of them in Iiis bwk -
13:rntu Y~uplwts In Suullr Africa: sir~c. then a nulge of ~novzrnents like Clrat
hive given rise to an urrprecedented large literitwe.
A range of terminology is used fix tl~cse churches. B.G. Pminder *-
(1 953:14) describes them as sects, which hive split away li-orn or sprung up in
rejected the tenn sect becaus?: of its mast theological corrnotntion. 'I'l~t word
sect is dcrogutiwy, it comcs fiom !he Latin word - 'Secta'nneurling faction or
fullowing It as used by St. I'm1 in .Acts chapter seven to describe the sect of
i s . 'I'oday thc tmn howevcr is not used by L I x rnembers of my
cl~wrch group for ll~etrwlvzs but rall~er used by heir opponents ;is a term of
lw~ragwu who studied the Ladependent churdw in Eastern Nigeria said
tlut thr: priqx:r and accepi.able description of this group in Eastern Nigeria is
"Spiritual CI~iw~l~es" (1871:11). I.<kpeit: iirgued that the hackiwyed word
"spir;tuidist" is a. n~isnurner as "holixresu" iinplicd by the world is untenable, or
1:r)llowirrg Simcllilzr, .I iivish to call them Independent mth;. 11rm !kpa~tist Clrurcl~es: For as J realized the luker word cn~r led it derogtttory rmming to men who, trl'lcn cnuugh, arc sincere in their belief tkat their .- .* - sepwalion is a pusitivs: coxttributian to Christian truth.
'Ilre cantsibutiun of Nutiwiicl Ndiokwere (1981:2) to this issue of
He quickly added that none of Ckese names should, however, be
dismissed simply as cynical. Ifley may tell us more about the new churches -
wlmt they do nr wlmt thcy arc. In Afri~a nines arc. full ofmeining.
This study adopts tlrc name I'entccostal Churches for this rcliginus group
\xcausc. rnost of tlteir leadan, within Ole area under study, found it more
Some sclwlrlrs scc h:ir fimnation LS a fbmi ul' social protcst against a
cllrulging social ortlcr. Welbo~~nl prcfers Gluckman9s dclirlititrrn 01' 'rebelliurr'
as "clmging the ~~~:rsoruiel witllh tht; cxisti~lg order, for the clescriplion of these
cliurclr rnoverner~ts in East Alkicu. I-ie declmcs:
And it 1 ~ ~ ; s out to be a study of Christian rebc-1s - of' r i m who h r one reilsurl or mother, have tried to change the yersururd uf tlie pariicular Cluistia~ Society, which they h e w ( l ~ I).
I t it; possi5!c !hat wiren the mother c h m h condones Irrjustice rud if
leadership is dwoid uf moral irlkgrity, protest xlmwncni rnay arisc as a
~igliteows rcaetion agail~si the lowering ol'stmdarri.
' L ~ c prohlern of C ~ L I S ~ of culture and act:ull~trution were raiscd by xtylor - --
irllcllectual el12ct.s we h i t rrcw cliiss distinction emcrgcd. Its religious
bcgim to be seen not primarily as a negative reaction to mission, but 1:: more
positivu sense un~ttmrood by k c participants themselves: as muverncnts
attempting to cc-call: u iyinuinely irrdigcnous Clwistimity on Akican soil
members to prophesy, spek in tol~gues, practisc healil~g by faith - which are
spiritd gins - irispired members move into spirit-ual churches or found one
Lhc~nsoIves Lo cxcrcise thcsc chlu~isrnatic cnduwmcnts. 'I'hat this spirit in lhcm
tenuinology is srnployd, describing what the prescnt study calls 'Pcx.rtccost;rl
Ile lwwever, said l lu l a conc~ptuak sclwrre is essential to organize tlve
Increasing data and also essential to sitt out thosc within the spectrum oS
iudigenkws relll;ious movema ils wlwsr: roots arc Christian.
Ihere are usefir1 imcillary typologies based an psychological,
an-ttmplogical or smlological categories, but Tunrer (1967:XV) insists hat,
4. pld'zo-Tr;~~~iti~;~ni~I/New l~risnsl/l\lativist moverncrrt,
5. Messianic movement, and
Segregatio~~ becane even inore ot~vious w h w new mission houses werc t-l~iill in
A the lower pusitims in h c clrwch were given to Afiicrzns under
AJi-icm ~ K " C ' S S L L ~ ~ , there was a terdenoy to reduce tlw authihothy thiit tirmnalfy
have meant tlie removal of all European persounel h.om the diocese. An
English missionary in 1927 castigated mission policy as saying to the people:
G d wants you all to be Chrrisbns - some k w of you to be priests; but He only chooses white men as bishcps (Wcbstsr, 1 08 I ;62).
A rlriulher of devout educated and sophisticated Al'ricnns could not
tolerate this policy. Tl~e leadership issue was the mdjor cause of the etulicst
schisms ikon1 the missicns. Important major indcpendcnt African churches that
developed out of this includc African Baptists foutsded 1888, the U d e d Native
clatisitied as Ethicrpim because Ethiopia is thc symbol of indcperrdence atrd
occupation in 1896. This victc~ry so irlrprevszd Ali.icitn nationalists th .d thoy
other West Afi.ican countrim, all the Ebiopim Churches f w e since shed away
,their orientation towards mtional struggle.
This term is used fir those c:21urches showing a rvdicrrl breakthrough
&om truditiorral xirn;sm or polytheisrrr, and the associated magic practices, in
Bvour of faith in cine God (hey find in Old Testament (Turner, 1968:XIV).
The churches tmdzr this group have repudiated some traditional orthodox
religious triauition, esyeci;llly that of Sunday religious observaxrce, and wfc~pted
a number of' I i ebr~w rcsligiuus pmrtices. ?'hey carry out mkr in Jewish tkliit,
The word 'irhdrrra' is a Ycmba word and it implies 'one who prup'. It
is believed that evury wpcct ot'mz1.1'~ felt niyds can be taken cxc: of thruugh
observances, fir~nulae and applicdion of symbols - holy water, oil, carlrlle, etc.
Based on this belid, some AIadura groups .run 'spiritual health clinics'. Tlwe
is always a legalistic adherence to ceremonial details within the group, fbr
example, removal of shoes hehre entering the church building and seasonal
female post-menstrual and childbirth purification rites. The use of prayer-gown I
of definitely prescribed colours is a conspicuous feature of religious groups of
the Aladura and ?3ebralst movements. Cherubim and Seraphim Church, the
Church of the Lord, arid Saint Joseph's chosen church of God fail within this
group.
Neo-Traditi~ndNew PrimaVNativist Movement
This group' borrows ritual e!ements &om Christian influence in order to
deal with the inadequacies of tnaditional system. Examples art: the Gociian
religion (1 %4), TZ.efonned QgIwni l ;ratedy ! 19 14). the Arousa N?tional_ , --
Religion af 5 e n h (1945). In these groups, the idea of Jesus Christ being the
Son of G a l or a Redeemer or of the trinity is rejected.
The Mcssiauir Movement
This type of religious movement shslres in the emphases on revelation
and on salwtion, but exalt:; the founding prophet or leader into the position of
Although they may lay great stress on the Bibk, and dcsire to b:: known as Christians, in some of them, C;lrist has been displaced @om the centre by another iigure of African origin and they can no longer be c;rlled Christians (I 968:XVlI).
The Brotherhood of the Cross and Star exhi'oits some of these features.
Pentecostat,'Evaugelica! Movement
The religious groups within this group/movement are our primary \
interest. An important c&teristic of this group is that they are linked to
foreign churches or they are oE-shoots of these groups. Majority of the groups
within this movcment hiid lmg sepamted fkom their oversem ner,turs mc!
assumed complete indigenous leadership (Ugwueye, 1990: 17).
Pentxostdism itself is a great religious movement, which tries to
recover the entire zeal of the first Pentecost aqd to direct religious life acmrding
to it. Thcy bclicve thd they alone have recovered the Holy Spirit, which they
x .- *-
say is misshg io other chr lrches. According to Anyaegbuna,
Pentecostal religio~~sity originated from America in Azlrzu street, Los Angeles. From there the wave of ,this aew hith spread to all parts of the world (1 99 1 : 1).
In Nigeria Pentecostalism w a introduced in the 1930s first &om United
Kingdom and later from United States of America (Ugwueye, 1990;17). The
Apostolic Churches was the first to be introduced in Nigeria Erom United
Kingdom. It was first established in Western Nigeria pro6ably due to coastal
influence.
Assembles of God Church was the first Pentecostal Church to be
established i r ~ Igboland (Umuahia) fiom United States of America in 1939
(Anyaegbu, 199 1 :3 ). Other examples of these churches are Clu-ist Apostolic,
Apostolic Faith Church, Church of God Mission, Grace of Cod Mission and a
host of others.
From the above, it is obvious that certain groups do not fall within the
purview of this study. Ethiopian, Messianic, Neo-TraditionalRVe\~*/
PrimaVNativist, Sabbath and Zionlst movements are not our primary concern
here. Our interest Is on the last group, PentecostaVEvangelical movement.
A deui1c.d dclirlilinn of lkntccostulism uld its origin will be discussad in
the next chapter. _, -/
Chapter Two - Notes
1. J.D.Y. Peel (1 968). Aladura: A Religious Movement among the Ywuba. Oxford University Press, London, p. 1.
2. H.G.M. Sundkler (1970). Banta Prophets in South Michigan. Wil l iq Puh. Co., USA, p.13.
3. E.G. Pwrh~der (1953). Religion jn an Afiican Cify. Lmdon: Oxford University Press, p.40. ,
4. A.O. 1w~ugw1.1 (1971). "The Spiritual Churches in the Eastern States of Nigeria". Unpublished 1'h.D. Thesis, Dept. of Keligion, UNN, p.4.
5. E.1vi.T. Ekpcle (!978). '6D~vclopmeni of Sects in Easier0 Nigeria7' WAN, 23 <& 14, p.42.
6 . D.B. l3arretl (1968). Schisrri urtd Henewul i r ~ Africa. Idondon: Oxfbrd University Press, p.48. d
7. F.B . Welbown C 1 95 1). East African Rebels. London: Oxford University Press, p.3
8. N.Wdiokwere (1 98 1). Prophecy and Revolution. Great Britain: Carnolet i3rcss, 1x2.
9. I.,. 1,mtimari (1 963). The Religion of the Oppressed. English Edition, Loi~Cm: Oxlord University Press, p. 305.
10. J.S. Coleman (1 958). Nigeria: Background to Naiionalism. California. William Pub. Co., p. 45.
1 1. Taylor arid Lehmm (1 969). The Christians of the Copperbelt. P. 108.
13. lwuugwu, Ibid., p.45.
16. Ndiokwere, Ibid,, 1;. 18. '
19. L.13. Ugwueye (1 990j. "lnclepenclcticy in Tgbolmd: A Study of Gdcm, C)~;wjc, Il;,igwn zurd Opi" Urpublislrrsd 13.A. 'Ihesis, Uqrt 01' K~'liil;ir)~i, UNN, p, 10.
2 1. lbid., XVlI , / /
23. J . Anyaegbuna ( I 99 i 'p "'The Growth a d Development of I'entecostril Evangelical Moverrrcnt in Igbolar~d: A Case Study of' Norlh- Western lgbol:md, 1956-1990" Unpublished M.A. Thesis, Dcpt. of lteligim, UNN, p. 1.
24. Ibid., p - 3 .
Oriu Local Goverrime~~t Area is one of tlle highest populnted 1oe;rl
guverrunent areas in Imo Ytiite. . Tlic area fidls within the equatorial climate with
about 1996 inillimetres of~.ninfiill (Ur-uwn, 191 2).
'l'11: last dcmogidphic rcport, based on the 1963 population census, urd
an assumed population gowth rate of 2?4y show that Orlu has a p'opuliltion of
about 36 1 , 756 irthabi tmts with over 1,000 people per squu;ure kilometer (X'ayr~,
19i2). I
Ln Orlu l,wd Wjovemrnerrt hca , tELc Pentecoshl Churches we S t i t g g C r W
all over the @ice. I-Eowevcr, this study does not include the l'mtecostal
Ciu-ches under t'arn~utivc stage. Before the Nigeria civil war, lherc. was no
Church ernerged in Orla
First rt, came was Assemblies of G.sd Church. It was established in 1968
at Umurra by Kev Dwmudw fmnl Ngwa. One Rev. Okorie iu~d Pastor O~LII~CC
from U~nwsl aided the gowllr uf this church a1 its early stage. Prom Umuua,
this church spread to virtually every part cf Orlu. Ttie chweh has over fitly
origin from Orlu and Lill dale its headquwters iy located at Orlu.
I-1ulinw.l; i.ivarigelical Mission started as a non-denomination bible union
wlrose ah1 was to study and have indcplh knowledge of the bible. But as they
got rooted in the word of G d , according to Chima kmadi (my infonmt), t h y
'of their biblicd doctrines, especially on Chrislian burial and marriages. 'Illis A .--. --
bible study union started in 1970 but was pranounced and establE:;:ihcd as a
chu~xh in 1977 at Anlaifeke with the na.me - I-Joliiess Evangelical Missicm.
emanating from thc refiisal of thc Anglican Church to re-admit his children into
their scliotrl. liis children vulurllilriiy withdrew fiom that scllool when pupils
3 5
llritidlly he fii~n~ed a prayer-clapping circle in his housc wilh members of
established a branch of their chwch at Orlu.
Church, Okwuekpe in fiiclrrva St. Jo1lr-1'~ Believers Clrurch was a prayer howt:
hlission. John Ch~ll;wuemek is today m e of the vibrant preac1ur.s of thc Save
tile Lost Mission.
Frce Luve 1'eiitc~ost.d Mission hus its origin corn Orlu. Bishop C. 0.
Okclfor, a tutive of Orlu foiriided the church at U~nuna in 1991. IIe hter
Irar~sfr'erred it to CJghcsurw where the bishop has his bishop's court. According
to Bishop 49kafcw, the lifc ;:~rc4tlr;int of this church, the church came :lp as a
the Holhess E.cruigelical, Mission Church but resigned firom thcre ivnd formed at
I'\r:it a gospel band callcd Sword md Tnunpet b'md. He w'mted to rcach people
3 5
Initially he fimd a prayer-clapping circlc in his house witli members of
his houschold &miry: tlie fi~~mdation stmc. At first his practice was regarded
as a joke until ire made contacts with the leader of the Apostolic Chucclr at
Arnamwa. Ihcy did nut only bdp to kind ii place for clis childrcn but nlw
established a branch of t k i r church at Orlu.
Save the Lost Mission is mother Perltccostal Church of interest in Orlu.
This chwdl came fi-om Nrrzwi where it originated to Orlu in 1974. "rl~e chumh
'I'tiis church won or converted the whole members of St. Jchn's Belic.vt:rs;
Church, Olcwuelcpe in Xhioina. St. John's Relievers Church was a prayer house
, .' led by John Chukwuemzka at 111i011lil before tJle establishment of Save tlre Lost --
Mission, Jolur CEwkwucazeXca is today one of the vibrent preachers ofthe Save
the I..ost h,fis:;im.
Free Love Pentecostal Missiwr has its origin fkoin Orlu. Bishop C, 0.
Ohfor, a native of Orhr fow~ded the church at Urnuna in 1 1 IIe later
irimskmd it to Ogheruru wlrere the bishop lpu his bishop's court. According
to Bishop Okafor, the life president of this church, the church cane up w a
result of divine nl=&ic: korn Gcx? 3ishop Okafor was formerly a pastor with
the J-loliness fivangelical Missiori Clrurcln but resigned from there and formed at
first il gospei bwd csllzd Sword and 'Trumpet band. He wmtcd to reach people
he founded Free Love Pcnkcoslal Mission Church.
C ~ w f : of G d Mis~ ia i Iric~rporated, as it is called by it!! members curie
to Orlu in 1988 thrrxgh mie Ixother Nwachukwu Kings. Its n&onul
liedquat~ters is at Owcrri Road, Onitsha. According to brothcr Nwachukwu
Kings, Gmce of God Missiw Church is a peculiar Pentecostal Church wliose
supraw tiwk is Gvangolism.
13elow is a table containing the niuncs of some prominent Pe.~~tecoshl
Clnwciues i r r Orlu with the names of their fowrrders and tlru y e m founded.
Dr. S.C. Enicagwali
J.C. Ogburb
Ofliieri George
Ben Okoro
The Church Missiumwy Society (CMS) activities reached Orlu in 1934
through tlic efforts of h/lessr.s Natlrtliuricl Agubata, Murk Mgbuuiso, N.
I'au17s Anglican Church, Nkwerre. They met with the Anglican Church leaders
granted their rzqwst arid arl Anglican Mission was established in htnairclic in
1934.
X x early cor~vcrts to this church did not have a cfrurclr building at thd
hie so they worshipped urd hcld lheir services at the then Orlu l'ulrice Station
.-- (Okcku, 1998:330). Thing the search Sir the place to build the clrurch, one-
wtma-~ and l m son culEcd Nwmyiudu and Osibcle rcspuctively, donatcd their
picce of Imd lmatcd at lhuosu k r the building of the church. Thc ckuch also
built their p f u n q school on this same piece of land.
According to my infomani, Nathaniel Agubata, the ibunclation ;tone af
this c l w ~ h was 1;Li~i !3y d1 Cliurch Missionary Society (CMS) members In
i f . Shoi tly alter tla: buildif kg of the clwch stded, ihs mine WAF
changed h m 'Anglicm Church' Orlu' to 'All Saints Anglican Churdl
Arnaifeitc-Orlu.
Ja
All Sili~kts Anglican Chwcli Anxiifeke is tire heactquarters of Orlu Om
Archdeaconry, which comprises seven parishes. It is also ihc headquarters of
GI-lu parish whiell conilprises twelve stations. This church has one extension at
Eziolza, Alnuikke. The cl~nrdi has produced rnru~y bible teachers md o h x
educated people m d priests. 1 1 ~ two priests produced by this church are Rev.
3.3 '!'he Moman Cnllrlolic Church in Orlu /
. -
131i:;h:i Agubitla ~ti;d !he r.c=~.t;ucIrcr, Kcv. 13. Okcke.
With the establisliment of Anglican Church in Orlu, the act of preaching
Kcrmm Catholic Cfmrch denomination was the f i t to come to Orlu. It
I
w ~ s about the year 1910 that Eze Amasoh Anumudu I of Anxiifeke
courageously set the ball rolling by negotiating wid1 the white fbreign
rrrissiurmics who were then based at their headqwrtcu-s, O~ubulii. Eze t*,.m;xli;uh
h i t was his imnc town where he needed ihk white man's pxcsrnce to be blt
;mrl this irrvwiably raised his status as a king.
Under the lmdership of warious Holy Ghost Priests, missionzuy activities
reached lhioina in the present Orlu Local Government Area. The priests tlyt
mddc it possible d ~ e Rev. F'atl~ers A. Bindel, 1). 'Elecket, Lib Stigler arid
Joseph H.. White. 'Ile first CatIrolic Church was built at Eziohirr Amaifeke
h c first Eucharist celebration was held there in 1920. As a result ofcontir~uous
exprilsion tirid conversion, the second Calholic Church in the town was built
sorile three years after. IIowzver, a2 the ! > j k i t of unity prevailed, the people
un;urimowly decided to have a cermilized church and this revultc~t in the
ccr;~stmction of the present St. May's Catholic Church. The site of this clsurch
was freely dovratcd by the fc~lkming -I:miilies - Eluagu On~wrigbo, Miirk
~ ~ a ~ ~ ~ o , Onycl~worc Okwanaku, Onyekaigws Okonkwo, Mpbojirikwc
):jikollye, IV:~N N c aigbu, fhenilic :md Nncb~ifi,
With Qic u.stabliulur~eri~ of the Romm Catholic Church in Amaifiku, /
. -- m u ~ y people trooped out in large n~unl~ers to join the new religion. Soine
joined to receive the blessing as bcing preached by the cl~urch, others joined to
rcceive tl-msc gifts that the missionaric=s fieely gave out to people. Ganerjllly,
Orlu people benefited irnrnensely Gom education and other social scrviccs that
hr: church provided.
Ngugi Wa 'Illiongo once rcmarked "C1u-istia.n missions {..;nded to
break up c o ~ ~ u n i t i e s , acti~lg as a River Between7' (196&:21). This cor~ment is
a true reflectior: of the iivalry =d ul~frierdly relationship that existed between
the Roman Catirolic Mission iuld the Anglican Church. ?his subjzct is emotion-
laden for rnmy people nnJ to this efkct all sources of information were biased.
Clashes bctwaen the t w ~ denornini;*,ior.s tsok various forms at vrrriaus
stages. Dotn s~ruggled to wiri ndl~erents, build churches and schools to enhance
their influence, '.I ire: chielis, new converts, children evcn school tdwhcrs
also hclped ill giving tire rzligious war a more articulate dimension. For
instance, Ole Anglican pupils ridiculed their ItComsm Catholic cowlterpnrtti with I
such songs as
Q hpiara ys~;kwu, onye nkuzi fida, misisi ya ori awy
, .-- Meaning - Paim nut eater, Catholic teacher, his wife a covrsumer of to&.
In return Roman Catholic pupils refelred to the Anglican teacher as
illiterate, always adjusting his glasses before spelling words of the bible. All
tllese culminated in the breakdown of g o d social relation as Orlu became a
victim of 1<01wan Catholic - Anglican antagonism. Members of each group
tried to prove tlxir germhlerress while castiggting the other. It reached a point
where the rdigit>rws group one bclongs to becane a very important fictur in
dccluling iasucs. Gwn today employrwnt and award of' contriicts in certttin
p l i e s in Orlu are dune based on this religious considemtion.
The oniy arm where Koman Calholic and Anglican seein to agree is in
the condemnation of the PentccosCals. 'They call the Pentecostals dupes, "Sour
one niners" and traders in the church. Most times they do not grant the
Pentecoshls the y~poxlunity to preach to them.
'111~ Pe~rtecostds themselves regard members of iXornan- Catholic ;nrd
Anglican as people who arc not yet converted into real Christianity. They
accuse the older churcks of behg dogmatic slnd worshiping idols and images in
thL.' church. Casq abound in Or!u where members of the same family an .a*
loggerheads simply becairsc they belong to dii'ikrent churches.
O i l ~ ccsnh'ibuted irruner~sely in placing Orlu on the limelight of civilization.\
3.5 Pcntecos%alism aud the Old Religion alllid Culture of Orlu at the Cross Roads
The old rcligion aid culture of Orlu rekr to the time-honoured religious
bcliefs and practices, wllich iwr: rootcd in lgbo l i k and culture and which have
beeir hr~ndtxi duwn firm one generition to tl1c other. Tlie people showed their
subudimtiorr to a supel-natural, uanscendent Supreme Being culled Chukwu
arld othcr lriemrchy of g d s , tlie ancestors, divinities and other myriad of spirits.
The minor divirlities a x l other myriad of spirits as aagilcies through which the
Suprcmc Y3hg deals wit11 man, act directly on man, some benevolcritly and
crtllem malwolently.
lileiiire Pcn~.ccostalism cane inlo Orlu area, the Older Christian missions
- Roman CUt~l ic and Anglican Churches had already fought and preached
against somc uztfitional religious practices and culture tlrit were i r h i c d to
1wm.n kind. I'w instance, selling people into slavery, sacrifice of human beings
arid killing of twins were practices among the people before Christianity came
irrb Orlu. 1 Iowever, there still exist some religious practices and culture of the
people that are at the cross roads kill1 the beliefs of the Pentecostals.
'llie I'e~rtecustals do not agree with the traditionalists over the way burial / / --
should bc ccxducted. 'There we cases where the Pentecostals kad ope11
corrfronttifion with Ilir; tr~tditiona!'sts over the burial of the formcr's member a d
the lattef's relations. Sol~le Sew rneethgs convened to resolve this issue have
not yielded didend because the triditioml religion adherents have refis& to
devilish.
rhia palm wir~e m d snulYwhich tlruy r e g d as anathema are being used during
sucli mcetings. 'I'lmis has causcd 110 s~llall dissemion between tlw two p u p s .
Sometimes h t : Pa~tecostds are lbrced 10 contribute towards buildhg syoinc
projects initiated in such meetings which they did not attend.
In Qilu local Government Area, the culture fbrbids a h e born marrying
an 'ow' but the Pentecostals' only consideration for marriage is bcing. a
P~.rrtecostal mernker. This Iris tom so many f'amilies apart as relations of these
Pentecostals always i~tternpted resisting the moves by their brother or sisttm
getting ~narried to bsu'+ I
'The lPent.ecostals show open contempt to the traditional practice of
wesu-irlg rnasyuerades (~nrnanwu)., Some of drese masquerades beat the
~ * C I ~ ~ L ' C O N ~ ~ L ~ Y i n ~ ~ c i l ~ s s l v W I I C I ) ~ i w y ctllch ~ I I C I I I L)CCUUYC thcy know thr:
Pentecostals du not ,tikc tllern. 'flr~s very issuc if not handled carefuiIy ~ ~ i t t y
rr=sull to all out war betweell the two groups in the near futwe.
T1-iere imvc been series of appeals to the Pentecostals and adherents af
Afiican tmdilional religion to tolcmte one mother. Some learned leades of
lhcse Pentecostals arc already at the fbrefront trying to reconcile some issues
mricably. It is hoped illat their clTort will help in resolving the above-
mcrrrirwned crises r~yd otlrer mi~~or o11es not mentioned.
Chapter Three - Notes
1. , U.C. ( 0 ) . "ProliTersttion oi Cllt~ches in Arnair'ike". I!;;p~bli:jh~d 1S.A. Tlresis, Dzpt. 01' Religion, U.N.N., p. 30.
2. N ,:ugi \Yn 'lqh.iongo < 1968). The River Befiveen. Lon Jan: 1 Ieirlcamnn, p. 2 1.
Irt describing ~ l w pimns of growth m d spread of Christianity in W~mt
services cm i ~ n i v d to Orlu town. lhis time, only the founder (s) teach the few
converts t l i ) ~ to say prayers, shg, hymns and speak in torigues. No attempts arc
Sew joirwi tflc group at first. rJ'lris period surely witnessed ~riir~imrrl growth of
foundcd in other v i l l i rp i lurd towns of(P4i1. AS the people wcrc tauglrt in t l~uir /
"... '
llon~es irr tJieir own native tonglie, 111i)rt: people wcre attracted to the Perrtecoshl
?'he trjyt'fiu.mity given to the people hei~rg preached to attd thc
times it t i k s tlie L;mn c)f' ~~~;1clrhpj fi.om one village siyuxe to tumrher. 'j'lte
rnost rdnpiriii i s flu early rnurnir~g opcn uir preaching where s o w T'ci~tccostill
Clwiutians cillrcr i r l group or imlividually prcach lo the people within tlwir
residential acas uuhg thc public; address system.
111~~1: ~rusilcles a-id open air preacirir~gs have allen been thought 'to be
aimed at focusing on some religious and soclal ills in Orhi. ?.~vol~.~~tarily, these
preachiags had acted Lrpurl r31c perpetrators of these acts as a challenge aid
subsequcriily nradc mmy people tmr to l'entecostalism. T h i s is a strxtcgy that
4.3 'P'itme Fkeoplc's Wewtioru To Pzslvteeostaliisnon
Before the advent of 13erltecostalism to Odu, the people had already
settlcd with the M:ainlirie Chmches. Whetr Pentecaslrlllism came, the people did
not initially know much about. ilk new rnovement and therefore their h t
reaction lo 1kntccostiilisn1 w,is Zlw of ,IF : I1 y.
Slrortiy aikr iliis ci:acliori of inditTerence, some of the pcople out cut
clrriousity wj:if:l(;ci to kncjw wl~at I~entecost;illism was all about. They llstcncd to
their early morning ope11 ilir yreaclings. So~r~i: people even attencled heir riiglrt
cnrsadcs In the village= square without letti~rg t.l~hemselvrs be seen (i.e. they
?Ire actual group of people to eir~lrr-ace Peiltccostiilisn first were the sick, /
-* A
the poor, the oppressed a r td the Il.usmted. 111 heir daily talks, tlir: Pt'nttmstal~
promiscd divine healing for (he sick, liberatior1 &om poverty and succouu' for the
When the news of die succcsshl lrcaling ofso~ne sick ows :;prend within
Nol: i t i t the peoplc were sy~lpathetic; there were some people who
cln~rrcrhcs uitl !k die-lt:u9c! traditionalists are exlvlnples of people in this group.
to rcspund posiilivdy low,wd Pcntecostalisrn. Xn the last dccado, sane
fi-ccly donatcd tllc piece ctl' land for the church building bw rt.eently 1~ hm
a k c d tl~c church to vacate the prernisos and demolish the church.
J Iis major reasoil for doing this was that since he ceased to be a member
of the clrurch, the church no longer cued to coxmniserirrte with hi111 over the
death of his reluiiml;. He specifically muntioned the death of his Fither and
latcr his molher. It was when the church leaders with their members refi.wd to
pa~icijxite in his deceased mother's h l e r d ceremony that he considered
ejecting theiiz 011: of his Iitncl.
Tile I3cn~ecosta1 open air naorning preaching with the public address
system !us been bmmrd by the cornnlunity because &st non-membcrs
cornplrxhed dlat such indiscriininate preachings constituted nuisance to them.-. .
Fur now it is not easy for tJlc l'entecostals to sunnount some of these socid
problems they we encountering because the poor social relationship they have
built in r c l a t h with the society would not allow anybody, except their
52
Ilre unly time thc goverrmeni gives problem is where any Pentccostal
C h w h is operating without having been duly registered with the govenmcnt.
' h e government does not '.ailow unregistered churches to operate. Pentecostal
Churclm that did imi pay t;luu regularly were also apprehended by the
government.
I t is hsl~iol~able tothy in Orlu Sir 13entecostal Churches to obtain
penrrisviun oflickilly from the govzmmenl before organising rallies and
crusades. ?%is is aimed ut checking the activities of the bad eggs among them
wlio use suclt opj:ortunities to foment troubles. The Pentecostals consider all
11iesc as political problems which hinder the ekpansion of the Pentecostal
(e) Religious PY"OI~IU;"IYIY:
As his been goir.i!zd out earlier, ihe mainline churches -- Anglican and
the Romlul CriUrulic - penetrated Orlu some y e m before the Pentecostals. In
short, they were well cstablishcd before the Pentecostals came into the region.
Naturdly, the mainline clrurclmzs had more members than the Pentecostals but a~
time went on the Pentecostals, because of their success in healing the sick und
o t l w allurerrtcnts, started drawing members of the mainline churches to their
w n chitrch~.~. The rewtit.xi of the mainlirre churches constituted some
~~roblms; Tc;r tl te. Ik~klwmls.
'I%e ivuuinline cElurclies embuLc.d upon a campaign of' clilumy ;lg,a.iiiu~
the Pentecnst;ils. The ibnner described the latter as &lse churches wlrose
lwling powen3 cmie tlxoug11 wij~mhy and occult powers. The maidhe
churches did not stop at this but took practical steps to stop their relatiorrs kunl
attewiing Pentwostal Churches. In h a i f e k e one Catholic n~ember ceased
piiyi~~g the s':ht~l fees of his cousin unless hc retu.rmxI to tilt: Catholic Cllurch.
'Kiir: Anglican Church at Uxxlanra bought the piece of land opposite heir Chtxch
at a higllcr price than the Endtime Gospel MisAon was offering to buy it. Ilie
Anglican Churcl.: really did not have i~rlrndiate need for that piece of land but
purchased it purposely to stop the Pentecostal Gom building their church tlrere.
'Illis posed a prublcm to lhc l'c~r~ecoskil Church in question.
Anol t~ r gx'oup. of pcople that comtitutcd problem b r arc l~entecostals
are Punteccrsrzli pstorr; and members whose men~bership were terminated for
one reason or the other. For such ternlinated pastors to go and joirl ar~othor
church attw tcn yeiu-s or morc as the case miy be will be very dinicult. The
ody option lidl is Sorn~irng a new church and befixc: he does tlmt he sturts by
cmdmming his furonner church to justify his bbjective. This condemnation 01' an
insidcr is always problematic to the church concerned.
Otlrsr religious problem?; are Pentecostals encountered includetl some
villagers' refuss1 ta give out or st11 out their piece of land for church buildhg
because of rcligbus reasons. l l e s e villxgc.rs who we religion
adherents are always apprehensive af Lhese Yent.ccostals because of their being
not-of-this-world atti turic.
(d) Ecoruornic: ProXeuuu:
One of the greatest problems errcountered by these Pentecostal Churches
in Orlu was economic. Many Pentecostal Church founders were poor men.
Some were peiqjk wlw trad kied so many things in l ik but coi~ltf not succeed
and tlmefirc resoried to q~cning churches as the only viable option lee.
IIleir prothms ranged Gonr lack of money to purchase land for church
buildirlg, building the church itself to providing seats and other basic things
needed in tlrc c9ru~rclr. The abject poverty of the early convents did not help
issues eillhcr. Mr. 0. Umeh who is an elder in the I-Iolhless Evangelical Mission
Cllurch told r r x during my interview with him that lack of mowy greatly
llinclzrcd the growth ui' church at its inception. According to him, the told
sum of the churcli's af-Yertory on worship days did not reach up to ten kobo in
Chr& business just like o h x projects canuwr. move forward w?i.hout
money. The actual problem was that the founders and hllowers at the initial
tim; fell wthh the same poverty bracket and could not have done otherwise.
But today &r: s~ory is iiin'ercnt C"LS people tiom all walks of life are in the
Pcntecostd Cl~m,ties mi!. one finaxidly balarrced pcr-son at times builds a very
decent church for the people.
Ecology refers to the environment. When the missionaries came to
AGica, a h r uT ecological problems were encounterd by them rnaidy because
tltwy were ibrcigners in a Imd they were not used to. In the case of our study,
some PentecostaS huwlers in Orlu are people born and bred in Orlu. 'fierefore
the environment did not pose much problem Lo them. 'the other group were
people fhru outside Orlu who encountered some cnvironrnentsll problems.
Tfie lkntecos~al Churches could not penetrate places like Obhugwu-- -"-
Orlu, Okwirabulu Cklu and Owcrre Gbeiri on time be.cuuse of erosion meme. It
was such that the gullies created by erosion made it impossible for peop!" to
trek to and &om thew places in lhe early sevcnties. Nobody talked of
motorcycles and c m pasvirlg there because of the conditions of road.
From the above it could be seen that the Pentecostals in Orlu did not find
tlxir work of evangelisation very easy in the light of the nun~erous problems
drat they eur;r.i!:ier,:d at the inilial time they camc. Neve~-t.hdr~s, tile:,,:
prchlems like A. U. Agha said,
. . . did succeed in preparing some of the people (the Pwtecostirls) jbr t1x Suture missiorury work in that u c s j149'7:49).
I. Aglxii U.A. (2991). Eurly European Mission to West Apica: An hrrodrcctiou! to West AfiJcm Church fistor)? Enugu: Cdvuyside Pubfishing and Printing, p. 96.
2 . Ibid., p. 97.
CHAPTER PIWE
THEOLOGY AND LITURGICAL FEATURES
5.1 Mode uf WorulriyJlCiergy l.tiire
me Ptmtecostai Chwchs do not differ much in their ruode of worship.
Worship of thr: Lord takes place anywhere just as the l'entecosti wishes. It
n ~ y be in h e house, in the cllurch, in the scliool, in the office and in the vehicle.
A typicd Pcntccos~al manner of worship skirts with announcement fi-om
su~ileonc: thus - '!et us priy'. Once this is melrtioned everybody closes eyes ::rnd
tllis is ibllowed with a song or praise h ~ m l as hey call it. A song or two may
be raised. In the worship session witnessed by the researcher in the Grace or __- - /
God Missior~ Church, Orb, the Pastor mised tlree songs. Afler the songs, he
cd1t:d out for prayers to thank God for his mercies, then priyer followed.
During Illis time, most of tixm wqre rattling words breathlessly, rubbing their
ll~uids feverishly with drew e y s shut. Some were swaying their bodies to the
rhythm of their words. rI'Zhe pstcur skirted shouting h e n , h e n , Amen tuzd the
nuisc skirted dieing down slowly until everyoni was quiet aggin.
The pasW agairr called for prdym for the forgiveness of sins arrd the
process of everybody speaking at lthe sanle time began again. Here and there
rnenlbers would squirm their bodies in ecstdsy and utter pintelligible words.
Some would gr-tmt whiZc otl~eru broke into a fit of panting as if suddenly stsuck
with epilepsy. Mr,sl of them, who were apparently fully possessed by the spirit,
slrouted out txcaior~dly such memingless words as 'Tata Shita', 'hu hu ka ta',
accodlng to what the spirit directed them to say, so they told Il;c researcher.
Perhips the most noisy'marnent of the prayer session was when it was
t h e fir them to bind demons, to carit out demons ad to prevent accidents md
all sakric mischiefs as the pastor announced. Some during this time moved up
ad down on their feet, cutting the air with their flailing ams. Some jumped
up at intervals. Almost all sf them spoke in tongues. Various ~loises wa'u
heard: 'Erima slum;' 'hapa siniba'; 'ranla ka shi baba hula'; 'burn ji papa Ira
ti'. These uttemux were being said ar the top of their voices.
rllw pastor at a point would shoul Amen, Amen and the noise would die - ,**- down again slowly. I-le nrised a song afitter which he ended the worship. l1lr:re
are thnes wl lw the X'entecostals at Orlu trol,l heir dlf'firent special worships for
deliverar~ce h r n dernon pca~session, deliverance of the land, breakh~g ancestrd
c m e s and other purposes.
All the Pentecostal Churches sliowied ~cutatic maulifcsbticms of the Holy
Spirit and they all spkc in ici~guus. In sonle I'entecostals such as the
Assemblies of God Cl~urch, ilrc: ringing of thc bell during worship rrreans stop
60
and get ready for Uir next item in worship programme. Serlllons imd hornilics
arc also wx::li:~l IS of their wimkip.
Tlw l'entecostals do not have special attire for the clergy. According to
Bishop C.O. Okafirr who iti tthe'foundcr of Free Love Ikntecost'd Mission, Orlu,
drere is a better dress the oril~uncnt, the meek and the spirit which in the sight
of God, is of lycat price and only God can give it not the World. lie quoted 1
Peter 3:4 to support this his statement. It is when one has this spirit inside
himself that one will ltnow the type of decent dress to wear. On a specific note
Ihe Pentecostal clergy wears shirt well tricked inla a pair of trousers with a
wcktie and wlrere there is no necklie, there must be a collar. This may bc:
accompruried by a codt. Other dresses may be worn by the clergy but it must be - -- ," an 'official dressing'. indecent &cssing cannot be tolerated.
5.2 Pwtccostal Milirt Theology and Doctrine
Penlccustd theology is a p w t of the larger cumplex oi li'lu.isti;.i
theology. It is the exclusive form of' Christian tradition that alone enjoys the
istiwtive divine charisma of inspiration t l i t clraracteri~t5d the descent of the
holy spirit upon the twelve apostles on the Pentecost day.
?'his t i ~ d o g y recogniz;~.~ a faith in one Lord, one baptism, one God lcrvd
Father of all (Eph. 4:s-6) who i s communicating an inspired message tu rn'n
md resurrection 06 Ciu'is! ;md mul's salvation. 'Ilwough tlle passion, dziitl~ and
resurrection Clwist has br:r;ome a ‘power' producing n ncw life in the Cluistii~n
bclievor which evaitually ensurc:s his resurrection m d life with Ctltist.
Pentecustd theology like I'iluline theology is cluiutocentric. 'fiat is the
key concept ubuut which the whole of Pentecostal theology is orgmised. To
preach Christ c:yncified is to ;?readl tliu ~,ospi;l. Rotl-1 Christ ;md tl-ic gospel :i; the
Sd.LtxrYs means of iiccosting men, sculici~ing fiorn them the response of fiith and
love. I t is rwt a r:ue scrir:s of revealed propositions about Cluist that men must
irltzllectuslly aplwel~and atid givt. assent lo. Rather it is the power cf GoJ
laclcctl, through this g o d ncws of salvation, beli~.vers are serrld with the
~>ronliscd Y loly Spirit, the '"Axlge of' our inheritance" (Eph. 1 : 13).
No sketch of lkntecostd salvation history is complcte without some
referewe to their csc1x;stology which is futucistic (1 Ihess. 4:15), tlre
resurrection crf ~lrc dead, the judgeinent and.tlre glory of the justiGeci bcliwer
62
lhe l'entecostal doctrine is biblical. They believe the entire holy bible as
he word of Gud, inspired by him and is without error. Its authority is supreme
in all matters ofdoctrin* and C ~ ) Y I ~ U G ~ . 'I'he;, preach and teach the i.dl.wulg:
Jesus Christ's -
Apart from the above body of leaching of the Pentccostds, they have
other tenets or artjcies of faith m d belie&. M. Urn&, a Pentecostal mcmlwr
who is also n :ne7nber of the Pentecostal f'ellowship of Nigeria (Fellowship of all
1. belief 3ri a personal Cod (Jo'ur 4:24,);
4. the new birth (John 3:3,5-7);
5. a holy life (Luke 1 :73-75; 'Titus 2: 12):
6. sanctification (I Thess. 523); __ -I- 7. unity of God's people (John 17:21; Eph. 4);
8. divine physical healirlg (Jdmes 5 : 14-16);
9. !!~e xdinlulces (Matt. 28: 19-20; Jolm 13; 1 Cur. 11:23,34);
10. etcrntll life (Matt. 25:46; Mtwk 9: 43);
1 1. the Trinity (1 J o h 5: 7, 8).
2. 011 s good foundation (I3plr. 2rT:9; 1 Cor. 3:ll);
3. Ctr~ist governs it (lZp11. 1 :22-23; Isa. 9: 6);
4. Sin puts p u nut orit (lturu. 11 :22; Ex. 32:33);
5. c ~ u d dmi1:; rrtenlbcrs (I Cor. 12: 13-1 8);
6. 'I'lre saved we ody members (Jolm 15: 2-6);
7. Membership is ofired to all (Rev. 22: 17);
8. Firrul rewards (Rev. 20: 12-15; 21: 3-4; 22: 14);
9. lliblr: name of the Ch~uc11 (Acts 20:28; Gal. 1: 13; John 17:11).
Pentecostal Church woiships arc lrelcl on Sundays and weck days.
hhnling Surday Clwrch worship lilay be conducted in the fili~wing ordcr:
8.00 - 9.30 a.m. Sunday schcol.
9.30 - 12.30 p.m. - Miih worship service as tire spirit dlects.
12-20 p.m. w Chonws, Gerreral ~uroic~cernents,
W deonritrg 01' visi~ors new
members, CIlilJseu imd m:ul-iruge
dedicaliuns. 73mlksgivirrg,
l'cstirnonies, lrzewiil olTcring, message,
clusi~~g hymn, prayer ard L3erredic tion.
6.30 - 13.00 pm. - Evening Worship which wrsiski oS
Moruday - Personal evangelism or open-air meeting or
I-louse Fellowship meeting by 4.30 p.m.
Tuesddy - Bible study or men's meeting, 5.00 p.m.
Wednesday - Fasting and prayers - 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Mid-week service - 5.30 - 7.30 p.m.
' l~umthy - Sunday school preparatory class.
Friday ., Bible study class - 5 p.m.
Fasting and prayers of Moly Ghost baptim
I worship service - 6.30 p.m.
Saturtby - . Marriage feast, Baptismal class and water I
baptism, personal evangelism or the Lord's
Supper service.
It should be noted here ?hiat the time service could be m i g e d to suit
local condition. I'raycr SLK the sick and other special prayers can come ;.~y thine
depending on their need.
5.4 Mode of 13aptiisrn and Holy Communion
The Orlu ikr?tecostds believe in water baptism and baptism of the I-loly
Spirit. Unlike the rnain!ine churches, the Pentecostals do not baptize infants.
One nust bt: m adult who will willingly repent and accept baptism before he or
she is baptized. 'I'he baptism is by irnrwxsion in a river or strmn not by
sprinkling water. One is baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy GhrM iiy Jesus commanded in Matthew 28: 19; Matthew 3 5 ; Acts
8:38; Rom. 6: 4-5; Colossian 2:12.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit is endowment of power from on high as
promised by Lord upon the clean sanctified life.
l'he I'cntecostal observe the Holy Communion two to thee times in a
year. Some of them observe it once in a month. Thc items used for the
ci.unmunion are bread, biscuits, coca-cola drinks, gape wine or other mineral
drillks. One eximines onesel< if one deems oneself fit to ,receive the Holy
Cornunion, one picks the bread or biscuit snd the d r i i . Non-baptised persons -C --
are not allowed lo partake of the Holy Communion. Sometimes, pastors upon
interviewing non-baptised members can use their discretion to permit n&-
baptised members to partake of the Holy Communion.
Cienerdlly, members who are not in good state with God as a P ~ S U I ~ of sin
are not encouraged to take part in the Holy Communion, though nobody stops
anybody fi-oxn taking part in the Cornmimion. A divorced person and
polygamists are not elititled to Holy Communion, except a restitution or
reconciliatio~l is done,
5.5 12riestl~itek.14 awl C!cr~L*ch Polity
Scmc ?:zuzcostbl Churcl~es have well orginised priesthood md church
polity while SLEW itre ocx well developed. In the latter case, only the fbunders
exercise au~lmity, as they like. Grace of God Mission Church, Assemblies of
Cod Church and Tleeper Life Church are some of the Pentecostals at have
well developcd priesthood and polity.
Priests arc iippointments given to people on certain vital considerations.
Usually people oi' high moral standads are appointed. Ministers or priest who
skcessfully complete their psobutionary pcriod shall on conhnatian be
ordulned as Mirriste;,? or priests of the mission after five to eight years
depending on ttlc Peuiecosed Cllwch cor~cerned. _. - Piiesrs ce rrlinistsrs h e opportunity to further their education in
reputable theo1o;:ical irlstitutisrrs provided they have served the church for some
appreciable period of time.
l<very lwd Penlc~ostal Chwch lms a pricst in charge of it culled the
pastor. He corlducts all services and pcrfornls all religious rites in his local
church. He ensures that his locality or area of jurisdiction is evmgelised lo the
uttermost. He shall bc: responsible to the District Superintendent.
chrucbes withiu his j;tkIiction or coukol comply with the aims and objectives
of die rni:;sion. I It: sh~uid t w c wo~-Ptd as a minister in lhe mission fbr a period
not less h tm years with a minimum of five years pastoral experience and a
track record of perfornrmce. hi short, he is the pastor in charge of the district
arid he is answemble tc "Lhc clivi,sional superintendent.
The divisional superintefidcnt supervises and controls the Mission's
C trurctr brmc~ics under his division. 1-1 e reports to the Ger ma1 Superintendent
who is the Er,cc?~tivc head of the Mission. He is the Chairman of Board of
Trustees, National Council of Ministers, the Presbytery and the National
~kcculive Council.
The higlrest Ministerial Council is the Presbyters. It approves all
biblical/scriptwlrl doctrines of the mission. lt is vested with powers to promote
or rlisciplir~e ministers.
Apm from the Pentecostal p ~ i e s t h d hierarchy as mentioned above,
there am other posts cnci committees in the mission created to fiicilikzte easy
admiliistratii>n of the rnissicn. There are deaeons, deaconeness, lwal and
nlttional secl-diwies, iinimcial secretaries, legal adviser, audit committees,
budgctarr, corrarrit.tee, tL:;ciplinary committee and the b o d of trustees.
Before: concluding itris chapter it is pertinent to mention once more that
thcre we some negligible difkrences in the liturgical features of these
Pent~costal Churches but the core esscntially remain the same. Well established
Peiitccostals h a w eldwrrrtr: a id or.g,u~lt;eld church polity .ib,luife 111 : system of
aJrniniutmtiw of newly zsublishcd l'e~rtecostiil is not develupetl.
Chapter Five - Notes
CHAPTER SIX
THE IMPACT AND FUTURE OF PENTECOSTALISM IN OKLU
Sincc the emergmce of Psntec~sta! Churches In Orlu, the life and way of > 1.
the people have undergone tremendous clrarlges - positive and negative - as a
result of the impact of these Pentecostal Churches' activities upon them. For
the purpose of convenience, these impacts will be discussed under religious,
social, educational, economic, psychoiogical and political sub-headings.
Pentecostalism has been a relatively new wave of religious movement in _. - -
Orlu which echoes the unlimited power of prayers. Through their prayers an& -
healing ministry, many kinds of illnesses have been taken care of. They have
cured mrury mad people, delivered many fiom the chains of the devil
(possession), heljxd barren women to have children. In short, the Pentecostals
have reactivated hith and trust in Gd. People who doubted the ability of the
Christians to cure diseases before, come to the churches now to give testimony
about God's might, deeds. Many African Traditior~al Religion adhermts were
converted to Christianity by the ceaseless preachings of these Pentecostal
Churches. They preach fiom house to house and in groups. Even many
Christian backsliders Imve been brought back by them.
The Orlu Pentecostals themselves derive a lot of religious ~a t i s~c t ion
fiom what they are doing for they see themselves as fulfilling the injunction of
Jesus 'to go into the world and preach the gospel to all nations of the earth'
(Matt. 28: 19). No fmily in Orlu today can deny having heard the preaching of
these Pentecostals.
In fac.4 tlre aggressive cvikrgelical orltrcach of h s group tias sensitised
and challenged the mainline churches to establish the Charismatic Renewal
Movements for the Roman Catholic and the Evangelical Fellowship of the
Anglican Communion for the Anglican.
fatherless, the forgotten and the tlisplaced in the society. They are their
brothers' keepers. The nanes they call themselves - brother and sister - are no
mere empty words. They. have a strong sense of responsibility atlached to the
names. One's absence in the church or prayer meetings becomes the concern of
the whole church who must all go to visit the person after service or prayer
meeting as the case may be. They sponsor weddings and burials for their poor
members. One widow remarked that she 'did not know that such good people
still live in this world'. Living for others is the concern of the Pentecostals.
6.2 Social Impact
N 3 matter the rkmn behind the emergence of the 1'entecost.d Churches
in Orlu, one thing that stand3 clear is that they have usehl social functions,
Many mental and psychological cases which ordinarily would have constituted
social menacc t3 t?i; socitxy and in most cases led to untimely deaths have been
taken care of by these Pentecostal Churches by establishing psychiatric homes
where they arc treated or healed with prayers.
One major social positive impact of the Pentecostals in Orlu is the
complete abolition of the 'osu caste system'. Before the advent of
I'entecostalisrn to Orlu, it was inconceivable for a %ee born' to associate deeply
with an 'osu', to talk not of contracting marriage with them. Even the mainline
churches f3lowed the uadition of not contracting marriages with the 'mius'.
But today, the picture is ciifl'erent - the I~entecostals many fieely amkng
themselves. Only the Peyrtecostals have achieved this feat and this is a big relief
Another social impact is what may be regarded as the moral renaissance
of most youths In Orlu town as a result of conve~xion to Pentecostal
Christianity. Many of the youths are today pastors, evangelists and ministers of
Cod in dif'fcrei~l capacities. Some are undergoing training in Prntecostal
schools. It could be recalled that some of these youths before were engaged in
hooliganism, thuggery ;u~d other social vices. One youth recounted how he
trw~sl'ormed his lik h m that of immorality to a truly repentant, virtuous born-
again child of God.
On the other hand there are some neptive social impacts of these ,
Pentecostals. Some Pentecostal are deceivers who mislead the people with their
M e oracles end-time prediction. Sometimes growing youths are
dangerously hminwashed by these~Pcntecostals. There is a case of a boy who
always disoboycd his parents' instructions because, according to him, they nw
counter to his faith. One day he packed his bags and went iuld lived in the
church. He ha3 airnost h i t touch with reality as a result of what he learnt in his
Pentecostal church. -- r C "--
In a hui ly whcre one parent und some of the children arc: Pentecostal
members and others are not. there are misunderstandings in the handling of
issues as a result of the famaticism of the Pentecostal members. This has led to
great divisions in many Orlu fmilies.
Educatior~ally the Pentecclstals have impacted much upon Orlu people.
Almost all the Pentecostal Church premises serve as n u r s c r y l k h d z ~ ~ e n
Churches. This helps in educating the younger kids of Orlu.
Another impact is the biblical knowledge the Pentecostals impart to their
members. It is like an unwiitten rule that whoever joins the 1~enfzcost;d
Churches will learn how lo I-ead, understind arid quote tlr,: til;:i. The
Pentecostal organise c l ~ ~ s e s ibr the illilerstte oms among them.
The Pentecostal membefs march in twos always teaching and sharing
tracts daily from one fm:ily to another. l'cople learn much fiom their teachings
and the booklets they s11arr.r:.
People have also learnt a lot from their early morning preachings. Their I
open air crusades are the most educative. Sometimes they teach in a particular-
place for seven consecutive days. They choose topics that have relevance to the
society and the speakers are trained pastors, some of them are graduates, some
with Masters and Ph.D. degrees.
On the other hand, the qlracks arnong these Pentecostals have misled X "
mimy people wiih their wrong teachings. Many of their teachers and merrlhers
alike ru-e very fmatical and do not accept other people's Gews. Many cf them,
especially thc illiterates among them, who were hur~iedly taught how to r e d
and write, qude thc Biblc wrongly and sometimes out of context. Ile rruy q3on
Ihe borbk is!' Job xxl tell you he is reading ficm the Gospe! of8T .rrke. 'I%q h v e ,
I I > . .
not really learnt how to quote correctly and how to locate the books of the
liblu.
6.4 Economic Impact
The c-s~stblishmer:: of Pentecostal Churches is of hnense ecw~umlc
benefit to Orlu people. Wmy young men and women em1 their living &om
evangelical and other church services. Some are hlly employed by these
13entecostals. All the pastors and other ministers of God, as they are called, urc:
paid salaries at the end of the month. The founders with the ministers
mpch ffrorn the various church offerings. Apart fkom the cash, there are athcr
items of ecorlornic value being offered in the church such as goats, sheep, fowls,
h i t s , eggs, clothes and other materials.
,.. --- In some Pentcc:jstal Churches there arc prescribed i~erm to be offered by-
couples prcserhg hcwhors babies for blessing, couples preparing for wedding
rurd people r~ijr~~siing spccial prayers. h b l tinics son^ well-Iu-clu individuals,
who attribute rhcir fitinaracial success to pastor's prayers, domate big sums of
money for the pastor's upkeep. At other times, congregations contribute money
to buy cars for their pastors. The pastor of the Faith Tabernacle is an example
in this regard. His car was bought by the church.
The ncga tk ecunori-iic consequences of these Pentecostiils on the
cunmunity are numerous also. The task of building and sustiiining these
churches are !,he responsibility of the cl-iurch members. These members su&r
urtold finruiciz! hardships as a result of constant contributirms in form ofch~rcch
dues, Icvies, special levies, tithes and harvest levies.
Most of tllcsc Pentecastal members me men and women with no stable , I' > 1.
source of income yet they contribute much to the church. Sometimes evay 5 .
member is asked to bring two eggs or yams fbr the pastor. Some of the
rneh~bers do not cat eggs in their houses. . 1
h appreciable size of the land in Orlu today harbour Pentecostal Church
buildirlgs. The ficnl!ies and the com~unities that own them axe deprived of
spaces for agricultural work aid the economic e&t of such deprivation is very
obvious. Not only that, before building these churches, many ecomrnlc trees
and cash crops were iicstroyccl. 'Illis mcans huge economic lo .s to the 1
co~nrnunity since the process is likely to be endemic, for the Pentecuslal
Churches arc proliferating steadily.
Qwmdu over rnuriey have always created very formidable problems in
the Pentecostal Churches md this has caused schism in the church. Soizii:
pastors charge money after prllgiirig and prophesying for people. They are
surely held to be Filse proplvcts since their motives are not spiritual but
economic They are inteqrekrs of ckeanl, witch-hunters and fortune tellers
who predict prosperity in busincss 'lo pleasc their desperate client.
6.5 Psychological Xrrvpact
Ndiokwere supports the claims of mmy authors that 'sickness in Afi-icu'
or 'African sickness' is largely psychological (198 1 : 1 18). In general, an
average vi!lager believes that m y type of tablet or herb can relieve his
headache, pain in the stomach or the eyes. The only important thing is that he
succeeds in getling hold of one, and one should not be surprised if the sick niwr
claims to haw bccrr, cured sitter a short while.
This is true of peuplc with difTerent problems who patrorlise the . -
Pentecostal Churches. l'myer is the pamcea. Be it barremess, sterilily;
marriage problem, insonmia, etc., a5 fix as these 'Doctors of all dise:aes' are
concerned the word 'diagnosis' does not exist.
Ihe success of the Pentecostal healers lies
share completely with their African fellows their
largely in the t i i t tlut they
dread of witchcraft, poison,
chams ai:! the hf luenx of evil .spirits a d heir belief in their terrible realities.
No doubt, the psychological side of h e Pentecostal treatment has a whr~l~~sunie
ixlflue~lce on Iniuiy of the patients.
Tlre achievements of these cirurches in treating psy~hosoruatii; sic;hess
I lrnvic been re~trgrrised In Orlu. 'X'hm are two young men who are today strzunch
numbers of the Assemblies of God Church. Some years back, they were
mentally-dermged but today they have been rehabilitated by the Pentecostal
joined the Pe~itecnstrtl Church. Today they hruve issues of their own. Medical
doctors recognise the crippling effects of an Afiican woman's anxiety over her
sterility, or the slightest delay in conception. the Pentecostal Churches they
are. made tu feel psychologically at ease by priiyers of assurance and
reassurances that their problems have been solved in the spirit world waiting to I
be tnanifested iri the physical world. In addition, joyfiil ~nusic and danciuig
<- - p H
~nulcc hem fccl bcttcr relaxed thun before.
Many young girls and ladies who are not married, join the Pentec~std in
order to get .their problems solved. 'Ihe Pastors and Evangelists make them
believe tl1:l:rt their righ~liil h u s b ~ ~ d ; rsl-e on the way. In the irnuim, he makes
dmn believe aid profess 'Jesus is their husband'. Youlg men who
approach them fw friendship are shunned by their proud responses - 'lesus is
my Irwsbmd', 'Jesus is rny guy', Jesus is my boyfriend'. This has psyc;hological
advantage: they are not married really but they are less worried than before.
On t l ~ other himd there: wtrc some negitive p~ychologlcal impacts of
these Pentecostals. Some young men and women t h y have made Pentecostal
Churches their homes. They are there day and night praying, singing and
Fating. They regard things like schooling, trading and other jobs as worldly
things which should not be sou~ht aAer. The teachings they receive &bm
Pe~l~ccostal teachen phis tlt'lr:ir aspimiion to go to heaven when the wor!d ends,
have psychologically made them to loose touch with reality. ,
There a t : ;-@a1 c w s of people who have gone redly insane us a result of
the wild teachings rceeived born Pentecostal Churches. One notable case is tlmt
of rr rnari who livcs in thc markut place iodrry. Pcople who kncw him wry well
when he wiis sane said hc: d w z l ~ niuch un thc rapture (second c;orniug of (Sl-rrisl) , ....
rind the u&er apocalyptic writings. He only attended primary scl~oul and he
wanted to capture the meaning of thost: apocalyptic images and symbols that
pose problerns even to the experts.
The Penr.ecostais are surd y responding to the psychological needs of
Oriu people bul there is a need for caution against extremities espzcklly the
abstract anci wild interpre tatiuils given to some bi blicrrl passages:
6.6 Political Impact
The Pentecostals have not made much political impact in Orlu. As law-abiding
citizens they pay their tax regularly. It is in their nature that they do not join I
political parties. Only iiiw of them exercise their civic responsibility of voting
during elections. Very few of them accept political appointments. They keep
away &om viilage meetings.
I h e pollkic;llE imphition of the above is obvious. The community does
not benefit much &om such a view and therefore development may not be
accelerated The Ip,hov;zh's witne~.;es are the worst in this regard. They steer
clcw from all political pmctices connected with tlre community. It is common
knowledge that their members do not sing the National Anthem for it is against . -
their hith. To sing the National Anthem means venerating the nation instead of
God.
Most times Fcntccostal members do not accept political posts when
ofrered to hem. They maintain that Christians are not supposed to be liivolved
in politics. hi somo c u e s where they assumed political leadership posts, they
lrse e q)y:s:niiy in promoting the . interest of their church while:
discriminating against olficr religious denominations.
'Ihere has been internal ria between some Pentecostal Churches since
their emcgence in Orlu. Some new and young Pentecostals classiQ the old
and elderly Pentecostals as 'orthodox Pentecostals' who have lost the vision and
should give way for the ‘new Pentecostals' with new and fresh anointing for the
new move of God. According to Rev. Eze of the Free Love Pentecostal
Mission, the ortgxodox Pentecostals are old prophets that confwed and destroyed
the God-sent pr.:qht. The slogan of the new Pentecostals is - "let no man
despise your youh".
On tht: other hmd, dre older Pentecostsls see some of the new ones as
- - lntwviewing h c Rev, P.O. 13rumuirhu of the Assemblies of' God Church, he .
said: "For a bachelor to be iz General Superintendent of a Cllurch and direct her
afEitirs is an insult to God's household and a neglect of the scripture".
Another point that has caused dissension among some Pentecostals is the
ancess.,~! ccse/~over.anrrt-breilking sermon given by scme churches. These.
preachers preach that all that one's forehthers had done still follow him and his
children. They preach hat some of'the untimely deaths and hardships of some
family members can be traced f h r n their forefdthers whether Christims or non-
Christians. This. rulcestrd curse or covenant could only be broken ay special
p-ayers by them in their cl~urches. There are two Pentecostal Churches noted
for this in Orlu. '%is point has caused a lot of trouble between them and the
other Pentecostals, especially in their joint fellowslrip meetings.
The greatest point that causes qullrrcls among the Pentecostals is the
handling wid use of the spiritual gifts. Some Pentecostal Churches and
preachers are occultists who have refused to allow God to use them instead they
use God. Some attended school of occultism where they were taught how to
place hands, how they should shout and how many times they should shout and
their victims would fall 'under anointing'. A story has it that a pregnant
wonlan was forced down by a preacher and she had a miscarriage all in the
name of fdling under anointing in one Pentecostal Church in Orlu. This
incident till date has severed the church's relationship with some odlef '
Pentecostals who frown at the misuse of spiritual powers.
Illere arc other areas that ciluse rift among the Pentecostals which
include Pentecosti participation in tnrditional burial ceremonies and wedding
of divarcces in br: church. ?heir handling af these issues are not the same,
therefore those not in support always twtagoaise the others that get involved in
6.8 The Putwe of Pentec~stalism in Orlu
Pentecostalism as a religious movement has been a common
phenomenon wi th i the Nigerian scene and elsewhere. There has been
agreement and disagreement among scholars as to the factors that facilitate th&
rtlpid growth e~lerywhere. While some link their growth to religious factcm,
others adduce economic factors. Generally speaking, the fictors depend on the
locality one is studying.
Ir, Oriu where this reseucher is baed, many facion are aiding their
growth. Some of rhc rnir:istcn do not want to be controlled and monitored by
anybody, so they establish churches to have tliat spirit of hdcpe~xknce. Some
see the establishment of churchzs as a lucrative business venture; and because- -*'-
of their quest for material wealth, they establish churches.
Some establish Pe~~tecostal Churches because of their quest for position.
'I'hey want to bc called presidents and founders. There are the hstrdted ones
who, apart fi-om establishing churches, cannot fit into my other job again.
There are however, those who open churches genuinely for religious reason.
God has directed them lo do so (Ugwueye; l990:3O).
In as much as the Pentecostal Churches promise to have cures or
solutions to myriads of problems facing man, people as a matter of Fiwt, must
continue to pitxoilise; them. Orlu people like any other community have
problems and they run to the Pentccostds for solution. Ttre I'er~tecostal
solution, whether real or irnagimtl, has so f;hr proved to satisfy the people. The
intensive prqcrs they otkr is a daily alTdir - morning, afternoon, evening and
night - this reorientates man'to his God. An Orlu man cannot anbrd to keep
away &om Pentecostal Churches, so the future is bright for Pentecostalism in
Orlu.
1. Ndiokwere, N. (1981). Prophecy and Revolution. Great Britain: Cwolct Press, p. 1 1 8.
2. Ugwucyc:, L.E. (1990): "Independency in Igboland" A Case Study of Edcm, lbagwa-Ani, Tbagwa-&a, Okpuje and Opi"', H.A. Thesis, Dept. oflieligion, U Y ?A, y.30.
CHAPTER SEVEN
E'E'ALGATXON AND CONCLUSION
7.1 Evaluation of Pentecostalism in Orlu
The orthodox (mission or mainline) churches - here the Catholic and'
Anglican - moved into Orlu in 1916 and 1934 respectively. The Catholic
Church after ten years of its establishment in Orlu had expmdcd to some Orlu
conmunitics rind niter dmt stopped expanding. The Anglican Church too
stopped expanding afer ter~ years of its establishment. Ten is not magical
number but the real number of' years for mainline church expansion as noticed
by the researcher. From the11 till now, the two churches have stopped < .-
/
expanding. The qaestion now is why the stunted growth pattern of the orthodox
churches?
The few onhodox churches in Grlu were brought by the Europeans in
~01hb0mtii)n with som native chiefs. People still sw it as the respo~lvibility of
die Europ~.runs to cxpand his orthodox varicty of Christianity, This is also true
of so mimy o h r lgbo xew where the Europeans e9tablished orthodox
churches. AStcr the establishment of the churches, and since the Europeans
left, nobody thinks of expanding Ihese ch~lrches.
Anohm reason for the stmtcd growth of the orthodox churches is that
they have nothing new to oEer. At the initial time of their establishment, the
orthodox churches were esbblished along with hospitals and schools, which no
doubt sewed as points of attraction to the people. Today the case is different.
Hospitals and schools are established by govemmerrt, cormnunities and
individuals withoul nc:cessarily establishing the ortlwdox churches along with
them.
Zmtly. the orthodox churihes are not like the Pentecostal churches in the
sense t h t h::y iwe ,lot owned by individuals. The organised system of
administmiion does not allow one to form an orthodox church without proper
approval of the Pwish and Ihocese. . --
The Perztccostal Churches moved into Orlu area in mid 60's and grew
mostly in the 70's m d 80's. From the study conducted, these Pentecostal
Churches came into Orlu area through fbur ways:
Most of the Pentecostal Churches were founded by natives who were
healed of one disewe or another in the Pentecostal Church, especially when they
were residi~~g outside Uxir towr~s. ' he second way df expwuiori was when
same specialised religious personnels decided to bring the churches to Orlu.
'Ihese rue itinerant biblical teachers who see founding of Pentecostal Churches
a tlreir responsibility.
hnahcr way of expansion was when members of Pentecostal Cli~~rches
took the church to places where they go for their daily bread. The Deeper Life
Church at Qrh: was founded by a school teacher who came on a transfer fiom
another Local Government Area. Thc: last category was where members of
Mainline Churches or. Pentecostal Churches separated because of one reason or
the other to foim their own churches. Many I'entecostal Chi~rches in the area
under study w c t ~ fnuridtxi by the last group. The reasons for their separation
range 0 : i squabbles tu accusations of embezzlement and
unfai tlifulness.
Using a ten yearly pattern of growth, one could notice that 1980 to 1990
witnessed the fastest growth of the Pente~ostal Churches in the area under a .
study. Sonx reasons: are accountablt: for dlis. J:ormesly the p-cple were
satisfied with the rnairilirlc ci-ilu.ciies thcy tliterdtxl, but now they are becoming
more conscious of' other miterial and spiritual benefits of owning a church.
'There has been a siilil kern biblical tradition to other things. From where the
leader gets the power f'or prophecy and vision seeing is entirely nobody's
business.
Thl: prevalent mass unemployn~cnt in vogue contributed to the fast
growth of the Pentecostal Churches. Many unemployed graduates and school
leaven teax rrp to form churclies here a id there. The hstrated ones are among
this group.
Competitio~l was another reason that contributed to the f a t growth of the
Pentecostal Churches during this period. The est;iblishment of one Pentecostal
Church in an m a eventually attmcted others.
Development was another factor that contributed to the accelerated
growth of Perrtecostal Churches in the area during this period. Electrification of
rural area, consmctiorfi of road and establishment of schools helped in
attracting hs churcbe~. Develogmc,lt brings about the concentmtior~ of peoplc
in a place ~ ~ n d cf lwh fouide~s with their ministers seize such opportunities to
Finily. the Ponfmcxtal Churches have many traiiiing institutions in. the
country; some Pentecostal ieaders even train their recruits in their homes. As a
result many ev~lngelists in the form of pastors and reverends were produced
during this period. Some of the lJantecostals deliberately open up new
l'eritecos~ Churches for these trained ones to manage.
In other Perrtecostal Churches where new churches are not opened for
these newly trrtined ones, they (the mined ones) bccausc of h e urge to lead,
separated to tom their own Pcntccostal Churches.
9 1
7.2 Limitations of the Sturdy
Ihis study 11envi!y d i e d upcin I&iwork, which invdved conducting
interviews with foudcrs, nlembers and pastors uf these Pentecostal Churches.
The l'entecosta! Churches are staggered all over Orlu. Sometimes the members
that would give vital information were not there, so the researcher managed to
get informatiom fiom some rnernbers who were not infor~necl about their
churches and this became a limitation.
Another limitation of the study is thit the well informed members and
paston who grunted the researcher interview did not want to answer some
questions they did not likc or perhaps they were not satisfied with the
explanation that the answers are memt for academic purposes only. _ _ - -
L,as;tly, money conrstituted a limitation to the study. IIL some I circunlstmccs, 1~1a11y !eu-ned p a w s made elaborate explanations during
interviews hut the researcher had not nroney to buy a small tape recorder to tape
all the interviews, which could have helped in detailed analysis.
7.3 Stlggestions for Future Research
Very kw documented researdies lxwe been done on this subject in some
parts of Orlu area. 11 is the honest suggestion of the researcher to point out
some angles by which Pentecostdisrn could be looked at by future researchers
in Orlu.
TIN healing method in the Pentecostal Churches sometimes resemble
that of the lrudltional herbalists. It will be worthy to conlpare Exorcism in
traditional setting and l'entecostalisrn.
It was noticed by the researcher hiat these Pentecostals actually posses
swle spiritual powers -s they claim. l'he theme - 'Pentecostal Possessing
Spirit' -will make a nice topic to find out which spirit possesses them.
Lr:stly, il will be worthwhile to cariy out a research on Pentecostalism in
the Mainline Churches in Orlu. Presen~ly the Chwisrnatic Catholic ltenewal
and the Evangelical Fellowship of the Anglican Communion (WAC), show- -
some features similar to that of the Pentecostal Churches.
Thc emergence of Pentecas~;~l Churches in the area under study has been
of immense concern to rnmy people. It has attracted unfavourable co:nments
&om non-mernben who sre the whole pkenamenon as representing nothing but
chaos in rdigioa. llrcy argue that people have 'multiplied evil by multiplying
of churches (Nweke; 198826). They wire worried about much of their
Pdn'iticism, crmneous ideas md his misleading claims. It is not always easy
for them to understad why new chwches should be firnned, in spite of the
increasing effort being r!lade to unite the old ones.
But people need to realise that most church movements start with a view
to recovzr the true Christianity which they believed hitd been adulterated by the
European-related churches. 'l'hsir role is not always that of trying to break the
church as some would say. On the whole .they represent a revival and renewal
in Christianity, sutrice it ro say h i t these Peutecostal Clrwches have come to
stay and we CGW be sure that no one will be able LO stop their accelenting
profusion now md in the fuwre. What is needed ii.om both the Mainline and
lJentecostal Churches is the cw-pxation needed to fig!\( the evils and bjustices * .-/
in our society.
Leriady, the pwple of 01-lu and Nigeria as a coulltry need real men of
God who car1 speak out ;igainsl injuglice and social evil, who can wiirn this
generdtlm against the, consequences of closing their ears to reason. The rich
and public dGce hold~rs must not go uncondermred for their oppression of the
poor m d the rwdy. Nigeria is a nation where some of the leatlers embezzle
millions OC naira meant for he public while poverty and wretchedness continue
to bring a large percentage oftheir populaticsns to an untin~ely death.
The co~dcsnnalion of evil is of course the task k i n g every man of gcxK1-
will-Christian or non-Christian. It is above all, one of the primary tasks of
nliilisters of reiigion; especially these Pentecostals who claim divine salrctim
for tllcir ~uission mong the brethren, a d who are expected to give xcount of
the stewwdstrip implied in their high office. They we to condenrrl evil in
whatever quarter it is rtrmd. * They shouId play the rolc of social reformers, uim
at constructing a; himan society worthy of God's people; and to further this,
they rrlust becorne ii~rcef'ul defenders of fwdarnental human rights and promote
equality and fi-dterrrily. They must be revolutionaries, although this revolution
should be gcared towi~d tlre reform of men's heart.
' h e achievement of the above objectives should be the central concern
of all churches m d all religions in a society such as ours. Professor Erne Awa,
bel'ore he died, saw tllc rlacd Tor religion towwds social mobilkation aid "
stabillnition oi' our socicty. I-Ie called fix team eirort and enjoined "all
Clruisaims not to leave my group out in the attempt to harness our religious
resources" (1 972).
fn xlzr: fitul arralysis, the future is bright for these Pentecostal Churches.
'Ibis is becaw: people who fill their churches are the sick, the needy, those
seeking filrancial prasperity, women seeking children atad husbands, people
hiwing delnvjiiz attacks, people suspicious of their neighbours, people seeking
protection and others i~lterested in prophecy and vision-seeing. As long as these
Pentecostal Cnurches exist to proffcr workable solutions to m u ' s prulblerris, m d
since man is always engaged in iFirtding solution to his problems; these
l'entecos~l Chwsi~cs will continue to grow and have more adherents.
Chapter Seven - Notes
1. Nweke, A.O.C. (1988). "Churches should pa: Febiwary i l , p. 26.
v Times.
2 . Awa, B.O. (1972). Address to the Participants of All Clergy Seminar on Religions situation in Nigeria Today, held under the auspices of Dzpmrent of Religion, U N.N.
Agha, A.U ., 1997, Early European ~ i s s i o n i to Wesl Africa: An Introductiiun to We~r African Church JJisiory. Enugu: Calvaryside Publishing and Printing. *..
Arlyaegbu, J., 1 99 1 , The Growth and Development uf P enfecostal Evangelical Movernevlts in Igbiuluntl= A Cuse Study of Nurfh- Western Igbuland, 19.56- 1991): Unpublished M A . Tl~esis, Depmeni of Rzligion, U.N.N . ,
Ayp, E.O., 1972, ,\ddress to the Participants of All Clergy Seminar on Keiigiou~s Situation in higeria Today, held under the ausoices of Dcpwtmcnt of Religion, U.N .N.
Babalola, E.O., 976, Chrisliunity in West A fdm: An Historical Analysis. Ibacian: Jlimboiz Pt~blishers.
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Journal ofReligion i i ~ African, 1967, Vol. I
Kalu, O.U., 1975, "Traditionaiisrn and Modem Evmgelical Strategy", WAA, XVI, No. 7,
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Lmternari, 1 963, The Keligiorr of the ,Oppreusrd. English edition, London.
Leo, Joseph, 1975, Civdinal S'uones A New Pentecost, London: 1,ongman.
Ndiokwere, N., I 98 1, Prophecy arid Revolution. Great Britain: Carnolet Press.
Ngugi W a Thiongo, 1968, The River Between. London. Heinenlam.
Nweke, A.O.C., 1988, "Churches Should Pay Tax", Daily Times, February 11.
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Pminder, E.G., 1953, Religion in un African CiQ, London: Heinemann.
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'I'aylor and Lehrn'm, 1969, The Clrristiurrs of the Copperbelt London: Heincmm.
Turner, I-I.W., l9ri7, African Iiwiependent Church II. London: O.U.P.
Ugwueye, L.E., 19P0, "hdepcndecy in Igboland: A Case Study of Edem, Okpqje, lbagwa hid Opi". Unpublished B.A. llesis, Deparfx~ent of Religim, 1J.N.W.
Welbourn, F.d., I 96 1 , Etc~t A frican Xebels, London: Heinernanrl.
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