S University of Nigeria · ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS idiormation supplied by people arid books written by virious auhrs.To thii erul therefore, 1. whli ti, thank my infunna~rts at Orlu and

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.

Bwrett, D.B., 1'368, Schbrn and Renewt11 in Africa, London: Oxford University Press.

Coleman, J.S., 1 958, Nigeria: Background to Nationulism. California: - - Canlolet Press.

Ekpele, E.M.T., 1978, "Development of Sects in Eastern Nigeria", War, 13&14.

Friedrich, G., 1962, "Prophets and Propilecies in the New Testament" (Theological Dictionury of the New Tuslumrtri, Ffd N.

Grimley, d.13. and Rohinsoil, GX., 1966, Church Growth in Centrul uwd Sour'hrr2r ,W<ycria. Michigan: W illiuu Pub. Co.

Iwuagwu, A.O., 1976, " The t Iealinil; ,\ i i ~ & r y in the Church in Nigerir.", WAR, Vo!. 17.

-- 197'2, "The Spiritual Churches in the Eastern Statcs of Nigeria". Unpub!iahcd Ph.D. 'Thesis, Department of Religion.

Journal ofReligion i i ~ African, 1967, Vol. I

Kalu, O.U., 1975, "Traditionaiisrn and Modem Evmgelical Strategy", WAA, XVI, No. 7,

-- (pd) ! 988, Africm Church Historjogr~~h~v: An Ecuwr,-ical . Perspective Basel, Ev;mgelt:ichc, Oekumene.

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.

Ohanladike, E.G., 1 98 1, "Record and Knowledge of the Sabbath Not Lost at the Time of Christ and Ihe Spiritual GiRs of'the Holy Spirit". Unpublished record.

Okeke, B.C., 1998, "Proliferation of'Chwches in Amaifeke". Unpublished B.A. 'I'hesis, L)~pa."Inlent of Religion, U.N.N. +

Okwueze, M. 1 ., 1999, "Exorcism in Igbo Primal Religion, Old Testament and Pentecostalism". A Seminar Paper Presented at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 1 o~ ' , - 13*' April.

"Outrecrch" 1979 (Newsletter) of the Diocese of Owerri, Spacial Souvmir Supple:r~ent, April.

Pminder, E.G., 1953, Religion in un African CiQ, London: Heinemann.

Peel, J.D.Y., 1968, Aladura: A Religious Movement umong the Yorubrg. London: Oxford University Press.

Quest Mupzirre, 1979 Issue No. 10, Jan.

Sundkler, S.G.M., 1970, Bantu Prophcts in South Africa, London: J-khmuin.

'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.

West, Martins, 1974, People of the Spirit: "The Charismatic Movement among ATrlcm Independent Churches" (Journal of Theology fur S/A).

Documents

S University of Nigeria · ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS idiormation supplied by people arid books written by virious auhrs.To thii erul therefore, 1. whli ti, thank my infunna~rts at Orlu and