Review of Published Works

Parrinder⁴ (1953) examines some religions practiced in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria. The author provides an insight into the traditional religious beliefs of the Yoruba, their orisha deities, ancestor, witchcraft and totem and concludes that deity worship was diminishing but superstition survives in charms, which diviners and priests prepared. Parrinder provides further insights into Islam in Ibadan, which he claims the northern Muslim traders introduced in early nineteenth century, earlier than 1836 when Oluyole became the military leader of Ibadan (p.64). The author chronicles the advent of Christianity in Ibadan and various Christian bodies that contributed to Christian evangelization and educational development of the city (86-106). His presentation of the prayer-healing Aladura churches along the African churches as separatist sects is a mismatch (107-132). Parrinder acknowledges the integration of non-biblical and biblical traditions in the belief and practice of some Aladura churches. The author specifically asserts that “the Seraphim began well, but ‘they are neither African nor foreign, but they are between and betwixt’” (127). The author’s sharp description of the belief and practice of Aladura speaks much about his inadequate information about Aladura churches. He describes worship in Seraphim churches including their material culture as unsophisticated and highlights the rituals of candle light and incense burning. The author notes that most members of the Aladura were drawn from the mainline churches and

4 A British anthropologist, academic and ordained Methodist priest wrote extensively on West African traditional religious beliefs and oriental religions.

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identifies one of their leaders as former Roman Catholic Church member. He says most of the women were uneducated and that Yoruba language was the medium of communication during prayers, sermons and announcements. However, Parrinder’s anthropological work lacks the intensity and updates which this study intends to provide on the Aladura Churches.

In his two volume work on the Church of the Lord Aladura, Turner⁵ (1967) provides a rich historical data about the origin and spread of TCLA from the Southwest to other parts of Nigeria and West African sub-region of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ghana. In volume one, the author chronicles the formation, growth and success of TCLA that are associated with the literacy and charismatic power of founder Josiah Ositelu. In volume two, Turner presents a vivid description of the organization and theological analysis that centers on the doctrine, worship, revelation, and healing practice of the Church. The study offers basic information on the social composition of the church membership as that, which comprises “cross-bearers, members, clinic members or ‘clients’, ‘well-wishers or supporters’, and casual associates”

(p.9). The author says these categories of people were predominantly of Yoruba extraction that was largely drawn from the older churches. Turner describes the organization of the Church of the Lord Aladura as a formless structure at the onset. He highlights the role of women in the church, and argues that their “disabilities and weakness” rest on the influence of traditional African superiority and privilege of male over female, and the traditional belief in timely female impurity (p.43). The author presents a theological analysis of the integration of Yoruba religion and biblical tradition in the belief and practice of the church. Although it is a foundational empirical study on which other researches on TCLA have been built, Turner’s approach to his study on TCLA largely in West Africa is more of a historian of religion than his theological calling, as he dwells on the theological aspect of the church with minor concern. Importantly, this study deviates from Turner’s area and scope of study, locating it within Nigeria and making the scope inclusively three major strands of Aladura Churches.

More so, this study provides an update beginning from the end of Turner’s study on TCLA.

Peel⁶ (1968) provides a sociological account of Aladura churches, particularly on Christ Apostolic Church and Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ibadan. The author examines the traditional social structure of the Yoruba that is varied in terms of kinship and settlement patterns, but similar in their claim of common ancestor, Oduduwa, and cultural and religious

5 A British theologian.

6J.D.Y. Peel trained as a sociologist and anthropologist and consistently factors in his multidisciplinary experiences in his study on the Aladura among the Yoruba. His ground breaking study on Aladura: A Religious Movement among the Yoruba was the third major study on Aladura Christianity. E.G. Parrinder’s (1953) and H.W. Turner’s (1967) works were the first and second respectively.

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affinity. The author says the Yoruba socio-cultural background has a considerable influence on the beliefs and practices of the Aladura as contained in chapter four page 114 and the following pages. Peel presents historical and sociological accounts of two largest groups of Aladura in Nigeria: the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) and Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S).

Firstly, the author describes the religious life of the duo as that premised on the churches’

beliefs and doctrines, worship, spiritual warfare and festive occasions. The author describes the Aladura as a response to social change in an emerging city that is regarded as the epicenter of the Yoruba in Southwestern Nigeria. Trained as an anthropologist and sociologist, the author combines sociological, historical and theological approaches to examine and describe the emergence of Aladura Christianity and its integrated world-view in a city that was experiencing progressive social change. He argues that a member of a community can consciously attempt a rejuvenation of some selected aspects of the community culture. He draws strength from this position to emphasize the place of the cultural symbols that are employed in Aladura worship and belief system, which in some way help to revive or perpetuate some aspects of Yoruba religion. As a reinterpretation of western Christianity, the author states that members of the Cherubim and Seraphim were mostly Protestants and relatively literate. In a demographic analysis, the author states that most members of the Aladura were migrants, largely artisans, while others were civil servants, traders and contractors. Peel’s study offers basic background information about the less defined organizational structure of Aladura churches with characteristic overlapping roles, which had a great influence on most schisms and frictions in the church leadership. The study brings to the fore the appropriation of agbara (spiritual power) of the Woli (prophets) whose ‘power surge’ promotes dissident factions, and whose “unrestricted visions, and the denunciation of people as witches” stirred up confusion in congregations (p.280). Although it is one of the ground breaking studies on Aladura Christianity, it does not offer how the Aladura churches have redefined themselves over time. Peel’s study was located in Ibadan, while the current study examines the Aladura phenomenon in a wider perspective. This study also differs from Peel’s because it limits its focus on Aladura Churches that wear white garment, commonly referred to as ‘the spiritist or spiritual Churches’. Although Peel provides some historical and theological accounts of Aladura churches in Ibadan, it is largely sociological, but this research is a multiple case study, providing a wide range of currents on Aladura in Ibadan, Lagos and Jos.

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Mitchell’s⁷ (1970) work is a sociological study on Aladura churches in Ibadan particularly the Apostolic churches, Cherubim and Seraphim, and the Church of the Lord Aladura. In the preface of his study, the author traces the beginning of Christianity in Nigeria and the emergence of African independent churches, which he classifies into the African churches and the Aladura. Mitchell further classifies the Aladura into the apostolic and spiritual types and mentions the Cherubim and Seraphim as an example of the spiritual type. The author examines and describes the emergence of Aladura as a response to a whole lot of inadequacies that social change and modernization have considerably influenced. He says that the inability of the mainline churches to substitute the “therapeutic this-worldly emphasis of traditional African religion” with “satisfactory alternative” aided the transformation, which Christianity experienced at the emergence of the Aladura (p.27). His work addresses basic question of the causal factors for the emergence of NRMs, particularly the Aladura, and deemphasizes the protest theory on the ground that the movement was not an initiative against the imposition of the colonial regime in Nigeria due to the considerable tolerance that the movement enjoyed during the period. Mitchell argues that economic, social, ethical and psychic deprivations that make an individual or group feel disadvantaged and internalize some framework for abating the effects of modernization triggered the emergence of Aladura Christianity and the patronage, which it enjoys. Like Harold Turner’s and John Peel’s, Mitchell’s work addresses basic issues of social composition of membership recruitment, which it asserts was largely drawn from the uneducated and clerk class who were predominantly Yoruba immigrants in Ibadan. The author also reports that the educational attainment of the leadership of the Aladura and their prophets was considerably low. It offers great insight into the triple role of Aladura prophets as diviners, healers, and pastors as a frame for understanding the patronage and prestige, which they enjoy. However, in scope and time, this study differs from Mitchell’s: while Mitchell focuses his study on the Apostolic, Cherubim and Seraphim, and the Church of the Lord Aladura, this study is broader as it includes Celestial Church of Christ;

this study has a wider approach than Mitchell’s that is localized to Ibadan. Secondly, this study deviates from the concern of Mitchell’s study, which examines the contributions of Aladura to social change in Ibadan. Mitchell’s study is dated and does not offer empirical data

7 Trained as an American historian, theologian, and sociologist at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral stages of his education, Robert Mitchell combines his interdisciplinary experiences in his study on the Aladura among the Yoruba. He is the author of African Primal Religions (1977), and co-authored with Harold Turner African Religious Movements: A Comprehensive Bibliography (1967). Since then, Mitchell’s attention has been in Environmental Sociology. His later publications, notably Valuing Oil Spill Prevention: A Case Study of California’s Central Coast (2004) and Using Survey to Value Public Goods: The Contingent Valuation Method (1989) showcase his shift of academic interest in societal-environmental interaction.

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about recent resilience and transformation of the Cherubim and Seraphim, the Church of the Lord Aladura, and Celestial Church of Christ in the diversified Nigeria.

Hackett⁸ (1980) examines the growth and change in the CCC. She traces the transformation, which the CCC has undergone for over thirty years of its existence and attributes it to the mobility characteristic of the AICs of which the CCC is one; the legitimacy and authority of the founder who was a charismatic leader; integrated liturgy in which the biblical elements Christianize the traditional religious elements; media publicity particularly the prints;

commercialization through the sale of car-stickers, crucifix, records, hymn books and consecrated objects and liquids; and improved economic status of old members. The author traces the growth and change in the CCC from when it was small and had informal following during which everything centered around the charismatic founder and during which power of prophecy considerably impinged on the fixation of doctrine. Hackett identifies a later shift to

“a permanent congregation with fixed rites and duties” (162). She states further that prophetic healing and problem-solving activities attracted more members and led to the creation of parishes that necessitated the formulation of standards of doctrines and practice to stop some deviations and prevent further strange ideas and practices. The author posits that it was after twenty years of its existence beginning from 1967 that the CCC began to undergo remarkable transformation, notably urban spread; bureaucratic organizational structure; and that regulations were printed in booklet form. Hackett does not provide statistical data to support her statement that membership of the CCC in Nigeria and in the diaspora was largely of Yoruba extraction. This study intends to fill this gap, particularly the demography of the current membership of the CCC in Nigeria. The author also states that the CCC during her study lacked evidence of worldwide evangelistic outreach in non-African congregations. This study intends to bring to the fore attempts, which the church has made over the years to establish platforms for effective evangelism, various means of ministration, and the change in other aspects of the church, which the author describes as having low level of development.

Omoyajowo⁹ (1982) presents detailed historical and theological accounts of the Cherubim and Seraphim which, within its first fifteen years of existence, 1925-1941 split into six independent groups namely, Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim, Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim, Praying Band of Cherubim and Seraphim, Holy Flock of Christ, Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, and Holy Order of Cherubim and Seraphim

8 A scholar of African religions particularly new religious movements.

9 A Nigerian church historian and retired Professor currently serving as the Anglican bishop of Ijebu-Ode. He is also the author of Makers of the church in Nigeria 1842-1947 (1995).

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Movement Church. The Author attributes this to leadership conflicts and allegations of impropriety. The author provides an in-depth analysis of the integrated theology of the church, and says that the mix of biblical tradition and African traditional religious elements in the belief and practice of the church does not have eroding influence on members’ faith in Christ. He acknowledges the low level of literacy in the leadership of the church but rules out its correlation with the growth and expansion of the church. According to Omoyajowo (1982:124), “in spite of Orimolade’s ‘illiteracy’ and physical uncomeliness and in spite of Abiodun’s age and sex, the C&S Society, which they founded expanded rapidly”. The author examines the administrative structure of the church, which he says was not uniform among various sections of the movement. The approach of this study differs from Omoyajowo’s.

Omoyajowo in his historical-phenomenological approach describes the beginning, growth, theology and the organizational development of the church as a case study. Similarly, this study is polymethodic in approach but within the context of multiple case studies. The examination and description of the transformation of Aladura Christianity through the lens of market economy further makes this study to differ from Omoyajowo’s work. The previous study inspires the attempt to inquire about the transformation that the church has witnessed over time.

Probst (1989), a German anthropologist, draws on the findings of previous researchers about the low level of education of Aladura founders, prophets and members to present the discourse on the influence of literacy on religions in general and Aladura Churches in particular. He says that the “prophets belong to the very identity of the Aladura movement and traditionally had a great pool among the people” (490) and that the uneducated and fairly educated attitude towards prophecy and spiritual power differs from the educated few that study the text of the bible and interpret what it says. In doing this, the author examines TCLA as a typical case to demonstrate the consequences of literacy on the church. He relates the literacy of TCLA founder Josiah Ositelu to the success of his movement. He says that the advent of Christianity and its evangelization activities through formal education prepared the African for conversion and full confession of Christ. The author presents Ositelu’s exploit of a combination of literacy in the letter and the spirit in recording all his visions and messages in exercise books, which were later published in six massive journals comprising about ten thousand entries of revelations. He also compiled a number of Arabic and Egyptian like seals as revealed to him, and employed same literacy to explain the events of his time, which in some cases pitched him against the colonial government. The author posits that Ositelu must have acquainted himself with some writings and happenings, which formed the background

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and strong factor for his writings: Islam and the use of the Qur’an for ritual purposes influenced his strange words; printed materials that were in circulation at his time conveyed rich information about social, economic and political upheavals in Yoruba land; his knowledge of the existence of traditional and foreign cultic bodies, namely Ogboni cult, AMORC, Freemasonry lodges, Muslim diviners, complex Yoruba cosmology and divination systems, different healing techniques, occultic literatures such as 6^th and 7^th books of Moses, Solomon’s book of Palmistry; newspapers, Magazines and bulletins, and highly syncretistic atmosphere contributed to his literacy. According to the author, the dominance of written texts in TCLA was a response of the church to literacy, which began with the founder. That the conception of literacy in the church is holistic is not in doubt considering the discourse that the prophets were not lettered in western standard, but were lettered in spirit against the position that the “gift of the spirit” will amount to nothing unless legitimated by the bible, the letter. Probst explains that the position of the prophets was that the bible was not the only source of God’s words; that prophets were able to interpret the “unwritten words of God”

revealed to them in visions. This suggests that both the letter and the spirit complement each other and that the combination of the two has far-reaching influence on TCLA. However, our point of departure here is the wide range of transformation, which this study intends to investigate in three Aladura churches, including the educational attainment of prophets and other members of the Churches.

Crumbley’s (1989) study on Aladura, particularly on Christ Apostolic Church, the Church of the Lord Aladura, and the Celestial Church of Christ is remarkable because it was the second major research on TCLA after Turner’s 1967 study. Her study was the second after Joseph Omoyajowo’s (1982) in the 1980s. It can be said here that Omoyajowo’s and Crumbley’s studies reawakened Aladura scholarship during the emerging upsurge of the new Pentecostals in Nigeria. Crumbley’s study brings to the fore how leadership ideology particularly legal, traditional and charismatic authority (19-27), divine revelation, gender, and self-interest are significant to institutional building of three indigenous Aladura Churches as organizations.

The author traces the origin of Aladura Christianity to the remarkable dream that Daddy Ali¹⁰ had, which led to the formation of a small cell of prayer warriors within the Anglican Church in Ijebu Ode and later metamorphosed into major and minor independent Aladura Churches.

The author says that the churches’ ideology and rituals of well-being, which are completely

10 A Sexton and member of the Anglican church, Italupe, Ijebu Ode who dreamt that major half of the church was in total darkness representing members who used native medicine for healing, while the less half used prayer. This led to the formation of a small group of prayer warriors called the Precious Stone Society (Egbe Okuta Iyebiye) within the church that dedicated themselves to fervent prayers and healing.