It retreated into Wales and Ireland as the Anglo-Saxon Immigration took place. The conflation of Technology and Psychology would prove effective as Missionaries became firmly implanted in African Nations across the Continent until they were able to gather favour with the Royal Families converting them to Christianity. All rights reserved. What does history say about the first Christians of Africa?The New Testament gives us one example: the Ethiopian eunuch evangelized and baptized by Philip in … That said, their efforts were not all that successful at the time. Under these circumstances, its certainly embarassing and shocking but not inconceivable why some Africans would be duped into believing that a White Man from the United States is the second coming of Christ, just because he looks like the Jesus or Saviour they just saw in the last Church Book and have been taught to believe in all their lives. Congo-Brazzaville 91.2% Reformers within the missionary churches as well as independent church leaders called for change in the institutionalized church. We urge you to visit their website and make use of the materials: www.dacb.org. Part 3: Passing the Mantle The First African Leadership The trend would however pick up in the late 19th Century as explorers like David Livingstone and Henry-Morton Stanley explored deeper into the African interior with the professed intention of spreading the ‘Gospel and ‘Civilization’. Points to Remember. Once it was introduced to Africa, Christianity slowly spread from Alexandria to Ethiopia. By the end of the third century, Christians in the eastern Magrib were in the majority. Christian missionaries in Africa often thought the people served multiple Gods; in reality, all forms of African religion held a belief in one supreme God. Spanish North Africa 80.3% Botswana 59.9% History. This leads many to solely identify Christianity with Europe. Christianity.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: Copyright © 2020, Christianity.com. The African Story: Amazing Growth, Unthinkable Persecution, The Dictionary of African Christian Biography, Part 1: The Genesis of the Church The Ancient Church in Egypt and Ethiopia, Part 2: The Continuation of the Sub-Saharan Church The European Contribution, Part 3: Passing the Mantle The First African Leadership, Part 4: "Pentecost" The African Church Seeks Its Own Language, The Love of Charles and Susannah Spurgeon, James Ossuary Passed a Test for Authenticity, Come, Father, Heal Our Land by Enos Martin. This led to both reform, on the one hand, and to the birth of thousands of "African Initiated Churches" (AICs) on the other. In the 15th century Christianity came to Sub-Saharan Africa with the arrival of the Portuguese. At the turn of the 20th century, Christianity was virtually nonexistent in many parts of Africa but is now the faith of the majority, as the following figures demonstrate: Other African countries with a significant Christian population are: Seychelles 96.9% The spread of the faith in Africa represents perhaps the most dramatic advance in all Christian history, and yet the names and stories of persons chiefly responsible are largely unknown. He did not, however, leave any of these in East Africa and the next missionary we hear about is Francis Xavier, the pioneer missionary, on his way to India, who had talks with Muslim leaders in Malindi in 1542. An Historical Overview by Michèle Sigg of DACB. Samuel Ajayi Crowther was the first African to be appointed bishop by the Anglican Church. Madagascar 49.5% Michael has since been deported by the Kenyan authorities, and the Pastors of the local Kenyan Church that had invited him to Kenya have also been arrested. In this way, Christianity arrived in Africa before it reached Europe. At first the church in Alexandria was mainly Greek-speaking. Africans continued to be subjected to both subliminal and overt messaging in which their culture was regarded as evil and it was continually impressed upon them that ‘Salvation’ lay in a White Jesus Christ figure. The school system introduced people in the country to new ideologies, ... these include the Celestial Church of Christ which arrived in western Nigeria from Benin to become one of Africa’s largest Aladura churches. Christianity is targeted by critics of colonialism because the tenets of the religion were used to justify the actions of the colonists. Alexandria had a large Jewish community. Some Bible translations render two words as “hell”, the Hebrew word “Sheol” and the corresponding Greek word “Hades”. 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