Christ in African Indigenous Churches: a Case Study of the Celestial Church of Christ, Southwest Nigeria

Abraham, Damilola Bukunmi (2024) Christ in African Indigenous Churches: a Case Study of the Celestial Church of Christ, Southwest Nigeria. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool Hope University.

Text Damilola's Thesis FINAL COPY JULY 2024.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only until 1 August 2026. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (2MB)

Abstract

This study investigates the Christology of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), one of the churches in the Aladura movement in southwest Nigeria. Employing a qualitative
approach that includes interviews and analysis of church documents to gather the research data, it identifies and fills a comprehensive and systematic gap in the study of
the Christology of the CCC. The study reveals the centrality of Jesus Christ in the CCC, evidenced by the discovery of a host of contextually relevant Yoruba images of Christ
that shape the church’s self-identity and ecclesiology. These include such terms as Olugbala (Saviour), Alagbawi (Advocate), Olugbeja (Defender), Olori Ijo (The Head of
the Church), and Oba Imole (King of Light). The research shows that the Bible, the CCC’s creed, the Yoruba tradition, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are all important
sources for Christological portrayals and discourses in the church. However, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Emi Mimo) took precedence over all sources. It is the Emi
(Spirit) that reveals Christ to them. The Spirit dictates all decisions, actions, events, worship, rituals, and practices in the church. As a result, members believe that all doctrines and beliefs in the church are Spirit-inspired, including their experience and knowledge of Jesus Christ and how they sing and talk about Him. Consequently, the
research discovers Emi-Inspired Christology (EIC) as the study’s overarching contribution. The study contributes uniquely to the understanding of Christ in the wider
Aladura African Indigenous Churches (AICs). It helps to refocus on African contextual Christology and develop grassroots Christology in Africa.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Additional Information and Comments:	Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Creative Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities
Depositing User:	Matthew Adams
Date Deposited:	03 Jul 2024 08:24
Last Modified:	16 Dec 2024 15:24
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4312

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