Europeans were seen as ruling Africans both in political and ecclesiastical matters'' (Falae). Both of these missionaries are working to share the Gospel with the Nigerian people. The story of the planting of Christianity in Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the Italian Roman Catholic priest, Father Berghero. Again, in West-Africa, the efforts to go beyond the coast to reach those inland with the gospel coincided with the southwards expansion of Islam which posed some threat to the expansion of the work of Christian evangelizing missions. Other sources mention that this number is around eighty-five million. The Hope Waddell Institute is named after him. J. G. Christaller produced a Twi Grammar and Dictionary. Mexico 130.83. She encouraged womens rights and protected children, notably, in the abolition of infanticide of twins in the Efik regions. Waterville Pub. *Ibadan Boys High School, Ibadan, 1938; The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. Therefore the period for the rise of Christianizing Missions in the late Nineteenth Century has been considered as reprise. He was a missionary that engaged in preaching engagements in Ijaye after he arrived from Abeokuta in 1853. Here are a few verses about it in the Bible. From Lagos, efforts moved to the East. The first batch, who came out between 1804 and 1806, included pioneer missionaries like Renner and Nylander. Ekechi, Felix K. Colonialism and Christianity in West Africa: The Igbo Case, 19001915. The Journal of African History 12, no. Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, List of missionaries to the South Pacific, List of Protestant missionaries to Southeast Asia, "Uganda's White Man of Work: A Story of Alexander M. Mackay", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Christian_missionaries&oldid=1151997040. In 1845 the C.M.S. Missionaries who served at Igbaja from 1950-2000 1. They relied very much on their home churches for their funds. 11 March 2021 | If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:12-14), Be nice to bandits, Sheikh Gumi tells Nigerians, releases tips on how to live peacefully with them, Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! (Luke 6:22), The beginning of the history of Christianity in Nigeria. 60% of unreached people groups live in countries closed to missionaries from North America. Through hard work and persuasion she succeeded in stopping the practice among the people of killing twins. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba. William F. P. Burton missionary pioneering in the, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 14:42. Ex-policeman who claims to be reincarnation of Jesus Christ finally arrested (photos). She was rejected by the China Inland Mission after failing to pass the necessary exams, but agreed to work for a 73-year-old missionary, Jeannie Lawson, who was looking for a young woman to carry on her work in the country. By the 1970s a lot of missionaries cam to Nigeria to help spread the Christianity here. John G. Christaller (described as the Father of Twi Literature) produced a Twi grammar and dictionary, a collection of Twi proverbs, a Twi translation of the Bible as well as prayers and hymns. The next stop was Ibadan, St. Annes School, Molete, Ibadan. The lead was followed by other missionaries, notably the Roman Catholic, whose first higher institution was St Edwards Secondary School in Freetown. churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). As happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the gospel alone. Modern Catholic missions were established by priests from the Society of African . The Eastern territories had no structure or organization in their lands. *St. Theresa College, Ibadan, 1932; Development of Education in Sierra Leone. Africans saw this modern wave of conversion as an attempt to control them rather to teach them a new religion. . A lot of epidemics and viruses claimed lives of people living here. NUUT Co. Ltd. Kumasi, Ghana, 2011, Baarkinado. They did not take into consideration the already established cultural characteristics; Igbo religious traditions had long been engraved into the African society. Civil Servants in Cross River said the lifting of embargo placed on promotion of civil servants by Gov. Africa and the Winder World 3. * St. Charles College, Onitsha, 1929; Missionaries were used by the colonial power as an avant garde, to expand into new regions, a fact keenly . This is what we can state about the situation with the Christianity in Nigeria and the impact it has on the population. He was a missionary of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod that arrived Nigeria in 1937 to lead the mission work of WELS. The youngest of the 'Studd Brothers', who were known for their cricket skills at Eton and Cambridge, Charles played in the first Test match between England vs Australia where the Ashes were named. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. This special relationship continued until 1960 when Fourah Bay became a college of the newly reconstituted University of Sierra Leone; the other constituent college located at Njala developed from a training college founded in 1920. Barely ten years later, after the first missionaries arrived, the Methodists, for example, had started a station as far inland as MacCarthy Island. West African Senior School Certificate Examination. He resigned from BMS when it emerged that his Jamaican housekeeper was pregnant with his child. How did Christianity come to Nigeria? Missionaries provide humanitarian aid and preach the Christian faith (sometimes through sacraments). She was a missionary of Scottish origin with the United Presbyterian Church. Missions cover: Nigeria and Gold Coast, 1919-1928. "Missionaries and other white Christians were alarmed by the idea that the equality of all people before God means they should be equal in public life. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. Until almost the end of the colonial period education was still largely in the hands of the churches. Ages enduring gratitude the nation owes them all. The Methodists founded the Boys High School in 1874, and another high school for girls six years later. Father Jean Marie Coquard, operating in and from Abeokuta for forty years, was renowned among the Egba as a priest and surgeon in the second half of the nineteenth century. Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. Thanks to their faith and hard labor here, around 45% of all the population in the area became Christians. For the West Africans, the acceptance of Christianity meant the total rejection of most of the cherished institutions upon which their society rested. *Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta, 1923; The only woman on board that ship was 29-year-old Mary Slessor, a missionary. In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. Please click here to learn how. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine.". She participated in establishing mission presence in Abeokuta for over two decades. He was a missionary of the Christian Missionary Society of the Church of England that arrived in Nigeria in 1843. She was a British missionary with the Christian Missionary Society. Born in Aberdeen in 1848, Mary Slessor became missionary to Nigeria under the United Presbyterian Church's Foreign Mission Board. The Sudan United Mission (SUM) was a conglomeration or umbrella of different mission societies whose missionaries came from all the Caucasian- dominated nations of the Commonwealth as well as the USA. The brief history of Christianity in Nigeria. Library Catalog Dr & Mrs H. Henry Budd (the third Principal of ECWA Theological Seminary, Igbaja) 3. Clarke, Peter Bernard. The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. Slessor saved hundreds of children during her time in Nigeria; even adopting one young girl as her own daughter. *Offa Grammar School, Offa, 1943; The emergence of the Christian Church in this region had to struggle with the difficulties three different contexts brought. Among other things the regulations required that all teachers should be registered, and a minimum salary was fixed. D. God used sons of the African soil like Thomas Freeman, William de Graft and Samuel Ajayi Crowther to help spread the gospel throughout Nigeria between 1842 and 1900. His efforts were successful in Great Britain, so in the 1840s the country sent three huge ships with people who were supposed to bring peace and establish healthy trading relations with people living in the Niger state. They believed in evil spirits, and other things peculiar to this religion. William Gladstone. During the same period, the Student Missionary Movement was beginning to have a strong influence on the need of global evangelization in North America and Europe. https://bebegolf.com/history/. By 1885, they had become the largest European-led churches in Nigeria, spreading further inland. With collaborations with other missionaries like William De Graft, he built a Mission house and Chapel, which was completed in November 1842. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. I knew then what it was to be 'born again,' and the Bible which had been so dry to me before, became everything. The History of Christianity in West Africa. The Portuguese were the first to introduce the Christian faith into West Africa but following their departure from the West Coast in the mid-seventeenth century, the Christian religion survived only in Upper Guinea where a bishop was maintained in the Cape Verde Islands serving also a part of the mainland. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. *Christ the King College, Onitsha, 1933; The Methodists founded Mfantsipim (1876) for boys and Wesley Girls High School (1884). He is also reputed to have helped Rev. Shaw, Mark. The Church of Nigeria is the second largest province in the Anglican Communion after the Church of England. My only joys therefore are that when God has given me a work to do, I have not refused it.". Reels 12-14 cover correspondence concerning the return of German missionaries to the stations in West and East Africa after World War I . Daystar Press, 1978. Polycarp. He introduced the Methodist Church in Asante in 1839, and won the support of the Asante king. A history of Christianity in Ghana. In Sierra Leone, the Church Missionary Society (CMS), offshoot of the Anglican Church, was the first to become firmly established chiefly among the freed captive and freed slave settlers from Britain, Nova Scotia and other parts of the New World. *Government Secondary School, Owerri, 1935; The Glasgow Missionary Society pamphlet of 1796, "Report on the Character of a Missionary, etc." lays considerable stress upon "piety, prudence and aptitude to teach" but not once mentions the need for craft skills (Williams 1959 . But the equality of believers is an idea. In 1876 the college became associated with Durham University in England, which awarded degrees to students of the college. The government gave grants according to the strength of the staff and the efficiency of the school judged by inspection reports and the results of public examinations. Islam was viewed as the greatest social evil which threatened the survival of Africa, in particular. He started this massive campaign in the Great Britain stating that African slaves should be freed. *Olivet Heights, Oyo, 1945; Christianity reborn: the global expansion of evangelicalism in the twentieth century. He shares some of his family's experiences visiting missionaries. Following agitation by the people in 1934, the government opened the old Yaba Higher College and Medical School, which awarded diplomas acceptable only locally. In spite of the division, the parent Methodist missionary church played an important role in the history of Christianity in Sierra Leone. 70-155/160. While the protestant evangelical movements were gaining ground in West Africa, similar movements were being promoted by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. A Cornish missionary and explorer, George Grenfell served as a Baptist missionary in Cameroon in the late 1800s. According to ot the Nigeria Christian Fellowship, there are at least seventy million people who consider themselves Christians. The first school in Nigeria was started by the Methodist missionaries at Badagry in 1842. After earlier unsuccessful attempts by the missionaries Chretien Proten, Henrick Huckuff and Jacobus Capitein, the Anglican, Rev. Accessed February 27, 2021. Europe in those days looked upon Africa as the Dark Continent with very primitive civilizations, and most Europeans refused to adapt their religion to suit the local situation. *Barewa College, Zaria, 1921; The kingdom of God in Africa: A short history of African Christianity. She also travelled to dangerous regions where previous male missionaries had been killed, and was known for her pragmatism and sense of humour. Christianity in Nigeria was first introduced in the 15th century by Portuegese Catholic priests during the Age of Exploration. *Adeola Odutola College, (Old Olu-Iwa College), Ijebu-Ode, 1945; Soon after the start of elementary schools, the missionaries started opening higher institutions also. The American Episcopal Evangelical (A.M.E.) Zion Church owes its foundation in Ghana to Bishop J. Bryan Small, who started work first at Keta in 1898. The oldest secondary school in Nigeria, it was founded on 06 June, 1859. He and other missionaries facilitated the abolition of human sacrifices in the Calabar area. Speaking at morning Mass in Rome, the Pope praised Christians who had given up everything to share their faith. *Eko Boys High School, Lagos, 1913: He was among the missionary staff involved in mission work in Nigeria between 1944 and 1948. The vast majority of the people of The Gambia are Moslems; but a sizeable percentage of the population, especially in and around the capital Banjul, are Christians. Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican missionaries were all trying to convert the native African people, often coming into conflict with one another. In . The expansion of the missionary movement into Africa was part of the growing conception of Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. You can learn more about it, as many historians found this subject matter interesting too. The first attempts to bring Christianity to the area where the modern country is today date back to the 1470s and 1620s. In the beginning of the 19th century, Christian missionaries were launched with unprecedented vigor to Africa. Vol. The origin of Christianity in the North of Nigeria. Here are ten ways missions has impacted Africa. From the 15th Century until the 17th Century, the efforts to evangelize made by the French, Portuguese, Catholic-controlled Italian Government, and missionary bodies in the Benin and Warri areas were futile and resulted in catastrophe. There were only bush paths, and no roads in the early times. He worked zealously as an evangelist and schoolmaster in the Castle School until his death in 1816. The following year, its female arm, Methodist Girls High School, Lagos, came on the scene. They had their own particular system of laws, administrative organization, and the strong influence of the traditionalists power. The early African converts to Christianity, were made to abandon their ancestral culture and way of life as pagan therefore to be shunned. In the meantime, the Middle Belt is where people we know as pagans lived. She championed women's rights, and set up a mission hospital for the local people. For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa. Will the actions of orthodox Anglicans be as strong as their words post-Kigali? He started this massive campaign in the Great Britain stating that African slaves should be freed. Evans Brothers, Ltd. London. Catholicism arrived in the territory that would come to be known as Nigeria with Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, though their missionary efforts were largely unsuccessful and Catholicism virtually disappeared by the 17th century. Andreas Riis, assisted by a team of West Indian evangelists, laid the foundations of the Basel Missionary Church in the country. Wm. At the time, the Waodani were one of the most violent known people groups on earth, who regularly practised homicide and fiercely defended their territory against those wishing to exploit the rich Amazonian land. *Government College, Ughelli, 1945: Like the Methodists, the Roman Catholic missionaries spread the faith notably in the interior, which later became Protectorate. Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropon on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. Bamgboye & Company Press, 1976. Johannes Zimmermann wrote a grammar of the Ga language and translated the entire Bible and a Bible history into Ga. Then in 1874, the Rev. The Church had its strongest hold in the Senegambia area. T. Nelson. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. British Prime Minister. As the abolition of slavery progressed in the different European colonies, converting freed slaves became a powerful motive for setting up European Christian missions. One gift God has given to every man equally is the gift of time. The achievement of the purpose of these Christian Missions came with some costs. This happened after He resurrected and showed up to the disciples. This single problem made the missionary work very difficult. In many missions, doctrines like the Doctrine of Love (p.L. Porter, Andrew. In the later 19th century, the immense African interior remained the principal object of the Catholic Priests, and from 1867 until his death in November 1892 Cardinal Lavigerie planned the planting of churches in Africa South of the Sahara. Meanwhile, at the same time, the Fulani and Jihadists forced people living in the North to support Islam. The churches opened primary schools both in the capital and in the rural communities. Henry Townsend, Sarah Townsend was a missionary under the Christian Missionary Society. West Africa and Christianity. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004. As happened in parts of Yorubaland in the last century, some of the Christian missionaries often engaged in local politics and took an active part in helping the colonial authorities in their wars of territorial expansion. In due course leprosariums and orphanages were built to supplement their medical services. Within a short time the missionaries spread their activities inland. Success followed the efforts of the pioneer missionaries. The early European Christian missionaries in West Africa experienced a number of difficulties, some arising from factors outside their control and others of their own making. The Presbyterians, also, opened hospitals in several parts of the country, including the one at Agogo in Asante-Akyem. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. As happened in other colonial territories, the government did not show great interest in the provision of education in Ghana until the missionaries had extended their services throughout the country and had set up primary schools and a few secondary schools and training colleges. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. That is why, they had a contact with the rest of the world throughout the whole time, especially during the Middle Ages. In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. 3 (2002): 555-584. Aged just 28, she sailed to West Africa in August 1876 and was assigned to the Calabar region. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12), Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange was happening to you. The first batch, who came out between 1804 and 1806, included pioneer missionaries like Renner and Nylander. One of the few ethnic groups that were always open to the influence of different religions is the Hausa people. Ayades lifting of promotion embargo came late, says workers, May Day: I will pay you living wage not minimum wage, Tinubu tells Nigerian workers, Pomp as women group donates science lab, borehole to school. Hope Waddell was later joined by the Rev. BBC. While it has brought undoubted benefits, it has also harmed the traditional way of life. Soon after the Methodist experiment, the church Missionary Society set up their own school at Badagry. In 1858 ten years after the founding of the first college, the Presbyterians opened a sister college at Aburi for the training of women teachers. However, this early wave had no success as local kings were more interested in obtaining guns rather than the tales of Christianity. Kaffraria (South Africa), 1885-1908. Thomas Freeman was a missionary of Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society that arrived in Nigeria on request of freed slaves from Freetown, of Yoruba and Aku extraction residing in modern-day Lagos, for a minister. Similar developments were carried out by the missionaries in other Nigerian languages, Efik, Kanuri, Igbo, etc. *Government Secondary School, Ilorin, 1914; Russia 146.02. While the Evangelical Presbyterian missionaries were the First to develop literature in Ewe, the Roman Catholics were responsible for Nzima literature. What Are The Impacts Of Missionaries In Nigeria? Here, the history of Christianity turns its new page in the 1840s. Why I don't want to become godfather like Oshiomhole, Tinubu - Obaseki gives reasons. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=1791737&site=ehost-live&scope=site. He also founded Serampore College to train local ministers. Noble were the exertions, labour and sacrifice that went into giving Nigeria foundational materials for human capital development, which provided the building blocks for our social and economic development, cultivation of refinement and civilization. She died aged 67 in 1970, and her story was made into a film 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness'. The Roman Catholic Sisters provided medical care in the Upper and Northern Regions of the country before the government started to provide hospitals and clinics in the regional and district headquarters. Later, Prisilla and the couple's four daughter stayed in England, while Charles worked in Central Africa until his death in 1931. Tinubu said in his administration workers will find a dependable. It was not until 1841 that the British Government sponsored Niger Expedition, of which missionaries from the Church Missionary Society of the Church of England were part of, did progress in missionary works begin to thrive. This page is not available in other languages. They helped them promote better situation with the translation and literature in the state to help them keep up with the rest of the world. Senate President Ahmad Lawan, says the 9th National Assembly has performed credibility well in terms of delivering democracy dividends to Nigerians, since its inauguration in 2019. Both in England and North America, the theme, "The Sudan, the worst manned mission field in the whole world" was beginning to ring louder and louder in many missionary conferences, especially the Keswick conventions in England and later Canada. Bethany Global University. In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S. Often drumming and the harmless songs and dances of the people were condemned. You are already subscribed to our newsletter! LITERACY - Total Population: 86.7% . They were able to successfully establish churches in Ibesikpo. *Government College, Ibadan, 1927; began work in many parts of Africa. They were to spread the message of the Gospel, render social services to the people and to assist in the suppression of slavery and the slave trade. It is important to emphasize that the modern history of the Christian Mission in Africa started from the late Eighteenth Century, the Catholics had been there earlier in the first centuries of the Christian era especially during the first Portuguese adventures. A German missionary with Church Missionary Society, he arrived in Badagry on March 25, 1849. The missionary traveler David Livingstone (1813-1873) believed that the slave trade could only be suppressed by a combination of Christianity and trade. Among his pioneering achievements, he arranged for three youths to be sent to England for training as evangelists. The Muslims started the slave trade in this region. Nigerians back US, UK over ban on election riggers, say it should be extended to their family members. William Carey William Carey is regarded as the "father of modern missions". Today, I want to briefly share with you how God leads. As an institution introduced by agents with radically different values, the Christian religion damaged the culture and traditional beliefs of the people of West Africa. Their luggage and other necessities had to be carried on heads and took a long time before reaching the missionaries. Another important fact about this region is that to the West of the territory Nigeria has today, people were often enslaved or involved in slavery which came to this land in the seventeenth century. Nevertheless, they say that the Northern states are where most Muslims live which Christians can be found mostly in the South of the country. 3:03 am. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. Conversion progressively became something imposed rather than suggested; the way Christianity was teached seemed very alien to them.
list of missionaries that came to nigeria
list of missionaries that came to nigeria
list of missionaries that came to nigeria