Jump to content

Celestial Church of Christ

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by T24k (talk | contribs) at 03:07, 28 March 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Celestial Church of Christ - "spiritual headwashing" in Cotonou, Benin.

The Celestial Church of Christ is an African Initiated Church founded by Samuel Bilehou Oschoffa in 1947.

Founder

Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oschoffa was a carpenter born in French Dahomey, now called Benin, in 1909.][1] A traumatic experience led to a spiritual awakening,Oschoffa believed that he received a call from God, this occurred in a forest during a solar eclipse,Oschoffa then became lost in the forest for three months. Oschoffa felt called to preach, heal and raise the dead, this led him to found the church in 1947.[2] By divine ordinance he is called Prophet and he is also called Reverend, Pastor, and Founder, as he was the supreme head of the church and was responsible for the church coming into being. As "The Pastor" he had ultimate and unchallengeable authority in doctrinal and disciplinary matters. This made his death in 1985, after a vehicular accident, problematic.[1]

Church after its founder's death

The movement has continued to grow since Oschoffa's death, but has also suffered setbacks—the most immediate being severe difficulties related to the matter of succession.[3]

Beliefs

Although the church takes elements from Yoruba thought, it also has strong similarities to the "purification movements" against paganism that are relatively common in African Christianity and Islam. Oschoffa believed he had a mission to combat "'Satan', 'fetish priests' and other 'powers of darkness'."(Marburg article) The name of the group comes from the Bible: Deuteronomy 26:15 "Look down from thy Holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Celestial and the land which thou hast given us, as thou didst swear to our father, a land flowing with milk and honey". The name signifies that they deem themselves as celestial or a representative of the heavenly on Earth.

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Celestial Church of Christ.
  1. ^ a b Crumbly, Deidre Helen (2008). Spirit, Structure, and Flesh: Gendered Experiences in African Instituted Churches Among the Yoruba of Nigeria p. 54 on. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 182. ISBN 9780299229108. Retrieved February 2010. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Partridge, Christopher. New Religions A Guide.New York:Oxford,2004 ISBN 0-19-522042-0
  3. ^ This Day Online
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Celestial_Church_of_Christ&oldid=352458801"