Primate of The First African Church Mission, His Eminence, Dr Sunday Matilukuro, shares with BIODUN BUSARI his ideas on the historical past, challenges, milestones, and expectations of the church as the primary indigenous African church, amongst different points
Can you briefly inform us concerning the historical past of the church?
The First African Church Mission was based on the 14th of August 1891. Please, there have to be an emphasis on the article ‘The’, due to the importance of the church on the African continent. It began from the place we at the moment are (Phoenix Lane, Off Broad Avenue, Lagos). When it was established on the 14th of August 1891, it was referred to as the United Native African Church. The church’s identify was modified someday in 1984 in one among our annual conferences in Port Harcourt to what it’s at the moment as The First African Church Mission.
What was the inspiration behind the institution of the church?
The church was based as the primary indigenous church in Africa. This occurred as a result of we appeared again into the historical past of the church in Africa and got here to grasp that no church had been based by indigenous Africans on the African continent. The church buildings in existence then had been these introduced into Africa from outdoors Africa. They had been, roughly, foreigners.
That was how the founders then determined to begin the church. These founders had been 9. Eight of them had been Nigerians, whereas one was a Liberian. The Liberian amongst them was the clergyman who was the top of the church then. However he didn’t keep very lengthy as a result of he was sickly. Within the course of, he needed to journey house and whereas he was at house, he handed on.
He was a priest who was introduced in from the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, which was once down alongside Broad Avenue. Africans based the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in america of America. The Africans who had been taken there as slaves began a church and introduced it to Nigeria. So, you’ll be able to see the distinction? Indigenous Africans based this one in Africa.
What are the milestones of the church as the primary in Africa?
As we speak, we have now over 1,000 parishes in Nigeria, together with parishes within the North, South, East, and West of Nigeria. We’re properly unfold everywhere in the nation. We even have three dioceses within the Republic of Benin. Now we have a church in Togo. Now we have fellowships for our individuals in Canada and the UK. Once more, we are attempting to go additional; we’re beginning one in Ghana very quickly and we wish to penetrate the entire of Africa.
Are you able to reveal a few of the contributions of the church to the nation?
The First African Church Mission performed a big function within the independence of Nigeria as a result of the members we had then had been nationalists. The independence of Nigeria got here because of intense nationalism. There was the spirit of nationalism rising and echoing everywhere in the nation at the moment. By the point Nigeria grew to become unbiased, the then-indigenous Governor-Normal, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, of blessed reminiscence, selected to worship on this church.
He worshipped on this church for the Independence Day Thanksgiving service on Sunday, which was held right here at Jehovah Shalom Cathedral, to the glory of God. The then Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa had gone to worship in a mosque on a Friday, however Nnamdi Azikiwe felt the urge to worship within the church the place there have been nationalists and selected the First African Church Mission.
Does the church have doctrinal relationships with different denominations?
We’re a Protestant Orthodox Church. That’s, we belong to the early church. As I informed you, our founders had been already Christians earlier than they got here. Most of them had been Anglican and I informed you the pastor amongst them got here from the Episcopal Zion Church. So, we belong to the orthodox. Now we have virtually the identical liturgy and modes of worship because the Anglican Church.
That’s the reason we belong to the Christian Council of Nigeria. By the grace of God, at the moment, I’m the vice chairman of the Christian Council of Nigeria, and we additionally belong to the World Council of Church buildings. It’s a must to belong to the World Council of Church buildings in the event you belong to the orthodox. They got here from Geneva, Switzerland to examine us, to worship with us, and to evaluate whether or not we’re really an orthodox church. So, we belong to the early church.
There have been some variations in Christendom lately over doctrines. What are the fundamental doctrines of your church?
We consider in biblical doctrines. They’re fundamentals of any Christian church. Any Christian church that doesn’t consider within the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, that doesn’t consider within the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that doesn’t rejoice the Holy Communion, the Holy Eucharist as laid down by our Lord Jesus Christ, can’t be stated to be a part of the Lord. So, we consider in all these and extra.
There could also be some doctrinal variations from one denomination to a different however since we belong to the common church and we belong to the orthodox, we consider fervently in all these. We consider in water baptism. We additionally consider in Holy Ghost baptism. So, we agree that folks can communicate in tongues. The one factor is that the Bible says, ‘The spirit of a prophet is topic to the prophet.’ You don’t come and begin talking in tongues when Martin is occurring. You don’t communicate in tongues when divine service is occurring. We consider completely in all these doctrines of Christianity.
Because the oldest African church, what are the challenges encountered to this point?
You already know, I stated that our church was a type of church buildings that spun out of the search for nationalism in Nigeria. Nigerians and Africans basically believed that the whites who got here to us couldn’t grasp who we had been and what we had been doing as a result of they wished us to do issues of their means. So, traditionally, going through them with this was not straightforward. Earlier than our church was based, it was an abomination to drum and clap within the church.
So, a few of our founders had been arrested for that. It’s a must to worship God as a regimented soldier. The essence of founding this church was that the colonial masters and the Europeans couldn’t grasp the tradition and custom of the Africans. A typical African isn’t just caged or cowed like that.
You already know, we dance quite a bit. We drum, we sing, and we find it irresistible. It’s a part of our tradition, however we had been taken to courtroom for that. I imply our founders had been taken to courtroom. However glory be to God that Psalm 150, which had been composed by King David, was what our lawyer used to win the case. That was the main problem this church confronted however we overcame it. We reward him with palms, tambourines, drums, and others.
Have there been experiences the place some bishops or elders of the church broke out over doctrinal variations?
Variations are one of many traits of social teams. A church is a social group. Actually, you can’t simply cage individuals. There are occasions when some individuals will simply wish to have it their means. And since you’ve gotten guidelines, you’ve gotten legal guidelines, they’ve to stay to what we have now adopted.
It’s both you do it otherwise you go and begin your personal. Some wish to be extremely Pentecostal, which is able to deviate from the orthodoxy we practise. So, on the finish of the day, if they can’t cope, they need to go. Now we have cases of few, only a few that left to begin their very own based mostly on such points (doctrinal variations). However thank God, regardless of that, the church is stronger.
What’s the function of the church in preserving Nigerian society from ethical decadence and all types of vices?
God bless you. You already know, we have now some church buildings, particularly latter-day church buildings that focus extra on prosperity. It’s not that we don’t need our individuals to prosper, however I’ve taken pains to check this church to see that our focus is on righteousness. The Bible says, ‘righteousness exalts a nation.’ We preach righteousness. We wish individuals to have values. We wish our values to be revered.
If you happen to come right here and we knew you a couple of years or months in the past whenever you got here round as probably not properly to do, and also you begin throwing cash right here and there with out individuals understanding what the supply is, earlier than you understand it, you’ll seem like a leper. Some could come to you, however on the finish of the day, you seem like a leper. Individuals wish to know the way you bought what you declare to own.
So, we would like our members to develop. We help ourselves to develop, to prosper, however we’re not concentrating an excessive amount of on prosperity. We wish our members to reign with Christ in eternity. Even with my place as a primate, or no matter God has made me to be, my focus is on paradise. That’s what we’re promoting to our individuals; that’s what we’re telling our members who’re in politics. We inform them to go there and make a distinction.
We inform them to face for Christ and they’re going to make the distinction. The individuals will ask, ‘The place is that this man from? We will be proud to say he’s from the First African Church Mission. They might say, ‘No marvel they concern God in that church.’ That might be our delight and pleasure once we see our members who’re doing properly. In case you are a member, and what you do is amass wealth and take away what belongs to the lots, we don’t rejoice such a member.
We wish values. No matter you might be, earn it. No matter you turn out to be, earn it. That’s what we’re educating our younger ones. Now we have Bible examine outlines for kids and youngsters. Now we have it for the adults. We construct individuals for the dominion of God in heaven. We all know that we’re all sojourners on this place. Regardless of how lengthy we keep right here, we are going to keep longer someplace in heaven. We wish that to be our focus.
What are your expectations for the church and the nation?
We wish this church to be a shining instance for Nigeria. What do I imply by that? I informed you that we preach righteousness right here. So, we would like our members to be function fashions. Let’s change individuals’s lives. We wish to rework lives and make individuals concern God. Let’s make individuals know that each one just isn’t about wealth; all just isn’t about riches.
The primary factor is how individuals profit from you. How many individuals have you ever lifted? In case you are a millionaire and individuals are solely selecting crumbs out of your desk and fighting the pigs for them to feed, then you’re a nonentity. You’re a ineffective particular person. So, if we will increase such individuals (function fashions) right here, everywhere in the nation, then, Nigeria might be nice.
What are your views on the present financial hardships Nigerians are grappling with?
The financial hardship that is occurring within the nation didn’t simply begin at the moment. We plunged ourselves into this case. This began nothing lower than 10 or 12 years in the past. We knew that we’d get to this stage. This was as a result of the corrective measures that ought to have helped us weren’t taken. There was no means we may have escaped it. However, I see mild on the finish of the tunnel by the grace of God. We needs to be prayerful for our leaders. We should always not curse them or the nation.
After we curse them they usually make errors, we are going to undergo for it, however once we pray for them, the prayer of the righteous avails for them. Allow us to all speak. After we see one thing that isn’t adequate, we should always discuss it. We should always at all times be optimistic and constructive in our dealings with them. We should always not simply shut our mouths and allow unpalatable issues in our society. If we begin doing the suitable issues from our properties, our tomorrow might be larger than at the moment. If we prepare our kids proper, our society might be higher for all of us.
What did you imply by all these began about 10 to 12 years in the past?
I’m probably not speaking about 12 years. I’m saying this began a very long time in the past. You already know that Nigeria has been bedevilled with unhealthy management for a few years. I’m speaking about many leaders who’ve come and gone with out doing the suitable factor. This has made the nation undergo. Thank God for the Port Harcourt refinery that’s now functioning, however you must consider the billions of naira which have gone into it. The identical factor goes for the electrical energy mission within the nation.
Many budgets have gone into it with billions of naira if not {dollars}, and we’re nonetheless battling with it. They’ve been spending on it for the reason that time of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. When it comes to gasoline, we have now began seeing the end result after the market forces have come into play regarding the Dangote refinery. The one factor I do know is that hardship can not final endlessly. Now we have to be prayerful.
What’s your perspective on seeing Christians in Nigerian politics?
The Bible says, ‘When the righteous assume energy, the individuals rejoice.’ After we’re speaking about Christians, it’s not nearly anybody attending church. It’s about Christians in the true sense of Christianity. I’m speaking about those that concern the Lord. I’m speaking about those that will be held accountable. I’m referring to those that are accountable and have the curiosity of individuals of their hearts. These sorts of Christians needs to be inspired to enter Nigerian politics to make optimistic adjustments in management.
When they’re in politics, we from the church buildings throughout the nation might be telling them the type of individuals they’re. We’ll allow them to know that they need to not do politics and go to hell. In the event that they get into workplaces and begin amassing the individuals’s assets for themselves, we are going to allow them to know that their lives might be like that of Lazarus and the wealthy man within the Bible. So, in a nutshell, I encourage as many Christians as attainable to enter politics.