From Porto-Novo to the World: How the Celestial Church Spread

From Porto-Novo to the World: How the Celestial Church Spread

Every Celestian knows the story of 1947 in Porto-Novo. But how did a church born in a small Dahomey town end up with parishes in Lagos, London, Paris and the United States? Here is a short look at that journey, drawn from Wikipedia's account of the church.

According to Wikipedia, Papa Samuel Oshoffa founded the church on 29 September 1947. The authorities of the Republic of Dahomey (today's Benin) officially recognised it in 1965. From 1976 an evangelistic campaign pushed the message deeper into the country, and Nigeria, especially Lagos and Ogun State, became home to the largest following. Oshoffa died in 1985 in Lagos, and Wikipedia notes that the succession was difficult because of how central he was to the church's doctrine and discipline.

The spread did not stop at West Africa. Members of the African diaspora carried the white garment and the hymns to the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, France and the United States. Since the late 1990s the internet has also helped far-flung parishes stay in touch with each other and with Nigeria. Today the International Headquarters is in Ketu, Lagos, and the Holy City is at Imeko.

Over to you:
- Where did you first meet the Celestial Church, and how far from Porto-Novo is your parish today?
- What do you carry from home that makes a Celestian parish abroad feel like family?

Sources: Wikipedia, "Celestial Church of Christ" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Church_of_Christ); Celeland is a community site, not an official church body.
Photo: Baptism ceremony in Cotonou, Benin, by Ferdinand Reus (CC BY-SA 2.0), Wikimedia Commons