CHRISTIANITY’S AFRICAN ROOTS
Thousands of years ago, the great rivers of the world held a conference and decided where they would go and settle.
“I’m going to London” said River Thames,’where I shall be mistress of all rivers of the world.
“I’m going to America” said river Hudson. ‘ Beautiful tall buildings will be built on my banks. I shall be the wealthiest river in the world.
“I’m going to India.” Said Ganges,’ where I shall be worshipped. Children will be thrown into my holy waters. I shall be the sacred river of the world”.
One river remained quiet till the end.
“who are you?” the other rivers asked.
“I am the River Nile”
“ where are you going?”
“To Africa – to the Sahara Desert where no man can live. I shall roll down my waters from the mountains to bring life to the desert”
The other rivers laughed. “Africa! Africa! Why Nile? Why don’t go to a better place than that?” But Nile would not change her mind. She went to Africa.
James Aggrey, an educator born in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in the nineteenth century and the person credited with this story, said that God was pleased with River Nile for her self-sacrifice. He rewarded her in many ways.
When baby Mosses was born, his life was protected in the River Nile. The baby Jesus, too, was brought to the land of the Nile for protection. And when the Son of God was crucified, a man from the banks of the Nile carried His cross.
“One wonders,” Aggrey said, speaking of the African people, “whether this meek race may not one day save Christianity for the world”.
If, indeed, Africans save Christianity for the word, it will be history coming full circle, for Africa was one of the cradles in which Christianity was first nourished.
It was in Africa that one of the writers of the four gospels was born. It was in Africa that an understanding of God and his relationship with humankind was refined. It was in Africa that monasticism developed, a way of life introduced to Europe by Athanasius, an African, and a way of life responsible for much of the early spread of Christianity throughout Europe.
Christianity in Africa did not fare well when the spread of Islam began in the seventh century. And when the European missionaries brought Christianity to Africa one thousand years later, they brought a European Christianity imbued with colonialism, ignoring for the most part Christianity’s African roots.
Sankofa is an Akan word from Ghana meaning “returning to your roots, recapturing what you’ve lost, and moving forward.” What are some of the African roots of Christianity? We know from early texts, church paintings, oral storytelling traditions, and archaeology about the “living stones” who helped build the Christian church. The African people, clergy, teachers, theologians, martyrs and Desert fathers and mothers are a gold mine of spiritual resources and intellect. Exploring their memories will root us in history and empower our vision.
Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus became refugees in Africa when Herod ordered the slaughter of the young boys in Bethlehem. We are not told where in Egypt they went although a fourth-century Coptic Church was built on the spot in Cairo where it was believed they stayed. And we are not told how long they were there, although it has been estimated anywhere from several months to several years.
Matthew says their African sojourn was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Hosea: “ I called my son out of Egypt”.
Simon, an African from Cyrene was forced by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus on the way to Golgotha where the Lord was crucified. Cyrene, in the modern Libya, was founded by Greeks and Jews lived there for more than two hundred years before the birth of Christ. Cyrenian Jews had a synagogue in Jerusalem and Simon was probably living nearby.
The first Gentile convert to Christianity was an African. Philip, a man of good reputation and one of those chosen to serve the early church, was directed by an angel to a desert road where he encountered the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority”. Philip told the treasurer the good news about Jesus. The treasurer believed, was baptized, and went away rejoicing”. This man was most likely from Meroe, a city on the Nile in modern Sudan about two hundred kilometers northeast of Khartoum. Jews had settled there- as well as in other areas of Africa – where Solomon expanded Israel’s influence and trade. Meroe was the capital of the rich and powerful kingdom of Kush, known for its iron smelting, gold mining, and trading. Kush was several thousand years old, at one point had conquered Egypt (the 25th Dynasty of Egypt was Kushite.), and about fifty years before the tresurer’s conversion had battled Rome in a five-year war. Christianity’s first gentile convert, the Ethiopian eunuch, came from an amazing kingdom in the heart of northeastern Africa.
The earliest of the four gospels was written by an African. John Mark was born in Cyrenne in modern Libya to a Jewish family of the tribe of Levi. He grew up in Africa until, due to civil unrest, the family moved to Jerusalem. Mark was the cousin of Barnabas and according to Coptic tradition, Peter was married to the cousin of Aristopolus, mark’s father. Peter disciple the young mark. Mark’s mother had a large house where the first Christian church met, where the Holy Spirit came upon the believers, and ¬–possibly- where Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples. John Mark, an African, heard the preaching and teaching of Peter in Rome and incorporated it in the earliest gospel narrative.
The influence of the early African church was profound and concentrated in three arrears. First, Alexandria, Egypt was the intellectual capital of the Mediterranean world. John Mark, Alexandria’s first bishop, was martyred there in AD 68, but the thrived. Second, the largest Christian community in Maghreb ( an area from modern Libya to Morocco) was Carthage, in modern Tunisia. Three early popes were African from this region. Third, Coptic Christianity flourished in Egypt and Sudan. In the early fourth century, Christianity was declared the state religion of the Kingdom of Askum, part of modern Ethiopia.
Many of the notable African Christians of the first few centuries were known for their writings and teachings than for their actions. Tertullian from Carthage (160-215) is said to be the father of western theology. Clement of Alexandria (150-215) was called a messenger of Christianity in a philosopher’s garb. The great theologian Origen of Alexandria (185-254) created the Hexapla, a massive edition of the Old Testament containing six version in parallel columns. The complete Hexapla was said to be six thousand pages in fifteen volumes and exists today in only fragments. Origen is called the” father of biblical criticism” because he was one of the first to develop a theory of interpreting the Bible
One of the most important long lasting debates about the person of Christ originated in the African city of Alexandria. In the early fourth century, Arius, pastor of the church founded by Mark, began teaching that the only Father was truly God eternal – without a beginning – and that Jesus was not fully God and was not eternal. He had a beginning. This teaching appealed to Gnostics and converts from paganism because it seemed easier to understand then the mysteries of the Trinity. The Council of Nicaea was called by the Emperor Constatine in AD 325 to settle the matter. The result was the Nicene Creed, which declared that Jesus was “true God of true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father”
The creed did not settle matters, however, and over the next fifty years the “Arian Controversy” debate continued, led on one side by Athanasius, an African born in Egypt and on the other until his death in 336 by Arius, an African born in Libya.
Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria defended the deity of Christ and is labeled “Father of orthodoxy” by the Eastern Church. “Jesus that I know as my Redeemer cannot be less than God”, declared Athanasius at the council of Nicaea. He is also called “Father of Canon” by some Protestants because he was the first to identify the twenty-seven books of the New Testament that we use today.
Although the church in Alexandria grew rapidly, when it suffered persecution about AD 250 under the roman Emperor Decius, many Christians fled into the desert. When Rome turned its attention elsewhere, most Christians returned to Alexandria, but those who remained in the desert as hermits were the beginning of Christian monasticism, an African institution that had a profound effect on Europe, particularly Ireland and Britain. Many early African clergy and lay people were examples of deep spirituality. They lived a simple lifestyle of prayer, enduring harsh persecution and martyrdom. Mark in Alexandria, Cyprian in the Maghreb, Vibia Perpetua in Carthage all died for their faith. “ The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”
And we must not forget Augustine of Hippo, the greatest of the early church fathers. His writings influenced Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was born, died, and served as Bishop in modern Algeria and considered himself African. His early life was one of parties, entertainment, and worldly living. Through the prayers of his mother, the witness of St. Ambrose, and the words of Paul to “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you… and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him”, Augustine became a Christian. He wrote about his conversion in Confessions. More than 350 of his sermons are still available.
The Christian church thrived in northern Africa for the six hundred years after Christ. It helped formulate the West’s understanding of Christian theology. It provided three popes to the church in Rome. It contributed to the determination of the canon of Scripture. It developed a rich heritage of biblical scholarship, teaching on Christian living, and evangelical zeal. And monasticism, an African institution, was a powerful force for the spread of the gospel throughout Europe.
But after the death of Mohammed in AD 632, Islam spread quickly across northern Africa and into Spain as a result of military conquests and forced conversions. The African church did not fare very well, and Africa lost its position as an important center of Christian thought and evangelism. Although Christianity in Ethiopia survived the spread of Islam- and was the home of the only Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa before colonial times- it was geographically isolated from the rest of the Christian world and became even more isolated due to the rise of Islam.
The Christianity that came back to Africa under the European missionaries was Western in thought and colonial in spirit. For instance, Egypt, which figures prominently in the Bible, is not usually presented in Western Bible studies as an African country, but as the essentially Middle-Eastern society it is today.
If we lose this tradition and forget to honor our history, we won’t discover the wealth of early African Christian resources. We stand on the shoulders of our African spiritual ancestors, the martyrs, teachers, clergy, and intellectuals, who have already run the race of faith. Their witness gives us an example and encouragement (Hebrews 12;1). We should not neglect them nor the rich treasures they offer. These ancient African brothers and sisters are roots of Christians throughout the world.
With the boldness of Sankofa, may the children of the Nile Valley, all of Africa, and the African Diaspora quench our spiritual and intellectual thirst! We are the heirs to a rich history of ancient Christianity. But the question is: Do we know this history? Do we know the stories and contributions of early Christianity? Do we tell these stories to our children and grandchildren? May the knowledge and legacy of such African giants ignite our devotion to the Lord!
Source: Africa Study Bible
Thousands of years ago, the great rivers of the world held a conference and decided where they would go and settle.
“I’m going to London” said River Thames,’where I shall be mistress of all rivers of the world.
“I’m going to America” said river Hudson. ‘ Beautiful tall buildings will be built on my banks. I shall be the wealthiest river in the world.
“I’m going to India.” Said Ganges,’ where I shall be worshipped. Children will be thrown into my holy waters. I shall be the sacred river of the world”.
One river remained quiet till the end.
“who are you?” the other rivers asked.
“I am the River Nile”
“ where are you going?”
“To Africa – to the Sahara Desert where no man can live. I shall roll down my waters from the mountains to bring life to the desert”
The other rivers laughed. “Africa! Africa! Why Nile? Why don’t go to a better place than that?” But Nile would not change her mind. She went to Africa.
James Aggrey, an educator born in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in the nineteenth century and the person credited with this story, said that God was pleased with River Nile for her self-sacrifice. He rewarded her in many ways.
When baby Mosses was born, his life was protected in the River Nile. The baby Jesus, too, was brought to the land of the Nile for protection. And when the Son of God was crucified, a man from the banks of the Nile carried His cross.
“One wonders,” Aggrey said, speaking of the African people, “whether this meek race may not one day save Christianity for the world”.
If, indeed, Africans save Christianity for the word, it will be history coming full circle, for Africa was one of the cradles in which Christianity was first nourished.
It was in Africa that one of the writers of the four gospels was born. It was in Africa that an understanding of God and his relationship with humankind was refined. It was in Africa that monasticism developed, a way of life introduced to Europe by Athanasius, an African, and a way of life responsible for much of the early spread of Christianity throughout Europe.
Christianity in Africa did not fare well when the spread of Islam began in the seventh century. And when the European missionaries brought Christianity to Africa one thousand years later, they brought a European Christianity imbued with colonialism, ignoring for the most part Christianity’s African roots.
Sankofa is an Akan word from Ghana meaning “returning to your roots, recapturing what you’ve lost, and moving forward.” What are some of the African roots of Christianity? We know from early texts, church paintings, oral storytelling traditions, and archaeology about the “living stones” who helped build the Christian church. The African people, clergy, teachers, theologians, martyrs and Desert fathers and mothers are a gold mine of spiritual resources and intellect. Exploring their memories will root us in history and empower our vision.
Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus became refugees in Africa when Herod ordered the slaughter of the young boys in Bethlehem. We are not told where in Egypt they went although a fourth-century Coptic Church was built on the spot in Cairo where it was believed they stayed. And we are not told how long they were there, although it has been estimated anywhere from several months to several years.
Matthew says their African sojourn was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Hosea: “ I called my son out of Egypt”.
Simon, an African from Cyrene was forced by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus on the way to Golgotha where the Lord was crucified. Cyrene, in the modern Libya, was founded by Greeks and Jews lived there for more than two hundred years before the birth of Christ. Cyrenian Jews had a synagogue in Jerusalem and Simon was probably living nearby.
The first Gentile convert to Christianity was an African. Philip, a man of good reputation and one of those chosen to serve the early church, was directed by an angel to a desert road where he encountered the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority”. Philip told the treasurer the good news about Jesus. The treasurer believed, was baptized, and went away rejoicing”. This man was most likely from Meroe, a city on the Nile in modern Sudan about two hundred kilometers northeast of Khartoum. Jews had settled there- as well as in other areas of Africa – where Solomon expanded Israel’s influence and trade. Meroe was the capital of the rich and powerful kingdom of Kush, known for its iron smelting, gold mining, and trading. Kush was several thousand years old, at one point had conquered Egypt (the 25th Dynasty of Egypt was Kushite.), and about fifty years before the tresurer’s conversion had battled Rome in a five-year war. Christianity’s first gentile convert, the Ethiopian eunuch, came from an amazing kingdom in the heart of northeastern Africa.
The earliest of the four gospels was written by an African. John Mark was born in Cyrenne in modern Libya to a Jewish family of the tribe of Levi. He grew up in Africa until, due to civil unrest, the family moved to Jerusalem. Mark was the cousin of Barnabas and according to Coptic tradition, Peter was married to the cousin of Aristopolus, mark’s father. Peter disciple the young mark. Mark’s mother had a large house where the first Christian church met, where the Holy Spirit came upon the believers, and ¬–possibly- where Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples. John Mark, an African, heard the preaching and teaching of Peter in Rome and incorporated it in the earliest gospel narrative.
The influence of the early African church was profound and concentrated in three arrears. First, Alexandria, Egypt was the intellectual capital of the Mediterranean world. John Mark, Alexandria’s first bishop, was martyred there in AD 68, but the thrived. Second, the largest Christian community in Maghreb ( an area from modern Libya to Morocco) was Carthage, in modern Tunisia. Three early popes were African from this region. Third, Coptic Christianity flourished in Egypt and Sudan. In the early fourth century, Christianity was declared the state religion of the Kingdom of Askum, part of modern Ethiopia.
Many of the notable African Christians of the first few centuries were known for their writings and teachings than for their actions. Tertullian from Carthage (160-215) is said to be the father of western theology. Clement of Alexandria (150-215) was called a messenger of Christianity in a philosopher’s garb. The great theologian Origen of Alexandria (185-254) created the Hexapla, a massive edition of the Old Testament containing six version in parallel columns. The complete Hexapla was said to be six thousand pages in fifteen volumes and exists today in only fragments. Origen is called the” father of biblical criticism” because he was one of the first to develop a theory of interpreting the Bible
One of the most important long lasting debates about the person of Christ originated in the African city of Alexandria. In the early fourth century, Arius, pastor of the church founded by Mark, began teaching that the only Father was truly God eternal – without a beginning – and that Jesus was not fully God and was not eternal. He had a beginning. This teaching appealed to Gnostics and converts from paganism because it seemed easier to understand then the mysteries of the Trinity. The Council of Nicaea was called by the Emperor Constatine in AD 325 to settle the matter. The result was the Nicene Creed, which declared that Jesus was “true God of true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father”
The creed did not settle matters, however, and over the next fifty years the “Arian Controversy” debate continued, led on one side by Athanasius, an African born in Egypt and on the other until his death in 336 by Arius, an African born in Libya.
Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria defended the deity of Christ and is labeled “Father of orthodoxy” by the Eastern Church. “Jesus that I know as my Redeemer cannot be less than God”, declared Athanasius at the council of Nicaea. He is also called “Father of Canon” by some Protestants because he was the first to identify the twenty-seven books of the New Testament that we use today.
Although the church in Alexandria grew rapidly, when it suffered persecution about AD 250 under the roman Emperor Decius, many Christians fled into the desert. When Rome turned its attention elsewhere, most Christians returned to Alexandria, but those who remained in the desert as hermits were the beginning of Christian monasticism, an African institution that had a profound effect on Europe, particularly Ireland and Britain. Many early African clergy and lay people were examples of deep spirituality. They lived a simple lifestyle of prayer, enduring harsh persecution and martyrdom. Mark in Alexandria, Cyprian in the Maghreb, Vibia Perpetua in Carthage all died for their faith. “ The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”
And we must not forget Augustine of Hippo, the greatest of the early church fathers. His writings influenced Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was born, died, and served as Bishop in modern Algeria and considered himself African. His early life was one of parties, entertainment, and worldly living. Through the prayers of his mother, the witness of St. Ambrose, and the words of Paul to “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you… and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him”, Augustine became a Christian. He wrote about his conversion in Confessions. More than 350 of his sermons are still available.
The Christian church thrived in northern Africa for the six hundred years after Christ. It helped formulate the West’s understanding of Christian theology. It provided three popes to the church in Rome. It contributed to the determination of the canon of Scripture. It developed a rich heritage of biblical scholarship, teaching on Christian living, and evangelical zeal. And monasticism, an African institution, was a powerful force for the spread of the gospel throughout Europe.
But after the death of Mohammed in AD 632, Islam spread quickly across northern Africa and into Spain as a result of military conquests and forced conversions. The African church did not fare very well, and Africa lost its position as an important center of Christian thought and evangelism. Although Christianity in Ethiopia survived the spread of Islam- and was the home of the only Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa before colonial times- it was geographically isolated from the rest of the Christian world and became even more isolated due to the rise of Islam.
The Christianity that came back to Africa under the European missionaries was Western in thought and colonial in spirit. For instance, Egypt, which figures prominently in the Bible, is not usually presented in Western Bible studies as an African country, but as the essentially Middle-Eastern society it is today.
If we lose this tradition and forget to honor our history, we won’t discover the wealth of early African Christian resources. We stand on the shoulders of our African spiritual ancestors, the martyrs, teachers, clergy, and intellectuals, who have already run the race of faith. Their witness gives us an example and encouragement (Hebrews 12;1). We should not neglect them nor the rich treasures they offer. These ancient African brothers and sisters are roots of Christians throughout the world.
With the boldness of Sankofa, may the children of the Nile Valley, all of Africa, and the African Diaspora quench our spiritual and intellectual thirst! We are the heirs to a rich history of ancient Christianity. But the question is: Do we know this history? Do we know the stories and contributions of early Christianity? Do we tell these stories to our children and grandchildren? May the knowledge and legacy of such African giants ignite our devotion to the Lord!
Source: Africa Study Bible
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