The Church of the Lord (Aladura) was established by Josiah Olunowo Ositelu founded in 1925 and inaugurated in 1930 in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.[1]
"Aladura" in Yoruba means the Praying People". They always wear white.
Also known as Aladura churches, they believe in the power of praying and in faith healing and various elements associated with Pentecostalism. Most of the founders of the churches were associated with Anglicanism, though some Methodists joined the movement as well. The churches oppose traditional African religion, and sometimes burn cult images as idols. They oppose polygamy and witchcraft. In contrast with Kimbanguism, the churches tend to avoid politics and focus instead on the holiness movement, Aladura is also known as a prophetic church there is a prophetic gift embedded in the church as a result of constant praying which they are known for as aladura, the praying church.
Rufus Okikiola Ositelu is the current Archbishop And Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Nigeria and the Primate of The Church of the Lord (Aladura) Organisation Worldwide.[2]
Ositelu was born on 15 May 1900 at Ogere, Ijebu-Remo, Ogun State in Nigeria.[3]
Titus Olatunde, Joseph Aromuti, Benjamin Afolabi (from Faith Tabernacle Church, Ijebu Ode), Layide Akinyele, etc.
The first Tabieorar Festival was 10–22 August 1937.
Evangelism – (Cities Olunowo Ositelu pioneered)
Ogere (the Fountain), Ibadan, Abeokuta, Sabongidda Orra (where the Hymn "Ati 'Segun de Isegun", and "Angel Ollusegun" derived – (i.e. "from Vic-to-ry unto Vic-tory"), Ijebu Ode, Aiyepe, Sagamu, Ijebu Igbo, Sobe, etc.
Ositelu went on missionary journeys throughout Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Supporters claim that Ollunowo Ositelu demonstrated God's Powers through miracles, healing, the Gospel, as well as victory and power over Satan and evil powers.
Owoade Adeleke Adejobi
Emmanuel Owoade Adeleke Adejobi succeeded Ollunowo Ositelu as the Head of the Church of the Lord (Aladura) on 7 May 1967.
During the Mount Tabborrar Festival on 22 August 1945, Ollunowo Ositelu read a message he claimed to have received from God on 18 August 1945:
"Adeleke Adejobi is the Gbolahan (Torch Bearer) of the Church of the Lord Aladura".
Ollunowo Ositelu also promoted and appointed Adeleke Adejobi prophet and apostle on the Mount on the same day, and pronounced that Adeleke Adejobi would be his successor.
In January 1966, presiding over the first International Churches Assembly at Ogere, Ollunowo Ositelu read again in his address his vision of 18 August 1945 in which he said God told him that Adeleke Adejobi was to be his successor. Ositelu confirmed before the house his implicit faith, confidence and trust in Adeleke Adejobi, and declared him his successor.
Josiah Ollunowo Ositelu died in July 1966.
On Sunday, 7 May 1967, Adeleke Adejobi was inaugurated as the second Primate of the Church of the Lord Aladura.
International Ministerial Council of Great Britain (IMCGB) 1993
founding member of the International Ministerial Council of Germany (IMCOG) 1994
Afro-Caribbean Churches in the UK (ACCUK).
founding member of the Council of African Christian Communities in Europe (CACCE) 1999
founding member of the International Convent of Christian Congregations, Rhein-Main, Germany (ICCCRG) 1999
founding member and initiator of United Aladura Churches (UAC) 2004
In 1996 the Church hosted a WCC Consultative Meeting with African Instituted Churches at Ogere-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
In 2010 the Primate of the Church of the Lord (Aladura) Worldwide [TCLAW], Rufus Okikiola Ositelu, was proclaimed and inaugurated as the Pope of the Aladura Communion Worldwide [ACW], with style "His Holiness, Pope Dr. Rufus Ositelu I".
Rufus Okikiolaolu Olubiyi Ositelu, African Instituted Churches: Diversities, Growth, Gifts, Spirituality and Ecumenical Understanding of African Initiated Churches, Series no.:18 Beiträge zur Missionswissenschaft und interkulturellen Theologie Bd. 18, 2002, 232 Pages., br., ISBN3-8258-6087-6
John S. Pobee and Gabriel Olusegun Ositelu, African Initiatives in Christianity: The growth, gifts and diversities of indigenous African churches, A challenge to the ecumenical movement, Risk Book Series no.: 83, Geneva: WCC Publications, 1998, 73 Pages, br., ISBN2-8254-1277-5
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Union of Utrecht, the Lutheran World Federation, the Anglican Communion, the Mennonite churches, the World Methodist Council, the Baptist World Alliance, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Pentecostal churches, the Moravian Church and the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. Notably, the Catholic Church is not a full member, although it sends delegates to meetings who have observer status.
Ecumenism – also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalism – is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjective ecumenical is thus applied to any non-denominational initiative that encourages greater cooperation and union among Christian denominations and churches.
Ijebu-Ode is a town in Ogun State, South Western geopolitical zone in Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road Northeast of Lagos; it is within 100 km (62 mi) of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and possesses a warm tropical climate.
Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. As a Nigerian state, Ogun is the second most industrialised state after Lagos, with a focus on metal processing. It has good road and rail connections to the harbours in Lagos and Lekki. Wole Soyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 1986, lives in Ogun.
Sagamu or Ishagamu is an agglomeration of thirteen towns in southwestern Nigeria. It is located in Ogun State along the Ibu River and Eruwuru Stream between Lagos and Ibadan. It was founded in the mid 19th century by members of the Remo branch of the Yoruba people. The 13 towns are: Makun, Offin, Sonyindo, Epe, Ibido, Igbepa, Ado, Oko, Ipoji, Batoro, Ijoku, Ijagba and Latawa. It is the capital of Remo Kingdom, and the paramount ruler of the kingdom, the Akarigbo of Remo, has his palace is in the town of Offin.
Gbenga Daniel is a Nigerian politician who served as Senator for Ogun East since 2023. He previously served as governor of Ogun State from 2003 to 2011.
Chief Hubert Adedeji Ogunde D.Lit. was a Nigerian actor, playwright, theatre manager, and musician who founded the first contemporary professional theatrical company in Nigeria, the African Music Research Party, in 1945.
An African-initiated church (AIC) is a Christian church independently started in Africa by Africans rather than chiefly by missionaries from another continent.
The term "Aladura" means "praying person" in Yoruba. Aladura is a classification of indigenous churches that started in Yoruba land in the early 20th century. These churches believe in the efficacy of prayers and practical guidance by the Living God through his Holy Spirit in all its programs.
Christianity in Nigeria represents one of several religious traditions in the country, including Islam and Traditional African religions.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta is a diocese located in the city of Abeokuta in the ecclesiastical province of Lagos in Nigeria.
Moses Orimolade Tunolase (1875–1933) is the founder of the first African Pentecostal movement, the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim, which was established in 1925. The church was born out of the Anglican church community among the Yoruba people in Western Nigeria.
Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) is the first Pentecostal church present in Nigeria. It arose in the first half of the 20th century, in the then-British empire. It was founded in Ijebu-ode named Precious Stone Society in 1918 but was formally established in 1941 after a split from the Apostolic Church which the original Aladura organization had invited to Nigeria. Its growth was led by Joseph Ayo Babalola, a road construction driver who became its first General Evangelist.
The African Church is a Christian denomination that was established in the British colonial areas that later became Nigeria in 1901. It was established after strong disagreements arose between the European leadership of the Anglican Church and the native African leadership. Following the installation of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a black African leader of the Anglican Church and translator of the Bible into the Yoruba language, as the head of Church of Nigeria, a number of African clerics obtained progressive education but did not advance in the leadership of the Church. This led to schisms that finally led to the formation of the indigenous African Church.
Iperu or Iperu Akesan Bale Oja is a town near the Ibu River in Ogun State in the southwestern region of Nigeria. It is the most populous town in the Remo Region of the Ikenne Local Government Area. The entire LGA has an area of 137.13 km² and a population of 178,412 at the 2006 census.
Celestial City, Imeko, is the Holy City of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC). It is located in the Imeko Afon Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria, very close to the border with Benin. Celestial City is known as "Jerusalem" by the Celestians. The city has potential as a tourist location.
Christianity is a major religion in Ogun State and it constitutes 70% of its population, where Sharia is not valid. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ijebu-Ode and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta are present in the state. Ijebu-Ode has a St. Clare's Monastery. The international headquarters of the Church of the Lord (Aladura) are in Ogere-Remo, Ogun State. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is present in the state. In Ogun State, the Celestial Church of Christ has Alafia, Emi, Ibukun, Itunu, Itunu Iyanu, Iyanu, Oba Nla, Ogo Oluwa and Oluwaseun Parishes e. Christ Apostolic Church has churches in the state. Jubilee Christian Church International has its headquarters in Abeokuta. The Anglican church is present in Ogun State. The town of Ota has a tract of land known as Canaanland, which includes the church of the name Faith Tabernacle and Covenant University. Crawford University and Seventh-day Adventist Babcock University are present in the state. Western Diocese of Salem International Christian Centre has its seat in the state. The Redeemed Christian Church of God owns Redeemer's University. Christ International Divinity College (CINDICO) has its seat in the state.
Ogere, is an ancient town in the present Remo Division of Ogun State, Nigeria. The town was founded circa 1401 A.D. Ogere is part of the Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Christiana Abiodun Emanuel, born Abiodun Akinsowon (1907–1994), was never a co-founder of the Cherubim and Seraphim, an Aladura Christian denomination. After a schism in the Church, she founded and led the Cherubim and Seraphim Society.
The Apostolic Church Nigeria is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Nigeria with its national headquarters at Olorunda Ketu, Lagos and international headquarters in Penygroes, UK.
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