The Church in Africa

Northern Africa
- 210 million people (88% Muslim; 9% Christian)
- Most of the Christians in this area are in Egypt (Egyptian Coptic Church)

Egypt:
- Church in the 2nd century
o Origin
o Monasticism
o Athanasius (Bishop)
- Egyptians were kicked out of the Western Christian community over the nature of Jesus. They were cut out of the western church.
- 8 million Coptic Christians in Egypt today
- Fairly persecuted, but the largest church in the middle east
- During the 6th century:
o Christian kingdom that lasted for about 1000 years
o Wiped out with the influx of Islam

• Alexandria was a main center of Christian activity
• The Church in Egypt survived Islamic invasions while the Church in other parts of North Africa did not (other churches maintained Latin as the language within the church.

Sudan:
o Christians in the south (2 million); 25 million Muslims in the North
o Islam in the north
o Place of many civil wars
o The Christians have a challenge with the Muslim north and persecuted heavily
o Black in the south and Arabs in the north

Tunisia:
• Tertullian: famous apologist in 200 AD
• Montanism
• Other early church fathers - e.g. Cyprian in the 300s

• Today 1% Christian

Algeria:

• St. Augustine - "most significant theologian of the early church."

Christianity existed significantly in North Africa until the 7th century. Most of Christianity until the 13th century was not European.

Sub-Saharan Africa

o 12 million taken as slaves to Americas
o Missionaries followed the slave traders to new lands and also into Africa
o “When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said let us pray. We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land” – John Kenyatta
o Missions starting in 19th century and piggybacking off of colonialism
o As late as 1920, there were only a few native Catholic priests, but a lot of tension at the time

o African Traditional Religion
• Heaven and hell are not separate from earth
• Time is cyclical
• Remote male deity
• Spirit world

These beliefs were a challenge to apologetics-trained Western missionaries. These missionaries responded by decrying all aspects of traditional African religion.

o Local Christians were starting to form apart from western churches
• African Independent (Initiated) Churches (19th century)
• Prophet-healer as founder (male or female)
• Polygamy accepted
• Move to traditional dress (rather than western)
• Became a Christian tribe
- Most Christian missionaries did not recognize these churches. They were extremely effective in addressing issues like witchcraft.
o Most of these churches started in South Africa

- African Independent Church