African christianity: a living and vibrant repository of christian faith – Part I

Auteurs

  • Johny Thachuparamban The Jesuit Institut South Africa

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.25247/2595-3788.2018.v1n2.p415-430

Mots-clés :

African Christianity. African Church Fathers. African Theology. Colonization. Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Indigenous Spirituality. Mission. Third Force of Christianity.

Résumé

Africa continent has played a remarkable role in the formation and growth of Christian faith and culture, right from its infancy to its present state. While much has been written on the topic of Christianity in Africa, relatively little attempt has been made in acknowledging it as one of the pillars of faith in Christendom, a status attributed exclusively to the West and the East. Hence, this article aims at rectifying this perspective by presenting Africa as a significant, living and vibrant repository of Christian faith. This claim is substantiated by giving an overview of the growth of Christianity in Africa to establish its antiquity. The history is divided into four phases:  the beginning of Christianity in North Africa, the decline of the early African Church due to Islam; and the colonization or modern period. The fourth phase, the Africanization of Christianity will be dealt with in the second part of this article.

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Biographie de l'auteur

  • Johny Thachuparamban, The Jesuit Institut South Africa
    Johny Thachuparamban is a member of the CMI religious congregation. He has a Masters degree in Science with maths as major (MSc) from Kerala, India, and a Licentiate (STL) and Doctorate (STD) in biblical studies from KU Leuven, Belgium. He has served in the Kenya mission, at first, as Associate Pastor at Mbiuni Catholic Mission, Machakos, Kenya, and after his theological studies in Belgium as Professor at Hekima Jesuit University College, and later also as part time lecturer at Tangaza University College, Nairobi, Kenya. Besides this, he serves as visiting Professor of New Testament at St Charles Luwanga Diocesan Seminary, Windhoek, Namibia. His doctoral thesis on Matthean studies was published with the title Jesus and the Law in the Matthean Community: A Source-and Redaction-Critical Study of Mt 5, 38-48, Delhi, 2011. He has published articles in reputed journals. At present he is the Regional Superior of the CMI St Thomas Region, East Africa.

Références

Baur, J., 2000 Years of Christianity in Africa: An African Church History (Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa, 1994).

Beetham,T. A., Christianity and the New Africa, (London: Pall Mall Press, 1967).

Brockman N. and Prescantini, U., A History of the Catholic Church, (Kenya: Paulines Publications Africa, 1991, 22004, repr. 2010).

Daughrity, B., “Assessing Christianity in Africa’s Transforming Context” in International Review of Mission, 103 (2014), 348-362.

Davies, J. G., The Origin and Development of Early Christian Church, (New York: SCM Press, 1952).

Foster, J., Church History: The First Advance, AD 29-500 (London: SPCK, 1991).

Frend, W. H. C., The Donatist Church, (Oxford: OUP, 1952).

Kane H., A Concise History of the Christian World Mission, (India: Paperback Publisher, 1978).

Kim, S. and Kim, K.Christianity as a World Religion (London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008).

Latourette, K. S., A History of the Expansion of Christianity, Vol. I, (Michigan: Harper and Brothers, 2006).

Mbiti, J. S., Bible and Theology in African Christianity, (Nairobi: OUP, 1986).

Mbiti, J. S., Bible and Theology in African Christianity (London: Oxford University Press, 1986).

Mugambi, J. N. K., The Church and Reconstruction of Africa: Theological Considerations (Nairobi: All Africa Conference of Churches, 1997).

Needham, N. R., 2000 Years of Christ’s Power: The Age of the Early Church Fathers (London: Grace Publications Trust, 1997).

Pawlikova-Vilhanova, V., “Christian Missions in Africa and their Role in the Transformation of African Societies”, in Asian and African Studies, 16 (2007), 249-260.

Tertullian, Apology, Roberts, Alexander and Donaldson, James, ed., (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986). Cf. Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0308.htm (accessed on 7th November 2017).

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Publiée

2018-12-15

Comment citer

THACHUPARAMBAN, Johny. African christianity: a living and vibrant repository of christian faith – Part I. Fronteiras - Revista de Teologia da Unicap, Recife, PE, Brasil, v. 1, n. 2, p. 415–430, 2018. DOI: 10.25247/2595-3788.2018.v1n2.p415-430. Disponível em: https://www1.unicap.br/ojs/index.php/fronteiras/article/view/1252.. Acesso em: 19 mai. 2024.

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