FOUNDING OF THE CELESTIAL CHURCH OF CHRIST.
Unlike the other Aladura churches that assimilated some features from the mainline churches from which they severed, the CCC does not represent an institutional breakaway from any already existing mission church, but was founded on September 29, 1947, through a vision from heaven as claimed by its founder.8 The vision came earlier, on May 23 of the same year, while Oschoffa was on one of his trade trips collecting ebony to sell to his friends and traders and was marooned in the forest near Toffin, a village in Porto Novo in the Republic of Benin.
In his personal testimony as recorded in the CCC’s constitution, Oschoffa claimed, “On the 23rd of May 1947, the day of the eclipse of the sun,9 as I was praying in the forest on this trip, I heard a voice and could not open my eyes. The voice I heard was ‘LULI,’ and the same voice told me, ‘This means The Grace of Jesus Christ.’”10 It was this visional event and other subsequent revelational experiences where Oschoffa saw different animals and creatures that spawned the movement, among which were a white monkey with wings, a multicolored bird with yellow legs that resembled a peacock, and a snake about thirty centimeters long.11 Although the vision of these creatures is significant to the worldview of the CCC as they bear key theological import on how the CCC views the world as described.
By the founder, these visional experiences have generated various theological controversies and have received mixed reactions from other Christian blocks, particularly Pentecostals.
While some groups see this as a demonic event that lacks textual basis, others construed it as Oschoffa’s phase of liminality or rites of passage into the occultic world, associating his miracles and exploits in ministry with witchcraft and some strange and esoteric forces based on the event. Underscoring some of the views and reactions to this visional and supernatural experience, Akinwumi muses as follows:
The monkey could not be described as an angel of God because the biblical description of angels of God portrays them as having human features and with two wings with which they fly. Neither could it be described as a bat since bats are not so large and have no tails. The multicolored bird could not be associated with any divinity because the dove is the only bird said to be the bearer of good tidings. Viewed from an African perspective, strange birds which are so lovely and sing beautifully are associated with witchcraft. While Oschoffa was still contemplating the meaning of all this and the power behind such an event his attention was drawn to a noise from the ground. He looked down and saw a short snake, about thirty centimeters long.
The people of Dahomey (Republic of Benin) at that time considered snakes sacred creatures and it was an abomination or taboo for a Beninese (Dahomean) to kill a snake either intentionally or without any justifiable cause. Snake worship among the Dahomeans was widely accepted and the Dangbe god of Porto Novo was a python god.
While this statement represents some of the dissenting views characteristic of the claims that Oschoffa was diabolical and phony, Oschoffa, in his later years, clarified the significance of the creatures he encountered in his visions as he claimed to have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit.13According to him, each of the animals portrays a different category of human characteristics and behaviors among which the church will dwell, explaining why the vision cannot and should not be taken literally, but metaphorically and symbolically. Therefore, it is credible to argue that there is a congruence between Oschoffa’s supernatural experiences and other visions in the Bible relating to animals and/or living creatures. The visions of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 17), Zechariah (Zech 1:6), and the apostle John in the book of Revelation (Rev 13) all come to mind. It is safe to say that none of these visions bears any literal, but rather metaphorical and symbolic, interpretation. Referencing Oschoffa’s and William Wade Harris’ experiences, Cornelius Olowola, in his study of African Independent Churches (AIC), contends that the belief in visions and revelations has always been at the center of the doctrinal practices of independent African churches. Many of their leaders claim to have visions or revelations.14 It was these experiences that heralded Oschoffa’s commission into the ministry.
THE “DIVINE ORDER”
On September 29, 1947, while fellowshipping with some individuals in his house, Oschoffa claimed to have seen a mysterious and divine appearance where a winged angel bathed in an intense light stood before him.15 The angel, according to Oschoffa, brought a word from God to Oschoffa regarding his commission and the assignment of the mission he was called to lead. The angel conveyed the message to Oschoffa in the Egun language and interpreted it in English as follows:
It is the wish of God to send you on an errand of preaching to the world.16 Many nominal Christians there are who, when confronted by difficulties and problems of this world, they run after fetish priests and other powers of darkness for all kinds of assistance. Consequently, on their death, they cannot see Christ because, by their action, Satan has left his spiritual mark on them. To assist you in your work so that men may listen to and follow you, miraculous work of Holy divine healing will be carried out by you in the name of Jesus Christ. These works of divine healing and God’s spiritual mark on you will testify to the fact God sent you.
This message encapsulated what would later be interpreted as both the vision and mission statements of the CCC, in which it defined all its missional activities. It is perhaps one of the things that distinguishes the CCC from any connection with occultism as claimed by its critics. Although people tend to associate the movement with occultism and fetishism, it maintains its self-image as a Christian church sui generis and vehemently refuses any connecting nexus with traditional religions and praxis.18 Reacting and underscoring the significance of the message of the “divine order” as delivered by the angel, Adogame maintains that the vision revolves around the mission against “Satan,” “fetish priests,” and other “powers of darkness” in the world.19 Not only that, he also believes that the vision shows that God’s benevolent power as portrayed in the message was to be used to counter the power of Satan and other mischievous forces.20 More significantly, the events of May 23 and September 29 both helped establish the prophetic office of Oschoffa, as people began to regard him as a prophet after relating the encounter to them.
Eric N. Newberg, who has done an extensive study on Christianity in Africa, is probably one of the few scholars in the global Charismatic academic and ecclesial guild who avidly testified to the prophetic office of the anointed man of God. Noting his role as one of the leading figures in Aladura movements, Newberg surmises, “An example of a leader of an Aladura movement would be Samuel Biléou Joseph Oschoffa (1909– 1985), the prophet-founder of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) in Nigeria in 1947.”21 Newberg maintains that Oschoffa had visions in which God showed him how to organize a purified church based on a distinct liturgy, organizational structure, and code of rigorous ethical and doctrinal principles.22 It is Newberg’s insightful assertion that possibly helps to simplify both the agenda of the movement as well as Oschoffa’s commission to lead a purified church and/or an organized structure. It equally helps to assert his place as a prophet who was commissioned to speak light into the darkness of his own generation. His generation was one of the darkest in the history of Christianity, particularly when Christianity was just mushrooming on the continent of Africa. He is probably one of the people Philip Jenkins would regard as “prophets of Africa.”23 Regarding the name of the denomination, the naming of the movement was believed to have “come down from Heaven by divine revelation” through one Alexander Yanga, who was at the time undergoing spiritual healing under Oschoffa.24 It was reported that Yanga experienced a seven-day-long trance. At the end of the seven days, he wrote the name originally in French as Le Christianism Celeste. It was later rendered as Eglise du Christianisme Céleste, translated in English as “Celestial Church of Christ.”25 Just as the name of the church was given through a different prophet, many other important components of the church, such as mode of worship, dress code, and hymnodies, were received through different prophets within the fold. This attests to the highly charismatic and democratic leadership acumen of Oschoffa. According to Newberg, socialized charismatic leadership is leadership that (a) is based on egalitarian behavior, (b) serves collective interests and is not driven by self-interest of the leader, and (c) develops and empowers others.26 Oschoffa can be classified as one of the few Charismatic leaders who lived the most shared life, building, raising, and empowering other leaders. Rosalind I. J. Hackett, however, has argued that while he was alive the organization of the CCC was ostensibly structured around him, making him the centralized authority, ratifying all major decisions.27 However, eyewitness accounts and the fact that the organization outlived him has attested to the fact that Oschoffa rarely made any major decisions with regard to the organization without consulting with his leaders, particularly the board of trustees. In fact, every CCC parish had and still has a parochial committee that is vested with the responsibilities of making critical decisions in each local assembly.
History continue