Poor infrastructure system led Portuguese man power filed to spread the Christianity in the coast of east Africa is lacking man power … Missionaries first arrived at the court of Kabaka Muteesa in 1877, almost a century after the missionary impetus from Europe had begun. SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY IN WEST AFRICA. The Biblical Scholar Jerome (347--420 C.E.) (There was also the problem of increasing ethnic and social tensions which helped fractured the empire into what would become the Byzantium and Holy Roman Empire of … Mark the Evangelist made history in the year 43 when he became the first bishop to serve in the Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Origen, head of the School of Alexandria in the early third century, is also noted for compiling a comparison of six translations of the old testament—the Hexapla. By the middle of the first century, churches had been established in northern African by early converts to Christianity. They were followed in turn by the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. As a Christian, I believe that God’s historical providence directed the events that led to Christianity’s development. Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Religion / 5 Factors That Led To The Spread Of Islam In Nigeria (13211 Views) 136 Christians Convert To Islam In Kwara State / Factors That Can Lead To Sexual Impurity / T.B. Romans were enticed by the availability of land for building estates and wealth, and during the first century C.E., north Africa was heavily colonized by Rome. Since then, Africa has become a region predominantly inhabited by Christians and Muslims. It was a direct statement against Roman rule. Although Jesus was dead, his teachings were still very much alive and thriving within his followers. Christianity arrived in Africa in the late 1st or early 2nd century AD, making these Christian communities some of the earliest in the world. It was partially due to this that the Roman Empire eventually split into two, east and west. 1. Christianity was well established in Alexandria by the end of the first century C.E. And what kind of lives did they lead? The Fall of Rome: How, When, and Why Did It Happen? By Joseph Kiprop on September 21 2017 in Society. ), the Egyptian city of Alexandria became a significant (if not the most significant) center for the development of Christianity. It has served as the birth place for many cultures and religions. Explain six factors that favoured the spread of Christianity in East Africa. He was an intellectual Christian who debated with those suspicious of scholarship and taught several notable ecclesiastical and theological leaders (such as Origen, and Alexander the Bishop of Jerusalem). The Spread of Christianity and Factors that Contributed to the Political and Religious Separation of the Early Church It had a mostly friendly rivalry with the School of Antioch which was based around a literal interpretation of the Bible. Missionaries faced no strong opposition from any region especially in the interior. Some religious scholars believe that Christianity was introduced to Africans by way of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The religion also grew in northwestern Africa where the churches maintained links with the Church of Rome. What were the causes of this phenomenal success? In this series we’ll briefly look at 10 reasons for Christianity’s rapid spread during its first few centuries. But, like Egypt, Africa and its neighbors Numidia and Mauritania (which were under the rule of client kings), were recognized as potential 'bread baskets'. Most of the people lived close together in crowded tenements. Christianity gave something to the people of the Roman Empire that they had never experienced before. Octavian (as he was then known, had defeated Mark Anthony and deposed Queen Cleopatra VII in 30 B.C.E. The date of his death is unknown, but his last writings date to 220 C.E. Christianity was also very attractive because it set out a code for morality. Answers. The spread of the faith in Africa represents perhaps the most dramatic advance in all Christian history, and yet the names and stories of persons chiefly responsible are largely unknown. The spread of the religion was rapid and was due to many factors. Buganda in the 19th Century Christianity came late to Uganda compared with many other parts of Africa. It is believed that African … Despite those efforts, the spread of Christianity was very slow. Factors such as educational, spiritual, social, cultural, economic, political, psychological, historical, geographical, etc., are from amongst the factors contributing to the widespread and acceptance of Islam b… It is some of these Christians who stayed in the desert for prayers after the end of the persecution and founded Christian monasticism. Christianity appealed to a disaffected Egyptian populous through its representations of resurrection, an afterlife, virgin birth, and the possibility that a god could be killed and brought back, all of which resonated with more ancient Egyptian religious practice. The Portuguese attempted to introduce a Catholic-influenced form of Christianity between the 16th and 18th centuries in the Kongo Kingdom, but it did not last for long. And yet within 25 years Uganda had become one of the most successful mission fields in the whole of Africa. Alistair Boddy-Evans is a teacher and African history scholar with more than 25 years of experience. However, Emperor Decius ordered the persecution of the adherents of Christianity in mid-3rd century forcing Christians to seek refuge in the desert. 1. The spread of Christianity throughout Egypt and Northern Africa, during the first five centuries was rapid and intense, despite the prevalence of false teachings, persecutions and martyrdom. However, Christianity in most of the areas of North Africa was wiped out with the advent of Islam. Some religious scholars believe that Christianity was introduced to Africans by way of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. 5 Factors That Led To The Spread Of Islam In Nigeria - Religion - Nairaland. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2021 worldatlas.com, The Origin And Growth Of Christianity In Africa, African Countries Where Christianity is the Largest Religion, Types Of Crimes By Number Of Offenses In The US, The 10 Biggest Shopping Malls In The World. Cities like Carthage (now a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia), Utica, Hadrumetum (now Sousse, Tunisia), Hippo Regius (now Annaba, Algeria) had as many as 50,000 inhabitants. These evils were fought by champions like Henry Venn and Thomas Fowell. (There was also the problem of increasing ethnic and social tensions which helped fractured the empire into what would become the Byzantium and Holy Roman Empire of medieval times.). Two factors that could inhibit the further spread of Christianity are:Faith. One person who brought Christianity to an African is Philip, as recounted in Acts 8:26–40. There has been a notable growth in the population of Christians residing in Africa while on the other hand observance of traditional African religions has been on a decline. African Christianity thus blossomed from the seeds planted by western Missionaries, and it developed its cultural identity. The Evangelical Revival, in the late 18th century, started sending missionaries to Africa. Christianity found its way to Sudan in the 1st century as well, and the region's Nubian churches had links to those in Egypt. North Africa would, over the first few centuries C.E., become a region for Christian innovation, looking at the nature of Christ, interpreting the gospels, and sneaking in elements from so-called pagan religions. Given the slow progress of Romanization of North Africa, it is perhaps surprising how quickly Christianity spread across the top of the continent. By the end of the second century, Carthage had produced a pope (Victor I). North Africa, however, Christianity was not merely eclipsed, it was supplanted.1 Tertullian, the "Father of Latin Christianity," had labored in North Africa during the latter years of the second century and the early years of the third. Ali Unal . However, we must distinguish between two obvious centers in the first century of the preaching of Christianity on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Roman life in North Africa was heavily concentrated around urban centers—by the end of the second century, there was upwards of six million people living in Roman North African provinces, a third of those living in the 500 or so cities and towns which had developed. According to tradition, the evangelist Mark was a native Jew of Cyrene, who came to Alexandria by way of the Pentapolis and, afte… Alexandria was also home to the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament which traditional has it was created on the orders of Ptolemy II for the use of the large population of Alexandrian Jews. Mark arrived in Egypt around 42 C.E., Philip traveled all the way to Carthage before heading east into Asia Minor, Matthew visited Ethiopia (by way of Persia), as did Bartholomew. The report, corroborated by the adoption of Christian symbolism on Ezana’s late coinage, and monotheistic as … Factors for church growth in first century Book summary 1: Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders How to read the Bible for all it's worth-book summary Factors for church growth in first century Vytisknout E-mail Zobrazeno: 60005 Topic: Within its first four centuries Christianity became the official religion of the entire Mediterranean community. Its Fertile Crescent contained one of the earliest culture hearths where civilization developed. The impact of Christianity on sub-Saharan Africa1 Matsobane J Manala Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa Abstract The aim of this article is to describe the impact of Christianity on sub-Saharan Africa. CHRISTIANITY: CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AFRICA Although we lack written sources, archaeological evidence suggests an early origin for the North African churches. By the time of Emperor Claudius (10 B.C.E.--45 C.E.) Once it was introduced to Africa, Christianity slowly spread from Alexandria to Ethiopia. In Africa Proconsularis and its neighbors, there was a resonance to traditional Gods through the concept of a supreme being. Develop an argument that evaluates how such factors led to the emergence or spread of one or more religions in this time period.” Maximum Possible Points: 6 . Even the idea of holy trinity could be related to various godly triads which were taken to be three aspects of a single deity. Important Africans who influenced the early development of Christianity include Tertullian, Perpetua, Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo. Nearly 200 years after the first wave of missionaries arrived in Africa, Christianity is growing faster here than anywhere else in the world. Most Important Figures in Ancient History, Ancient Syrian Facts, History and Geology, The Arian Controversy and the Council of Nicea, Postgraduate Certificate in Education, University College London. Factors Which Influenced the Spread Of Christianity, Alexandria as an Early Center of Christianity, Latin as the Language of Western Christianity, 6 Important People in Ancient African History. Nigeria has particularly witnessed rapid growth in Christianity with numerous African-Christian denominations established across the nation. The well-known narrative of the late Roman church-historian Rufinus relates a top-down process of conversion, starting with the ruler himself. The Main Factors in the Spread of Islam. -Trade between Africa and Mesopotamia helped in the spread of iron working.-Migrating Bantus spread the skill.-Travelers and messengers spread the art by giving or receiving gifts of iron.-It was spread through warfare. From the fall of Carthage in 146 BCE to the rule of Emperor Augustus (from 27 BCE), Africa (or, more strictly speaking, Africa Vetus, 'Old Africa'), as the Roman province was known, was under the command of a minor Roman official. Explain the factors involved in the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire both before and after the conversion of Constantine. Missions has been a part of Africa’s story since just after Jesus ascended into heaven. Amongst people subdued by Roman authority in North Africa (Aegyptus, Cyrenaica, Africa, Numidia, and Mauritania) Christianity quickly became a religion of protest—it was a reason for them to ignore the requirement to honor the Roman Emperor through sacrificial ceremonies. 1993-10-01 00:00:00 . • 'The Christian period in Mediterranean Africa' by WHC Frend, in Cambridge History of Africa, Ed. was another prolific Christian. ), aka Clement of Alexandria, was a Hellenistic theologian and the first president of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Titus Flavius Clemens (150--211/215 C.E. Historical records, which come partially from a narrative believed to have been written by Perpetua herself, describe in detail the ordeal leading up to their death in the arena—wounded by beasts and put to the sword. Almurabids who intended to open the cities of Andulus but later changed their mission to the activities of extending Islam in to West Africa. In the early years of the church, especially after the Siege of Jerusalem (70 C.E. There were few secrets in such a setting. One center was in Cyrenaica, within reach of the influence of Alexandria. The oldest of these churches is the Tewahedo which enjoys a membership of around 45 to 50 million people. This agitation resulted in both reforms and the sprouting of "African Initiated Churches." Factors Which Led to the Spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire Christianity was not born in a vacumn. Urbanization would prove to be a key factor in the development of North African Christianity. It was during the reign of Emperor Commodus (161--192 C.E., ruled from 180 to 192) that the first of three 'African' Popes was invested. One person who brought Christianity to an African is Philip, as recounted in Acts 8:26–40. It was partially due to this that the Roman Empire eventually split into two, east and west. Alexandria considered the second city after Rome, had 150,000 inhabitants by the third century. The spread of Christianity throughout Egypt and Northern Africa, during the first five centuries was rapid and intense, despite the prevalence of false teachings, persecutions and martyrdom. A strange historical significance seems to surround the Middle East. JD Fage, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1979. Some of his beliefs about the transmigration of souls and universal reconciliation (or apokatastasis, a belief that all men and women, and even Lucifer, would ultimately be saved), were declared heretical in 553 C.E., and he was posthumously excommunicated by the Council of Constantinople in 453 C.E. Born in Alexandria, Origen is most widely known for his synopsis of six different versions of the old testament, the Hexapla. The Nile Valley was feeding Rome. One of the most important Christian theologians and biblical scholars was Oregenes Adamantius, aka Origen (c.185--254 C.E.). Saints Felicity and Perpetua are celebrated by a feast day on March 7th. • Chapter 1: 'Geographical and Historical Background' & Chapter 5: 'Cyprian, the "Pope" of Carthage', in Early Christianity in North Africa by François Decret, trans. In North Africa, however, Christianity was not merely eclipsed, it was supplanted. 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