Abstract
There has recently been an upsurge in the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, especially in northern Nigeria by the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram, and in the Middle Belt and other areas of the country by Muslim Fulani herdsmen. One of the characteristics of these persecutions is that while they are targeted mainly at Christians, these Christians are never separated along the lines of their denominations. This article highlights the ecumenical implications that the scenario holds for the various Christian churches in Nigeria, churches that before now have been schooled in elements of extreme denominationalism.
Some works in recent times have studied the contemporary persecution of Christians in Nigeria. 1 These persecutions have often been masterminded by the Muslim terrorist group Boko Haram, which wishes to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria; by its splinter group the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP); and then by Muslim Fulani herdsmen. Equally, there have been works that have dwelt on the ecumenical movement and have called for Christian unity in Nigeria. 2 But none of these works has explored how the fact that Christians of all persuasions are targeted in the previously mentioned persecutions could hold implications for the unity of Christian churches in Nigeria. This is the gap that this article hopes to fill. But before moving ahead, we need to understand better the nature of Christian persecution in Nigeria today, as well as the reality of what I am calling the ecumenism of blood.
The nature of Christian persecution in contemporary Nigeria
Since 2009, over 32,000 Nigerian Christians have been killed by the Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Muslim Fulani herdsmen. 3 Many more have been displaced. Two realities characterize these persecutions. One, not in all cases have only Christians been attacked. Some Muslims, especially those regarded as apostates by the Boko Haram, for instance, have also been attacked; at the beginning, however, their assault was mainly against Christians. Two, no matter the form and place, the persecutions have been and are targeted at Christians of all persuasions and denominations: Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Cherubim and Seraphim, Evangelicals, Charismatics, Redeemed, Winners, Deeper Life, and so forth. Their places of worship, without discrimination, are also targeted. For instance, after one of the attacks by Boko Haram in 2011 in Damaturu, Yobe State, Idris Garba, then chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Yobe State, had confessed: “It was a direct attack against Christians. They asked: ‘Are you a Christian or a Muslim’ If you said you were a Christian, they killed you. They were selective. They attacked . . . churches, they didn’t attack any mosques.” 4 The following churches were destroyed in that attack: St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Church of the Brethren, Cherubim and Seraphim Church, All Saints Cathedral (Anglican Communion), Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), African Mission Centre, Assemblies of God Church, ECWA Good News Church, Living Faith Church, and Charismatic Renewal Ministries. 5 At other times, the Boko Haram militants, in particular, are known to have separated Christians from Muslims, at shops and schools. They often do this by asking them to recite verses from the Qur’an. Those unable to recite and are unwilling to convert to Islam, are killed. 6 A similar situation obtains in the majority of Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacks. For instance, in the February 2016 Agatu attack in Benue State, a Muslim survivor confessed that he was set free by the herdsmen because he was able to recite the Shahadah and Fatiha (the Islamic article of faith and the first verse of the Qur’an). 7 Thus, being a Christian, no matter the denomination, is the condition for being killed.
Toward a better understanding of the reality of ecumenism of blood
Etymologically, the word “ecumenism” comes from the Greek word oikoumenē, meaning “the whole inhabited world.” Granted, it has both historical and political undertones. In Christianity, (and in its usage in this article), it simply connotes efforts at unifying Christians of different persuasions all over the world. The impetus for this drive is usually Christ’s prayer for the unity of his disciples in John 17:21. All through the years, these efforts have assumed many forms and degrees. In contemporary times, one such form is the “ecumenism of blood.” This is the ecumenism that comes from outside rather than from inside. It is an ecumenism forced on the shoulders of Christians by non-Christian entities that persecute them without attention paid to their differences, denominations, and churches. Christians are attacked, persecuted, for instance, not because they are Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants, Pentecostals, Copts, or Orthodox, but simply because they are all considered Christians, followers of Christ.
In recent times Pope Francis has helped to bring the reality to the fore. Asked in an interview with the Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli whether Christian unity was a priority for him, he replied, “Yes, for me ecumenism is a priority. . . . In some countries they kill Christians . . . and before they kill them they do not ask them whether they are Anglican, Lutheran, Catholic or Orthodox. . . . To those who kill we are Christians. We are united in blood. . . . This is what ecumenism of blood is.” 8
So for Francis, ecumenism of blood is an “unintended ecumenism imposed on Christians by their persecutors who are not aware of the differences among them.” 9 These Christians so killed for their faith are martyrs. Little wonder, ecumenism of blood is often called “ecumenism of martyrs.” John Paul II regarded it as the most convincing form of ecumenism. 10
The implications of an ecumenism of blood for Christian churches in Nigeria today
There have been various attempts at uniting Christians in Nigeria. First, there was the Calabar Interdenominational Missionary Conference of November 1911. Inspired by the Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910, it brought together representatives of Qua Ibo Mission, the Church Missionary Society (Anglican Church), United Free Church of Scotland Mission, and Primitive Methodist Mission. There was also the formation of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) in 1929, as well as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in 1976. Despite its ups and downs, CAN has endeavored to promote the unity of Christians in Nigeria through theological discussions, joint actions, spiritual ecumenism, and so forth. With no intention here of detracting from such achievements, I believe that the reality of the ecumenism of blood not only adds vigor to these efforts but also actually holds implications for the various churches in Nigeria. Such implications include the following six factors.
Less emphasis on extreme denominationalism
Christianity was introduced into Africa, and specifically Nigeria, along the lines of denominations. Euro-American missionaries brought not only the wonders of Christianity but also the wounds of its division to the missions. Nigerian converts automatically became Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and so forth, with each grouping trying to “outdo” the other in propagating the gospel—or better, its own brand of the gospel. These missionaries not only saw the others as rivals or even as real enemies, but they also succeeded in inculcating the same attitudes into the new converts. A Catholic priest recalling his childhood actually points to this reality: “For all practical purposes the first article of our creed which was our first commandment was, ‘Thou shall hate “paganism” and all that is connected with it, with all thy whole heart, with all thy whole mind, with all thy whole soul and with thy whole strength.’ The second was like the first, thou shall regard ‘Protestants as thy enemies.’” But the Protestants fared no better; they believed that Catholics “worshipped neither the supreme God nor the native gods but medals.” 11
Thanks, therefore, to such inherited denominational disunity and coupled with the constant influx of new sects, as well as the African proclivity for grouping into smaller communities, 12 Christianity in Nigeria today could be likened to Joseph’s coat of many colors (Gen 37:3). Apart from the mainline churches, there are thousands of African Instituted Churches (AICs) and Neo-Pentecostal Churches (NPCs). The rivalry cum competition among them is as fresh as it was then when the missionaries were around. This is evident, in the first place, in the way these churches see one another. While, for instance, the mainline ministers describe the AICs as nothing but cult, and the NPCs as, among others, “family business enterprises,” “sheep stealers,” and “cheap prosperity preachers.” In contrast, the Neo-Pentecostal ministers see the mainline churches as “walking corpses” and enfeebled and tottering organizations. 13 It is also evident in the way ordinary members of these churches see and treat one another in their organizations, institutions, and workplaces. On many occasions, for instance, heads of institutions or organizations who are Pentecostals find it often difficult to employ members of the mainline churches, and vice versa.
But the reality of the ecumenism of blood—in what actually is the intention here—could help call the attention of Christians in Nigeria to the necessity of looking just beyond the confines of their particular denominations unto the church of Christ as a whole. This demands that Christians become convinced that what unites them is actually more than what divides them. This would help them see one another not as enemies or rivals but as brothers and sisters of the same Christ and let such fraternal disposition impact the teaching, organization, and discipline of their respective churches. 14
Opportunity to learn more about others
Ecumenism of blood actually challenges Christians in Nigeria to come to know one another better, as well as one another’s beliefs and doctrine. Such knowledge of the other’s beliefs, which, however, does not occur without greater knowledge of one’s own beliefs, 15 makes for easy and more effective dialogue. Granted, there have been dialogues in its various forms among Christian churches in Nigeria before now. Ecumenism of blood, however, has a way of pushing things beyond what has been achieved already. Two conditions would always remain important for the dialogue in question to be more fruitful: (1) churches in Nigeria should overcome entrenched prejudices, which often water the seed of ignorance in knowing the other’s doctrine and practice, and (2) they should each become a “church of large ears,” 16 a church that develops all the more its gift of listening to the other party. Such a listening is the first service that one owes to others in fellowship and is symbolic of one’s love for others. 17 This reverential listening, however, should not engender any betrayal of one’s own identity or the adulteration or beclouding of one’s doctrine, in its genuine and certain meaning. 18 Instead, holding firmly to what one believes, one seeks to discern all that is good and holy, all that favors peace and cooperation. 19
More joint efforts in the field of mission and in terms of the social responsibilities of the gospel
The story is often told of how Ajayi Crowther, who in 1885 became the first African Anglican bishop, gave Fr. Lutz of the Holy Ghost Fathers at Onitsha, Nigeria, a plot of land belonging to the Church Missionary Society (CMS), saying, “I acquired this land for the cause of God: take it.” While this gesture did not thereafter make for the best of relations between the two missions, 20 it is worth recalling here. And not to be outdone in such ecumenical generosity, Henry Townsend, another Anglican missionary, would allow the same Holy Ghost Fathers to use the CMS motorboat in the harbor of Brass. 21 In these two instances, Crowther and Townsend had acted in the conviction that they were carrying out, much like the recipients of their gestures, “the cause of God,” something that unites more than it separates. Hence, such a knowledge—now to be motivated all the more by the fact of ecumenism of blood—will help Christians in Nigeria to seek ways of cooperating more among themselves, especially in the field of mission. This would also see them—or better, their churches—collaborate all the more in terms of the social responsibilities of the gospel they preach. Hence, the building, among others, of hospitals, clinics, schools, and agricultural farms; greater involvement in taking care of refugees and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs); and the development of common strategies for fighting corruption, youth unemployment, religious violence, and so forth. Yes, there have been instances of such interdenominational endeavors in the past. But I believe that more of such could be undertaken today, in view of the common blood of Christians spilled by their persecutors.
A much better and proper use of the media
It is no longer news that modern technology has heavily impacted the practice of postmissionary Christianity in Nigeria. This is with particular reference to the use of the modern means of communication, especially radio, television, and, of course, the Internet. A good number of churches in Nigeria, the Neo-Pentecostal churches more than the mainline churches, have employed these in the dissemination of the gospel and surely deserve commendation. But there have been occasions when the same media have been abused. This is to the extent that they become avenues for some churches to discredit, criticize, and paint others black. This is mostly done by such churches for at least two purposes: (1) to appear as the only “holy,” “immaculate,” “living,” and “true” church; and (2) to eventually recruit, “steal,” or “poach” the members of the other churches, who, as pointed out above, are seen not only as competitors but, in most cases, as real enemies. This is the situation with both the mainline and Pentecostal churches, even if some of the latter are more involved in it. Meanwhile, not much would be said that could lead non-Christians to the Christian family as a whole. The reality of ecumenism of blood, therefore, challenges Christian churches in Nigeria to make the best of the media to (1) enlighten their members and even nonmembers on and about the Christian faith, which all the Christians, no matter their persuasions and denominations, share; (2) defend the same Christian faith especially when it is attacked by outsiders; and (3) come closer together and embrace one another as brothers and sisters of the same family of Christ. 22
The emergence of a Nigerian Christian martyrology
Ecumenism of blood also challenges the various denominations in Nigeria—or better, the church in Nigeria as a whole—to get down to the business of writing down the martyrologies of its members who have died in these attacks. In this way, the church in Nigeria would be heeding the call of John Paul II in his Tertio millennio adveniente that “local Churches should do everything possible to ensure that the memory of those who have suffered martyrdom should be safeguarded, gathering the necessary documentation.” 23 This would see the church put names and faces to the various numbers of the dead that are often bandied about in the press, numbers that often make people forget that behind them lay individuals who had their songs and stories, ambitions and visions, but all of which were cut short by mindless persecutions. It would actually see to the birth of a Nigerian Christian martyrology of the twenty-first century. This surely will involve making known how, when, and where these aforementioned Christian martyrs died and also what their last words, if any, were. This is because some of them had actually made final words that could rival those of well-known martyrs in Christian history. 24
The significance of such proposed interdenominational martyrology is huge. First, it would challenge Nigerian Christians to imitate, when occasions call for it, these martyrs in their courage. This is all the more important because, unlike many martyrs in the history of the church who are of different times and climes and thus may appear distant in a way to them, the martyrs in question here are their contemporaries, friends, brothers and sisters, and, indeed, compatriots. Second, it would challenge not only them, but also Christians the world over, and indeed, all people of goodwill, to endeavor all the more to put a stop to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and, of course, elsewhere. Jenkins notes, “The deeply rooted Christianity of Africa and Asia did not fade away through lack of zeal, or theological confusion; it was crushed in welter of warfare and persecution.” 25 This is in order to avoid a repeat of such a scenario in the Nigerian case. Above all, the martyrology in question would be of a tremendous help to Nigerian Christian theologians. They would be challenged to subject this martyrology and, indeed, the narratives of these martyrs to critical reflection. In so doing, they would be responding positively to people like Jon Sobrino, who had lamented in the past that theologians in general, with some honorable exceptions, were not taking the issue of martyrdom as seriously as it deserves. 26
An impetus toward greater spiritual ecumenism
Ecumenism of blood calls for more endeavors in spiritual matters, especially, in prayer. Such ecumenism on bended knees always has a way of producing fruitful results. But the sincerity of such a prayer will be discerned by the readiness of Nigerian Christians “to repent of the sins of division, of prejudices and bias, rivalry and unhealthy competition, discrimination and denominationalism which sustain dividedness of Christian Churches” 27 in Nigeria. Hence, the need for them to open themselves all the more to the prompting of the Spirit, since unity “is a gift of the Holy Spirit.” 28
Conclusion
The division existing among Christian churches not only contradicts the will of Christ but also scandalizes the world and damages the holy cause of preaching the gospel to every creature. 29 Efforts have been made and are still being made to see how unity could be restored. This obtains not only on the international level but also on the national level. This work has actually focused on the help the reality of ecumenism of blood could offer toward the realization, in Nigerian context, of this dream. It is found out that it could help galvanize the Christians in Nigeria to the realization that what they have in common remains more than what truly divides them. While this would redound, among other things, to a better cooperation in the preaching of the gospel and in the taking up of the social responsibilities of the same gospel, it would also remind Christians in Nigeria to always intensify their prayers and engage in acts of conversion so that Christ’s prayer that his followers may be one (John 17:21) may indeed become a reality.
It is good to point out, however, that this article’s preoccupation with the issue of ecumenism of blood and the unity, love, and reconciliation that it ought to engender among Christian churches in Nigeria should never engender a united hatred for non-Christians, especially, in this case, Muslims and, in a most special sense, those Muslim fundamentalists who are engaged in the persecution of Christians. That would be against the teaching of Christ, who urged his disciples to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Matt 5:44–45). On the contrary, it should make for increased dialogue of Christians with Muslims, cognizant of the fact that to be a church in Nigeria today, based on the contextual realities, is to be a church in dialogue with Islam and, of course, with African traditional religion as well.
Footnotes
Notes
Author biography