Christiana Abiodun Emanuel, born Abiodun Akinsowon (1907–1994), was a co-founder, along with Moses Orimolade Tunolase, of the Cherubim and Seraphim, an Aladura Christian denomination in Nigeria.[1] After a schism in the church, she founded and led the Cherubim and Seraphim Society.
Christiana Abiodun Emanuel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abiodun Akinsowon 1907 |
| Died | 1994 (aged 87) |
| Spouse |
George Orisanya Emanuel
(m. 1942) |
Personal life
editAbiodun Akinsowon was born in 1907 in the Republic of Benin. In 1920, she left her home country to join her aunt in Lagos, Nigeria to train as a seamstress. In 1942, she married George Orisanya Emanuel, a civil servant working in Lagos City Council.[2]
Founding the Cherubim and Seraphim
editIn 1925, while watching a Catholic Corpus Christi procession,[1] Emanuel reportedly fell into a lengthy trance. She awoke from her coma after the healer Moses Orimolade arrived to pray for her. Waking, Emanuel claimed she had been visited by angels who had taken her to heaven.[1] As increasing numbers of visitors came to hear of her visions, Orimolade founded an interdenominational prayer group called the Cherubim and Seraphim.[2] In 1927, Emanuel led an evangelical tour of Western Nigeria, condemning the worship of traditional gods and encouraging Christian prayer.[1] In 1928, they established the Cherubim and Seraphim as its own independent church, within the Aladura tradition.[3]
Schism and reconciliation
editIn 1929, the Cherubim and Seraphim underwent its first schism, with Emanuel founding the Cherubim and Seraphim Society and Orimolade founding the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim. The split arose from disputes within the group over the role of female leadership.[4] Emanuel demanded to be recognised as co-founder of the church. This was viewed by Orimolade, who denied she was co-founder, as insubordination, and led to their eventual split.[1] This was followed by other schisms, leading to the existence of more than 10 separate sects within the Cherubim and Seraphim.[3]
After Orimolade's death, Emanuel campaigned to be recognised as the supreme head of the church, claiming she had been discriminated against as a woman.[5] In 1986, in an attempt to reunite the disparate groupings, she was reinstalled as leader of a united Cherubim and Seraphim Church.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Jestice, Phyllis G. (2004). Holy People of the World: A cross-cultural encyclopedia. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 4. ISBN 1576073556.
- ^ a b c Sheldon, Kathleen (2008). "Emanuel, Christiana Abiodun". In Akyeampong, Emmanuel K.; Gates, Henry Louis Jr (eds.). Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
- ^ a b "Aladura". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ^ Adogame, Afe (November 2004). "Engaging the Rhetoric of Spiritual Warfare: The Public Face of Aladura in Diaspora". Journal of Religion in Africa. 34 (4): 498. doi:10.1163/1570066042564392. JSTOR 1581509. (JStor)
- ^ Harris, Hermoine (2007). "Review: New Directions in Gender and Religion: The Changing Status of Women in African Independent Churches by Brigid M. Sackey". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 41: 636.