The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is an umbrella organisation containing numerous Christian denominations in Nigeria.
The Christian Association of Nigeria was founded in 1976, and originally only contained the Catholic Church and mainline Protestant groups. However, it later expanded to include Pentecostal churches as well. [1]
In 2000, the CAN protested the adoption of Sharia law in northern states. [2] In February 2006, while President of the organisation, Akinola issued a statement in response to Muslim violence against Christians, telling Muslims that they did not have a "monopoly on violence". The following day, Christians rioted in retaliation against Muslims, leading to more than 70 deaths. [3] [4] Akinola later claimed his statements had been misinterpreted in the western media. He even threatened to resign in case the riots should continue. [5]
On 2 May 2004, more than 630 Christians were killed in Yelwa, Nigeria. The dead were pinned white name tags identifying them as members of the CAN. [6] The massacre is known as the Yelwa massacre.
The organisation is made up of five blocs; they are the Christian Council of Nigeria, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Organisation of African Instituted Churches and the Evangelical Church Winning All/Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria. [7]
The CAN has Women and Youth Wings, a National Executive Council consisting of 105 members (which elects the President), and a General Assembly of 304 members (which ratifies the President's election). [7]
In 2016, Supo Ayokunle, President (and Chief Executive Officer) of The Nigerian Baptist Convention, was elected as president and Prof. Joseph Otubu, of the Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim Movement, the Vice President.
Ayokunle was re-elected for second term and inaugurated in July 2019 alongside his Vice President Rev Dr. Caleb Ahima. [8] In July 2022, Daniel Okoh was elected as the present president of the association [9]
Order | Term of Office | Tenure Served | Name | Place of Birth | Denomination | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | November 1988 - November 1995 | 2 re-elected 1992 | Anthony Cardinal Okogie | Lagos, Nigeria | Roman Catholic | Archbishop of Lagos |
2 | November 1995 - November 2003 | 2 re-elected 1999 | Sunday C. Mbang | Akwa Ibom, Nigeria | Methodist | Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria |
3 | November 2003 - June 2007 | 1 | Peter Akinola | Ogun, Nigeria | Anglican | Prelate, Anglican Church of Nigeria |
4 | June 2007 - July 2010 | 1 | Archbishop John Onaiyekan | Kabba, Nigeria | Roman Catholic | Archbishop of Abuja |
5 | July 2010 - July 2016 | 2 re-elected 2013 [10] [11] | Ayo Oritsejafor | Warri, Nigeria | Pentecostal | Pastor, Word of Life Bible Church |
6 | July 2016 – July 2022 | 2 re-elected [12] | Supo Ayokunle | Oyo, Nigeria | Baptist | President, Nigerian Baptist Convention |
7 | July 2022 - till date | Incumbent [13] | Daniel Okoh | Kano, Nigeria | Pentecostal | General Supretendent, Christ Holy Church International |
The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptised membership, after the Church of England. As of 2016 it gives its membership as "over 18 million", out of a total Nigerian population of 190 million. It is "effectively the largest province in the Communion." As measured by active membership, the Church of Nigeria has nearly 2 million active baptised members. According to a study published by Cambridge University Press in the Journal of Anglican Studies, there are between 4.94 and 11.74 million Anglicans in Nigeria. The Church of Nigeria is the largest Anglican province on the continent of Africa, accounting for 41.7% of Anglicans in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is "probably the first [largest within the Anglican Communion] in terms of active members."
Peter Jasper Akinola is the former Anglican Primate of the Church of Nigeria. He is also the former bishop of Abuja and Archbishop of Province III, which covered the northern and central parts of the country. When the division into ecclesiastical provinces was adopted in 2002, he became the first Archbishop of Abuja Province, a position he held until 2010. He is married and a father of six.
Christianity is the predominant religion in the Philippines, with Roman Catholicism being its largest denomination. Sizeable minorities adhering to Islam, Indian religions, and indigenous Philippine folk religions are also present.
Religion in Egypt controls many aspects of social life and is endorsed by law. The state religion of Egypt is Islam, although estimates vary greatly in the absence of official statistics. Since the 2006 census religion has been excluded, and thus available statistics are estimates made by religious and non-governmental agencies. The country is majority Sunni Muslim, with the next largest religious group being Coptic Orthodox Christians. The exact numbers are subject to controversy, with Christians alleging that they have been systemically under-counted in existing censuses.
Religion in Nigeria is diverse. The country is home to some of the world's largest Christian and Muslim populations, simultaneously. Reliable recent statistics do not exist; however, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Muslims, who live mostly in the north, and Christians, who live mostly in the south. Indigenous religions, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities, have been declining for decades and been replaced by Christianity or Islam. The Christian share of Nigeria's population is also now on the decline, due to a lower fertility rate relative to the Muslim population in the country.
Christianity in Africa first arrived in Egypt in approximately 50 AD. By the end of the 2nd century it had reached the region around Carthage. In the 4th century, the Aksumite empire in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea became one of the first regions in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion. The Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia followed two centuries later. From the late fifth and early sixth century, the region included several Christian Berber kingdoms. Important Africans who influenced the early development of Christianity and shaped the doctrines of Christianity include Tertullian, Perpetua, Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo.
Growth of religion involves the spread of individual religions and the increase in the numbers of religious adherents around the world. In sociology, desecularization is the proliferation or growth of religion, most commonly after a period of previous secularization. Statistics commonly measure the absolute number of adherents, the percentage of the absolute growth per-year, and the growth of converts in the world.
The Church of Nigeria North American Mission (CONNAM) is a missionary body of the Church of Nigeria (CON). It has been in a ministry partnership with the Anglican Church in North America but no longer affiliated with it beyond mutual membership in GAFCON. Founded in 2005 as the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, it was composed primarily of churches that have disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). CANA was initially a missionary initiative of the Anglican Church of Nigeria for Nigerians living in the United States. It joined several other church bodies in the formation of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009. In 2019, the dual jurisdiction arrangement with the ACNA came to an end, and CANA was reformed as CONNAM, with a special focus on serving Nigerian-American Anglican churches in North America.
Christianity is the second largest religion in Egypt. The vast majority of Egyptian Christians are Copts. As of 2019, Copts in Egypt make up approximately 10 percent of the nation's population, with an estimated population of 9.5 million or 10 million. In 2018, approximately 90% of Egyptian Christians were Coptic Orthodox.
Christianity in Nigeria represents one of several religious traditions in the country, including Islam and Traditional African religions.
John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan is a Nigerian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Abuja from 1994 to 2019 and was made a cardinal in 2012. He has served as president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria and Bishop of Ilorin.
Most Rev. Daniel C. Okoh is General Overseer of the Christ Holy Church International, a.k.a. Nation Builders, a former vice President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, and President of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches. Daniel Okoh was elected President of the Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN) in July 2022. CAN is the apex body of all Christians in the country, comprising five blocs. He became the first from the OAIC bloc of Christian Association of Nigeria to hold the position.
Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with substantial minorities of the adherents of Islam and traditional faiths.
Christianity is the largest religion in Tanzania, with a substantial Muslim minority. Smaller populations of Animists, practitioners of other faiths, and religiously unaffiliated people are also present.
Nicholas Dikeriehi Orogodo Okoh is the former archbishop of Abuja Province and primate of the Church of Nigeria in the Anglican Communion. He retired on 25 March 2020. He has been married to Nkasiobi Amaechi since 1986 and they have five children.
Religious violence in Nigeria refers to Christian-Muslim strife in modern Nigeria, which can be traced back to 1953. Today, religious violence in Nigeria is dominated by the Boko Haram insurgency, which aims to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria. Since the turn of the 21st century, 62,000 Nigerian Christians have been killed by the terrorist group Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen and other groups. The killings have been referred to as a silent genocide.
Freedom of religion in Tanzania refers to the extent to which people in Tanzania are freely able to practice their religious beliefs, taking into account both government policies and societal attitudes toward religious groups.
Samson Olasupo Adeniyi Ayokunle, CON commonly known as Supo Ayokunle is a Nigerian pastor and administrator. He was the 7th president of the Christian Association of Nigeria. He was also the 6th President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.