THE 19TH CENTURY CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND DENOMINATIONAL RIVALRY IN IGBOLAND: A CALL FOR CHRISTIAN INTEGRATION

Abstract

In the nineteenth century, there were various Christian missionary bodies who made their way to Igboland, Nigeria from Europe and American continents. Their aim was to ensure that the seed of Christianity is planted and grown. In as much as the missionaries made their way towards spreading the Christian faith in Igbo territory, each of them struggled for superiority over their counterparts. This act brought about unhealthy competition and denominational rivalry. It could be said that denominational rivalry helped to fast track the growth and development of Christianity and civilization of Igbo territory. On the other hand, it presented a poor image of Christ and his gospel to the indigenous people. However, many literature have been documented on the history of Christian missionary enterprise in Igboland and their contribution to the development of Igbo society. However, there are many literature on the impact of denominational rivalry in contemporary Igbo society but the main focus of this research is to reunite various denominations which is the gap this research tends to fill. The study makes use of secondary sources of data collection like journals, book of readings, unpublished project works, text books and mainline books. The study finds out that, the foreign Christian missionary bodies introduced denominational rivalry in Igboland while spreading the gospel as its impact is still felt in contemporary Igbo society.