Moses Orimolade Tunolase

Moses Orimolade Tunolase (* around 1879 in Ikare ; † October 19, 1933 ) was a Nigerian preacher and important personality of the Aladura movement , namely co-founder of the " Cherubim and Seraphim Society ". He is venerated as a prophet and saint by his followers .

Live and act

Moses Orimolade, son of Tunolase, was born around 1879 in Ikare in western Nigeria to Yoruba parents. Due to an illness in his childhood, he suffered from paralysis in both legs throughout his life, which is why he later had to be carried frequently on his evangelistic journeys. In the 1890s, the Orimolade, who grew up with the Ifá oracle , converted to Christianity. He began traveling as an itinerant preacher and visited several cities in western and northern Nigeria between 1918 and 1919 during the Spanish flu .

In July 1924 he came to Lagos and concentrated his work on this city. In June 1925 he was commissioned by the father of seventeen-year-old Christiana Abiodun Akinsowon to pray for his daughter in order to free her from a long state of trance. The fact that she came to after his prayers led to an increase in followers. Akinosowon joined him and together they organized prayer meetings to heal those seeking help from illnesses and solve their problems. On this basis, the " Egbe Serafu " ("Seraphim Society") emerged in 1925 as an interdenominational group, which in 1927 was to be renamed "Cherubim and Seraphim Society".

Orimolade was called "Baba Aladura" (praying father) by his followers. His long white dress would later become the movement's trademark. The celibate and ascetic Orimolad evoked the effectiveness of prayer, faith in God, the power of the Holy Spirit and renunciation of idolatry and other sins. He was poor and did not take money for prayers.

In 1926, Orimolade organized the Praying Band, high-ranking members of the Society who were sent out in groups to intercede for the sick and those seeking help without accepting payment. He sent evangelizers on missions to Yoruba cities where the movement spread rapidly.

In 1928 personal differences between the aging Orimolade and the young, educated Abiodun became clear, especially when Abiodun wanted to be officially recognized as a co-founder of the group against the resistance of Orimolade. Abiodun was mainly able to assemble the younger men of the group and there were physical attacks on Orimolade and his rather older followers who asked Abiodun to found their own community. This led to a schism in the group in March 1929. Abiodun continued the "Cherubim and Seraphim Society", while Orimolade founded the "Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim". Before his death on October 19, 1933, he named Abraham Onanuga as his successor.

swell

• Peter B. Clarke: Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements . London & New York, Routledge, 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-26707-6
• Frieder Ludwig: The discovery of the black churches . In: Archive for Social History , Vol. 32 (1992), ISSN  0066-6505 .
• Stephen D. Glazier (Ed.): Encyclopedia of African and African-American religions . Taylor & Francis, New York 2001, ISBN 978-0-415-92245-6 .