African churches in Europe

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The term African churches in Europe , or churches of African provenance (KaP) in Europe, means the foundation and establishment of Christian churches with origins and origins in Africa.

history

The origins can be traced back to the 1950s. At first they were only represented in Great Britain due to the colonial past . The continental Europe can list their presence until several years later. In Germany, the Heavenly Church of Christ from Nigeria founded a congregation in Munich in 1974 as the first church of African provenance . Since then, the numbers of the KaP represented in Europe have increased significantly. Their membership increased when large streams of refugees came to Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. Since the members of these churches on the European continent are predominantly in the first generation in Europe, there are still numerous church and cultural contacts to Africa.

Categorization

The African churches in Europe can be divided into three with the help of their founding geography. It is about

  • firstly, about the local ecclesiogenesis . This includes parishes and churches whose mother church is in Africa.
  • Second, diasporal ecclesiogenesis. These are churches that were founded in a European country and only exist there.
  • Third, there is transcultural ecclesiogenesis. The founding place and the church leadership are in a European country and churches have already been planted in another European or American country or even in Africa.

language

Furthermore, linguistic and denominational sub-criteria can be stated. Since the linguistic criterion is an evident criterion that is obvious to the outside world, it is most likely to be inferred in an initial contact during a worship service. Over the years and the establishment of the church in the respective European country, the linguistic focus can shift from one language to the other: This is mostly the case for an African language that is affected by the evangelism and missionary work of new members who do not speak this African language are replaced and replaced by the respective European language of the host country. It must be taken into account that language can have both an inclusive and an exclusive function: language can have an identity-creating character and thus weld a church together into a stronger unit, or it can have an exclusive character by introducing strangers through the lingua franca of the respective church it is made clear that they are not part of the whole. It is language that is the primary decision criterion for African Christians who are looking for a church home.

Denomination

In addition to the linguistic criterion, the confessional criterion can be helpful in categorizing KaP in Europe. Basically it can be stated that most of the KaPs in Europe are in the Reformation tradition and feel that they belong to Pentecostal theology . In particular, it is the inherent flexibility of Pentecostal theology that enables these churches to adapt to different contexts . However, one should not make the mistake of lumping Pentecostal theology churches “into one pot”. The worldwide development of these churches brings with it a heterogeneity that makes it difficult for theologians to speak of a denomination. Thus, among the Pentecostal KaPs in Europe there may be churches that give speech in tongues ( glossolalia ) a central role, while others hardly give it any space in the life of their congregation. In some churches great importance is attached to healings , while others pay little attention to them in their theology.

In addition to the churches that are in the Pentecostal tradition, reference should also be made to the KaP, which have found their home under the roof of a historic mission church. One should not think of the few scattered Christians of African origin who have found a home in a German church, but rather of the KaP, which can be traced back both historically and theologically to a historical mission church (including Catholics , Methodists ) and one in Europe Practice a form of denominational fellowship in cultural diversity with these churches.

Reference should also be made to the KaPs, which are non-denominational and intercultural and have a clergyman who is financed by established European churches. This is e.g. B. the case in Germany, where there are African pastors who are employed by Protestant regional churches or the Catholic Church.

Ecumenical interaction

The autochthonous, diasporal and transcultural ecclesiogeneses testify to very complex ecumenical forms of interaction . In order to meet this ecumenical challenge, it is advisable to use different ecumenical levels: First, the parish level; second, the regional level; thirdly, the supra-regional level; Fourth, the global level.

  1. The first contacts at the parish level usually take place by renting premises from established European churches. From these first contacts a fraternal relationship between the two churches seldom develops . Due to lack of knowledge of culture and theological on both sides, the first ecumenical interactions are usually difficult. There is seldom any mention of ecumenical interaction at the parish level between the KaPs in Europe. Here, not only the cultural and theological divergence, but also the ethnic and church-political positions are of dividing importance.
  1. At the regional level, these churches have increasingly come together in the respective European region in recent years. It is not uncommon for churches of other languages ​​and cultures to join the regional ecumenical interactions. Since the first conference on the African diaspora in Europe (1997 in Leeds / GB), African church leaders have become aware that they should speak with one voice in a European context in order to have a certain influence on politics and the church in Europe to be able to exercise.
  1. The supra-regional ecumenical interactions are still very meager. It is at this level that Pentecostal churches are most likely to develop rapprochement and cooperation. African churches have now found the way to Pentecostal associations such as the “Bund Freikirchlicher Pfingstgemeinden” ( BFP ). There is a tendency towards rapprochement with established European churches or with their missionary organizations. a. on the question of theological training. Theological courses are offered for church leaders at various locations in Germany.
  1. On the global level, on the other hand, the KaPs usually have numerous ecumenical contacts in their original African home countries. These manifest themselves u. a. through membership in African church councils or through close cooperation with preachers in Africa. In addition, some of these churches are members of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The WCC will deal with these developments in global ecumenism in the future.

literature

  • A. Adogame: Celestial Church of Christ. The Politics of Cultural Identity in a West African Prophetic Movement. Frankfurt, 1999
  • J. Aldred: The Black Church in Britain and their Relations with the Ecumenical Movement. With Particular Reference to Black Pentecostalism. In: Ch. Dahling-Sander u. a. (Ed.) Pentecostal Churches and Ecumenism in Motion, Frankfurt, 2001, pp. 181–198.
  • R. Gerloff: A Plea for British Black Theologies. Part 1 and 2, Frankfurt 1992.
  • R. Gerloff: The Significance of the African Christian Diaspora in Europe. A report on four events. In: IRM 354, pp. 281-290.
  • Roswith Gerloff: God's black smile. African diaspora as a challenge to theology and the church . Lambeck, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-87476-443-5 .
  • B. Simon: African Christians in the German-Speaking Diaspora of Europe. In: Exchange 31, 2002, pp. 23-35.
  • B. Simon: African churches in Germany. Frankfurt, 2003.
  • B. Simon: "... so that they may all be one" - African Pentecostals and ecumenism. In: Ch. Dahling-Sander u. a. (Ed.) Pentecostal Churches and Ecumenism in Motion. Frankfurt, 2001, pp. 138–157;
  • B. Simon: Hospitality - a way of Christian integration. In: Konviviale Theologie Festgabe on the 70th birthday of Theo Sundermeier . Ed. V. Benjamin Simon and Henning Wrogemann, Frankfurt, 2005, pp. 198–210.
  • B. Simon: Language, Migration, Religion and Identity - Four Crucial Facets of Multilingualism in Congregations. In: FM 4, 2008, pp. 160-176.
  • G. ter Haar: Halfway to Paradise. African Christians in Europe. Cardiff, 1998.