As we celebrate Black History Month this October, with ongoing national discussions on Christian nationalism, migration, citizenship and identity, I am drawn to two significant dates that are important for ongoing discussions on mission and unity. One is the 1700 years since the Council of Nicaea and the initial formulation of the famous Nicene Creed. The second is the 140 years since the partitioning and colonisation of African countries by seven European powers. On the surface, one might ask if there is a connection between the two events because, after all, one speaks to the unity of the church while the other speaks to issues around the disunity and division of humanity. But as I probe further under the surface, digging into church history, I want to suggest that the two events are connected.
The Nicene Creed emerging from the Church Council of Nicaea (AD 325) is to be celebrated because of its trinitarian faith and because, in its final form after the Council of Constantinople in 381, it gave us the four marks of the church as One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. These four marks are important indicators for church unity as it takes forward the high-priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17 that the community of believers might be one. In the current polarised context unity is crucial, and the celebration of the Nicene Creed perhaps gives us a visible symbol and metaphor for unity in our churches. Currently, we see narratives of nationalism, war, conflict, violence, and racism in the world. In the face of these, to be prophetic in this season, the church needs a counter-cultural narrative of unity, truth, justice, peace and reconciliation.
But the unity needed at this time cannot be colonial unity, in contrast to the events that led to the formulation of the Nicene Creed that became a catalyst for colonial Christianity which later functioned on the model of uniformity. The enthronement of Constantine (AD 272-337) as the sole emperor of Rome led to the religious freedom of Christians. Christians had previously been persecuted by former emperors who saw Christianity as a threat to the empire. Christians during the great persecution suffered and many died for their faith. The idea of martyrdom, that is dying for one’s Christian beliefs, became a mission strategy in spreading Christianity during this period. But many Christians who died for their faith had been on the other side of Roman colonisation and were the antithesis of empire. The end of persecution by Constantine brought about what I am describing as a Constantinian shift. This led to Christianity becoming a powerful religion, and it ushered in the idea of Christendom with church and state in partnership. At its heart, Constantine forged a new Rome with Christianity as the religion of the empire. The church therefore went from being on the margins of society to becoming centre stage. In addition, the church went from being under Roman colonisation to be on the side of colonisers.
The Christendom ideology was perpetuated in most of the Mediaeval period. The close relationship between church and state manifested itself in different ways in Europe, and its powerful Christianity was exported to other territories as European powers claimed land, people, resources and identities in the name of Christ. The modern European missionary movement that went to Africa, Asia and Latin America therefore went with a sense of expanding Christianity, commerce and civilisation to the natives of those regions. This mission era on the continent of Africa coincided with the partitioning and colonisation of Africa. In a conference running from November 1884 and concluding in February 1885, Otto von Bismark (1815-1889), the Chancellor of Germany convened a meeting of European states and kingdoms to discuss a bloodless co-existence by European powers in their exploitation of Africans and African resources to quench the thirst of their economies, as well as creating new markets for the producers. The “bloodless co-existence” did not include African blood, only European blood, as no single African tribal leader or chief was in attendance at this conference.
In this new season, mission took a new turn because it often worked closely with colonial officers, clerks and administration, though on occasion it was separated. Nonetheless, the commercialisation of Christianity through European civilisation shaped the missionary enterprise. This was manifested in African Christians thinking like Victorian Christians, speaking like Victorian Christians, behaving like Victorian Christians and even looking like Victorian Christians. African Christians were discipled in the image of Victorian Christians, leading to uniformity. In essence, colonial unity was achieved instead of the unity prayed for in John 17 which, since it is rooted in the distinction of Jesus and his Father, demands difference. As we reflect on these two key events in this Black History Month amidst narratives of nationalism, the church has an opportunity to speak prophetically to a fragmented society and model apostolic unity that embraces diversity.
For a fuller article on the issues raised see Why did Jesus speak Aramaic: A Biblical Theology for a Decolonised Mission by I. Olofinjana, Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World.
Rev Dr Israel Oluwole Olofinjana is an African Public Missiologist with a particular focus on intercultural justice. He is the Director of the One People Commission (OPC), an intercultural network of the Evangelical Alliance. He is an ordained and accredited Baptist minister and has led two multi-ethnic Baptist churches and an independent charismatic church. He is the founding Director of the Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World, a mission network initiative that provides cross-cultural training to reverse missionaries in Britain. Israel is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham and is on the Advisory Group on Race and Theology of the Society for the Study of Theology (SST). He is on the Christian Aid Working Group of Black Majority Church leaders, exploring the intersection of climate justice and racial justice and a member of Tearfund’s Theology Committee. He lectures at Christ Theological College on themes related to World Christianity and he a visiting lecturer at All Nations Christian College and London School of Theology.