Page 102 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

Europe and as far west as Ireland and to the east to Asia and India. It is
significant to note that a form of Christianity existed in Palestine, Persia,
Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and North Africa. Kane writes that in the second
century “Pliny, the governor of Bithynia, complained that the temples
were almost deserted and that the new superstition had invaded not
only the cities but the countryside as well.” Kane adds: “Justin Martyr
wrote: ‘There is no people, Greek or Barbarian, or any other race…
among whom prayers and thanksgiving are not offered in the name of
the crucified Jesus to the Father and creator of all things’” (16).

Chrysostom, as Kane notes, reported that the church in Antioch had
won half of the population in the city to Christ (17). Such statements need
to be interpreted within the context of historical facts since historical
evidence seldom yields precise numbers. More important, faced with
times of severe persecution and challenged with division and heresy,
the church succeeded in its mission to take the good news to many
nations. But the river was to flow to all people.

Was Sub-Saharan Africa Neglected?

As noted in the previous chapter, the gospel had penetrated the Nile
Corridor by the fourth century. One might be inclined to wonder why the
progress was so slow. There is very little evidence that Christianity spread
to the people south of the Sahara Desert until later. This should lead the
student of African church history to
ask questions such as these: What
kind of Christianity spread? What
What kept the river kept the river from flowing through

from flowing through the Sahara to Central, West, East,
and South Africa? Why did the
the Sahara to church suffer reverses and at times

Central, West, East, meet with only partial success?
Was the environment a negative
and South Africa? factor? And, as always in this study,
what lessons can we learn for the
church today?

Before we describe the impact Christianity had in Africa at a later
date, we need to search for answers to some of the above questions. In
doing so, we will focus on some important historical events.

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