The Church of the Lord (Aladura) is an African Initiated Church founded by the first Primate and Late Prophet Dr. Josiah Olunowo Ositelu in 1930 in Shagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria.

"Aladura" in Yoruba means "owners of prayer", "Prayer Fellowship" or "The Praying People".

Also known as Aladura churches, they emphasize the power in praying and believe in faith healing and various elements associated with Pentecostalism. Most of the founders of the churches were associated with Anglicanism, though some Methodists joined the movement as well. The churches believe in the power of traditional African religion, but deem that power to be basically malign. Therefore they sometimes burn cult images as "idols" and oppose both polygamy and witchcraft. Unlike Kimbanguism, the churches tend to avoid politics and focus instead on the "holiness movement."

His Eminence, Most Revd. Dr. Rufus Okikiola Ositelu (Ph.D. Comp. Sc.; Ph.D. Theo.) is Archbishop And Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Nigeria and the Primate of The Church of the Lord (Aladura) Organisation Worldwide

It has Provincial offices in

• Lome, Togo
• Kumasi, Ghana
• Wellington, Freetown, Sierra-Leone
• London, England
• Bronx, New York, United States of America
• Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• Griffen Glen Way, Eire

Tenets

The four tenets of

• Pentecostal in Power
• Biblical in Pattern
• Evangelical in Ministry and
• Ecumenical in Outlook

Affiliations

• World Council of Churches (WCC) 1975
• All African Conference of Churches (AACC) 1975
• Organisation of African Independent (Initiated) Churches (OAIC) 1978
• British Council of Churches (BCC) 1979
• Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) 1984
• Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) 1988
• International Ministerial Council of Great Britain (IMCGB) 1993
• founding member of the International Ministerial Council of Germany (IMCOG) 1994
• Afro-Caribbean Churches in the U.K. (ACCUK).
• founding member of the Council of African Christian Communities in Europe (CACCE) 1999
• founding member of the International Convent of Christian Congregations, Rhein-Main, Germany (ICCCRG) 1999

In 1996, the Church hosted a WCC Consultative Meeting with African Instituted Churches

Reference

• Rufus Okikiolaolu Olubiyi Ositelu, African Instituted Churches: Diversities, Growth, Gifts, Spirituality and Ecumenical Understanding of African Initiated Churches, Series no.:18 Beiträge zur Missionswissenschaft und interkulturellen Theologie Bd. 18, 2002, 232 Pages., 25.90 EUR, br., ISBN 3825860876
• John S. Pobee and Gabriel Olusegun Ositelu, African Initiatives in Christianity: The growth, gifts and diversities of indigenous African churches, A challenge to the ecumenical movement, Risk Book Series no.: 83, Geneva : WCC Publications, 1998, 73 Pages, br., ISBN 2825412775

See also

• List of Christian denominations by number of members states there are 2 million members