Catholicism in the Face of Pentecostalism in Nigeria: An Advocacy for a United Christianity

Abstract

Christianity is a world religion which has not only the scars of division but still has the scandal of dividing versions. It has sects, denominations, splinters and fragments with the confusion that each claims authenticity. As Roman Catholicism asserts her divine origin with Christological and Pneumatological facts and therefore Trinitarian and truly Pentecostal, other expressions whose nomenclature has Pentecostal titles claim the dunamis and the dynamics of the Holy Spirit whose ruach blows wherever it wills (John 3:8). These ecclesial bodies were called mush room churches in Nigeria. However, today they have much room and constitute a phenomenon that cannot be dismissed by the wave of the hand nor neglected both locally and globally. They have outlived mush rooms. In the light of this reality, this paper discussed Catholicism in the face of Pentecostalism in Nigeria with a conscious advocacy for a united Christianity. The findings of this paper revealed that Pentecostalism is real in the country and that the division among Christian Churches contradict the Will of Christ who prayed for the unity of all his followers (John 17:21). The methodology employed in this work is historic-descriptive which means that the proliferation of churches and its root causes and remedies were carefully studied and presented using the gainful values of history and the parameters of Ecumenism.

Key Words: Catholicism, Pentecostalism, Nigeria, Advocacy and United Christianity.