Site and Ecclesiastical Architecture in Akure , Nigeria : The Critical Nexus (original) (raw)

Ecclesiastical Architecture in Nigeria: Exploring Unifying Elements in the Design of Worship Centers

International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH

The primary factor in ecumenism has been the church's unity. The World Council's Central Committee produced an agreed-upon definition of ecumenical in 1951. The word derives from the Greek word for inhabited earth, and it refers to the church and its efforts to spread the Gospel over the world. As a result, ecumenism is linked to the Christian faith's unique unity and mission in the context of the entire globe. In Nigeria, some State Governments have attempted to unify the key denominations of the Christian faith in an attempt to pursue this common mission by literarily bringing them under one roof. In other to achieve that, markers, and features of scared spaces for each of these denominations have to be identified and combined where possible. This paper explores how elements have been unified in the design of these Government initiated archetype.

Effects of Pentecostalism on Ecclesiastical Architecture in Nigeria

Many factors have been identified as elements of influence on ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. Therefore, this study examined ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria with a view to identifying the effect of Pentecostalism. Lagos was chosen as the study area because it is arguably the most Pentecostal city in the world and the cradle of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. Since the study was explorative in nature, qualitative research methods were adopted in gathering the data and descriptive analysis was used.

CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY, LITURGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE IN NIGERIA

Many studies have identified theology and liturgy as part of the predominant determinants of ecclesiastical architecture. This study examined the trends in the development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria with a view to identifying how and why theology and liturgy have affected these trends during the three phases of the development of this architecture. Since this study is theoretical and historical in nature, qualitative methods in form of literature, non-participant observation, unstructured interview and case study were employed to gather the data and analysis was done by description and content analysis. This study selected one church building of the same denomination across the three phases of development for progressive analysis and Lagos State was chosen as the study area because of many of her contributions to the development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. This study discovered that architecture of the Church gave denominational identity and at the same time expressed their mode of theology and liturgy. This study noted that space hierarchy and building materials were theologically and liturgically selected. This study concluded that theology and liturgy were primarily predominant in determining ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria across the three phases because they found their expression and augmentation in architecture.

Characteristics Of Modern Ecclesiastical ArchitectureIn Nigeria: A Case Study Of Some Selected Church Buildings

2015

As each epochal period of ecclesiastical architecture manifested its own characteristics to exhibit its own time, this study investigated the characteristics of modern ecclesiastical architecture in Nigerian between 1980 and 2010 with a view to identifying how the previous epochal period transformed to the period under study. The study area was Lagos State in Nigeria because of a number of reasons. The area pioneered the emergence and development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigerian and arguably the cradle of Christian evolution and growth in Nigeria. It is one of the Christian religious cities in the world having a long history of Independent African Churches. Since this study is historical in nature qualitative research methods were adopted to gather data and also for the analysis. Three Church facilities were selected for this study through random sampling spread across the study area. The study discovered that the period was characterized by high increase in church buildin...

Church Architecture in the African Vernacular

Ecclesiology in Africa (ASET), 2024

Most contemporary church buildings in Africa don’t have a distinctly “Christian aesthetic” and neither do many have a meaningful African expression. There is no shortage of African church architecture by way of simple wattle and daub/concrete churches, shack churches, traditional churches from the colonial era, marquee tent churches, shopfront churches and megachurches. Traditionally, church architecture has been employed as a visual expression of a church’s theology and cultural heritage. Similarly, ecclesiology may articulate into architecture. This chapter explores African vernacular in the built environment for African church architecture that provides a tactile expression of ecclesiology and theology. The methodology employed for this research project is Architectonic Theology, designed by me, an architect and theologian, for systematic theology. The chapter begins by exploring current contemporary architecture in Africa, namely the work of the celebrated African architect, Diébédo Francis Kéré, followed by a study on African vernacular architecture and the various church building typologies on the continent. Any theological study needs to be grounded in the biblical text, constructing a foundation for further study, and so here biblical-design principles are extrapolated from the construction motifs of Solomon’s temple in 1 Kings 5–8. This provides motifs relevant to church architecture in Africa offering a hybrid solution for the following discussion that develops a synthesis between African vernacular and church architecture. Finally, I explore “form and aesthetics” for contemporary African vernacular church architecture, and offer helpful design principles, providing tactile expression for the praxis and theology of the African church.

Existing Materials, Current Style and Ecclesiastical Architecture in Nigeria

International journal of innovative research and development, 2015

Existing building materials coupled with the current style factor has been identified as one of the predominant determinants of ecclesiastical architecture. This study examined various emerging materials and architectural styles with a view to identify how and why these factors have affected the emergence and development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. The study area was Lagos State because of many reasons. Lagos State was noted as the cradle of Christian evolution and growth in Nigeria. It was a place that pioneered ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. Lagos State was arguably one of the most Christian religious cities in the world having a long history of Independent African Churches dating back to the time of the great influenza epidemic of 1918. Since this study was a theoretical research and historical in nature, qualitative methods in form of literature, unstructured interview and non-participant observation were employed to gather the data and analysis was done ...

Exploration of the Predominant Determinants of Ecclesiastical Architecture in Nigeria

2020

As ecclesiastical architecture transformed from one style to another, a number of factors were identified to have influenced their development and many studies argued that one determinant or the other should predominate. Among these determinants five of them that influenced the development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria were explored. These determining factors were classified as Existing Building Materials and Current Architectural Style, Basic Theology and liturgy, Free Expression of Styles and the Knowledge of the "Masters", Moving with Time Like Evangelical Way, and finally Church Building is Heresy and Apostasy. As this study is theoretical and historical in nature, qualitative methods were employed to gather the data and the data were analyzed by description. This study found out that all these determinants were prevalent at different times during the three phases of the development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. Two or more of these factors wer...

“Redeeming Urban Spaces: The Ambivalence of Building a Pentecostal City in Lagos”,

In Nigeria – and perhaps in Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole – the most recent, dramatic and ambitious transformation of urban landscape is driven by religion. This is particularly so in Lagos, the largest city in Africa and “the center of one of the largest urban areas in the world” with an estimated population of twenty-one million people and still growing. Although Lagos was founded as a commercial and political space which, over a period of more than 150 years later, it has developed into a multi-religious environment. Even though Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, religion will increasingly determine its future and the trajectory of its transformation in the 21st century. Pentecostal Christianity, and to a lesser extent, “Pentecostal Islam”, is precipitating a large scale urban renewal in and around Lagos in the forms of the construction of large scale prayer camps and religiously-owned real estates. Proliferating Pentecostal prayer spaces are multifunctional spaces that appropriate but also challenge urban practices and ecology. Using ethnographic material from the largest of Prayer camp in Nigeria – the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God – this paper describes the diverse strategies deployed by the Redemption Camp managers to cultivate and infuse religion into a hitherto natural landscape. The paper further problematizes or interrogates the concept of “the fundamentalist city” and asks in what ways this concept may be applied to the religious ecology of the Redemption Camp.