| المستخلص: |
An estrangement occurred between the early Christian missionaries and the African people due to the reckless dealings of the missionaries with the locals without understanding the nature of their indigenous societies and cultures, in addition to the association of these missionaries with the agenda of the colonial countries. That estrangement extended even to those who converted to Christianity and joined the missionary churches, and this led them to choose the side of their local communities and to split from their mother churches with a particular African Christianity, and the movement of African Independent Churches (AICs) was a product of that struggle. (AICs) found its desired goal in the concepts of the Pentecostal movement, which spread among the Christians of the world at that period. It formed a unique Christianity that adopted African beliefs, rituals, and traditions. For several decades, AICs represented annoyance to the leaders of the global Christianization movement. After decades of the internal defeat of the missionaries’ project, the Christianization movement with its global alliances became aware of the African lesson. The issue of cultural identity and local rituals no longer constituted an obsession with it. Rather, it allowed, within the framework of “ecumenical” concepts, the acceptance of all African local rituals, including the sanctification of ancestors’ souls, polygamy, concubines, and even claiming prophecy and spirit mediums, as African spirit mediums were called “prophets” filled with “grace” and “the Holy Spirit.”
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