CHAPTER ONE

Background to the Study

The advent of the Christian Mission in most Igbo subgroups including Amichi was a

result of the evangelization mission of the west in the wake of the nineteenth century. Such

development was sponsored by several personalities who had an interest in evangelical missions.

However, The Church Missionary Society (CMS), an evangelical arm of the Anglican Mission

was the first Christian Mission to arrive in Igboland in 1857. It was the British Government

officials, MacGregor Laird and Williams Balfour Baikie that sponsored the expedition to

Igboland.1 However, Onitsha was the first port of arrival of the Christian Missionaries in

Igboland and through that region, there was a spread to several other Igbo subgroups including

Amichi because of the need for further propagation of the Christian faith. During such period,

the Christian Missionaries were constrained to some Igbo regions.

By the last quarter of the twentieth century, there was a wide acceptance of the Christian

faith in Amichi with the Anglican Church establishing a stronghold among the people. The

Amichi people became beneficiaries of various development schemes of the Church such as the

establishment of schools. The influence of the Anglican Mission in Amichi in the early period

created a clash of identity between the recipient of the new religion and the adherents of the

African Traditional religion. Establishment of Missions became a pulling factor to accept the

Christian faith. Hence, Christianity alongside its fruit; western education joined forces in

impacting the Amichi People. The Church Missionary gained foothold within the area. A factor

that made the Anglican Church to have dominant influence in the lives of the people. By the

1
Friday Ifeanyi Ogbuehi, "Inculturation in Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches in Igboland, 1857 to 1960,"
Integrity Journal of Arts and Humanities, Vol.3, No.3, 2022, 54
second half of the twentieth century, there was growth of churches in Amichi and the Anglican

church expanded to occupy the role of a Diocese.

Statement of the Problem

Christian Missionaries are instrumental in the understanding of the historical

development of Igboland. The advent of the Anglican Mission, a pioneer Christian mission in

Igboland, had a mixed impact on the growth and development of the Amichi community.

Through effective propagation of the gospel and subsequent conversion, the Amichi people were

introduced to formal literacy especially through the establishment of schools in the area. The

Anglican Mission sponsored several developments in the area. Such efforts contributed to the

cultural impacts experienced in the contemporary era. However, several studies on Church

history and development have not addressed the developmental efforts of the Anglican Church in

Amichi. On another perspective, the Anglican Mission in Amichi contributed in reshaping the

cultural practices of the Amichi people; this has not been attended to. Such gaps inspired the

researcher's interest.

Purpose of the Study

This study generally examines the Anglican Diocese in Amichi with specific objectives

which include the following: To examine the historical development of Amichi inorder to

ascertain how the environment of the people, influenced their development. Again, the study

seeks to uncover the political organization of Amichi alongside their socio-economic

organization. Such developments would reveal who the people are and what their life is

structured. Also, the study would assess the advent of the Anglican Church in Amichi to discover
the cultural change that greeted the Amichi people at the first quarter of the twentieth century. In

addition, the study seeks to appraise the reactions of the Amichi people towards the advent of the

Anglican Church alongside the socio-cultural impact of the Anglican Church in Amichi.

Significance of the Study

The study uncovers relevant information about the development of the Anglican Church

in Amichi. Hence, it would serve as a contribution to existing knowledge of church history and

socio-cultural development. Again, the study uncovers the historical development of the Amichi

people which adds to written knowledge about the people. Again, the study would be of benefit

to academicians and sociologist who interest themselves in the study of the socio-cultural history

of an Igbo Sub group.

Scope of the Study

The research delimits the study into particular periods from 2009, through 2020. The

starting date marked the inauguration of the Diocese by Most Revd Jasper Peter Akinola, the

Archbishop of the Anglican Church. Through such inauguration, the Anglican Diocese of

Amichi became one of the new Diocese of the Anglican Churches in Nigeria with Rt Revd

Ehpraim Okechukwu as the pioneer Bishop. The study terminates in the year 2020, a period

when the diocese held a rededication service of the staff and students of Holy Child Convent, a

school built by the Anglican Diocese Amichi. The geographic scope is Amichi, a community in

Anambra state, South-eastern Nigeria.

The study deployed qualitative research. The information obtained from oral traditions

and published materials were structured in an analytical and descriptive style. The researcher

divided the ideas into themes. They were analysed in a thematic and chronological approach.

The study effectively employed primary sources which include oral interviews from the natives

of Amichi. Especially the significant figures such as key leaders of the Anglican Diocese

including members of the diocese. The pieces of information were properly interpreted. Also, the

researcher assessed books and Journal articles about the advent of churches in Igboland. Such

served as the secondary source of the study.

This study is structured into five organized chapters. The first chapter focuses on the

introduction of the study with the reason that sparked the researcher's interest. The objectives

which the work set out to achieve. The significance of the study was duly considered. Among

several other points that factored in. Chapter two discusses the historical origin of Amichi, with

specific interest in the geographical location, the political organization of the people. Among

others. Chapter three addresses the coming of Christianity and other highlights which include but

are not limited to the advent of the Anglican Church in Amichi. Chapter four appraised the

socio-cultural impact of the Anglican Church in Amichi. Chapter five is the summary and

conclusion of the study alongside the list of informants and the unabridged version of the oral

evidences collected.
Literature Review

This study examined the works of other scholars to ascertain what has been done and equally

discover a relevant gap in knowledge. Among several assessed works, that of Diara et al stood

out

Diara et al in their study titled, "Anglican Church and the Development of Pentecostalism

in Igboland,’’ uncovers relevant information about the Anglican Church and its advent in

Igboland. Accordingly, the Anglican Mission first had contact with Igboland In 1857. 2 Through

Onitsha, Anglican Missionaries accessed other Igbo sub-group including Amichi, the study area.

This was a result of the need for evangelization. Apart from the above, the study reveals that the

origin of the Anglican Church had its root in the reformation that sparked off in Europe in the

16th century. The analysis of the study is biased especially the aspect of acceptance of the

Christain faith. The writers believed that the Holy Spirit was instrumental in the wide acceptance

of the Christian faith. However, early Christian missionaries in Igboland were a ploy to

effectively domination of the people. Also, increase conversion was a means of projecting

national pride. This was the reason for early Christian rivalry among Christian missionaries. The

wide acceptance of the Anglican Church in Amichi, the researcher's study area, was not without

necessary resistance.

Friday Ifeanyi Ogbuehi, "Inculturation in Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches in

Igboland, 1857 to 1960," is another work that offered a unique perspective on the development

2
Diara Benjamin and Niche George Christain, "Anglican Church and the Development of Pentecostalism in
Igboland,’’ Journal of Educational and Social Research, Vol. 2, No.4, 2013, pp 2-10
of the Christian missionaries in Igboland. The work offered an exposition of the Anglican church

alongside the Catholic mission. The writer focuses on the influence of the aforementioned on

Igbo cultures. The efforts of most Christain Missionaries were sponsored by personalities who

wanted to ensure proper propagation. According to the work:

"among the Ibo of Nigeria, the Catholic Mission seemed to offer many avenues of social
advancement, and this accounts for the very large number of conversions, even though no
real encounter took place between Christian ideas and the Ibo spiritual world."3

The Anglican and the Catholic canvassed for influence in Igboland through the effective

establishment of churches in local areas. Relatedly, the early Anglican Evangelist in Igboland

was confronted with a language barrier. Hence the English language was made the medium of

teaching. Perhaps such reason engendered the need for the establishment of schools for the sole

purpose of indoctrinating the Igbo people. Interestingly, Ogbuehi's work pointed out the flaws of

the Christian missionaries alongside the difficulties they encountered in their evangelical

mission. The researcher through the knowledge offered by this study would examine the

Anglican Diocese in Amichi.

Another study by Egwuonwu Onyeka, "Effects of Missionary Enterprises in Igboland,’’

assesses the Christian faith with its impact on Igbo culture. As rightly pointed out, with the

introduction of Christianity in Igboland, people began to witness developments and neglect in

certain areas.4 Significantly, the work points out that the Christian missionaries were

instrumental to the development of National consciousness through the teaching of equality of all

men before God — a platform that inspired colonial protest by most indigenous Igbo descents.

The study further argues the impact of missionary activities in Igboland as the devotion of
3
Friday Ifeanyi Ogbuehi, "Inculturation in Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches in Igboland, 1857 to 1960,"
Integrity Journal of Arts and Humanities, Vol.3, No.3, 2022, 54
4
Egwuonwu Onyeka, "Effects of Missionary Enterprises in Igboland,’’ Interdisciplinary Journal of African &
Asian Studies, Vol. 5, No.2, 2019, pp I-10
considerable attention to the study of the Igbo language. It equally maintained that such was a

major contribution they made. The major contribution of the Anglican Mission in Amichi was

the establishment of schools – a platform that enhanced the wide development of literacy among

the people. Such development gave rise to new elites of the society in the region. Thereby

creating an enabling environment for the people of Amichi to measure up to the changing world

in the face of increased globalization trends.

Nwaka interrogates early Missionary activities in Igboland through her study, "The Early

Missionary Groups and the Contest for Igboland: A Reappraisal of Their Evangelization

Strategies," She observed that among the religious configuration of Nigeria Igboland was the

highest concentration of mainline churches, particularly Catholic and Anglican Churches. This

has been attributed to the evangelization strategies employed, largely, by early missionaries. 5

Unfortunately, these strategies also engendered rivalry and comp between the two groups,

robbing them of the real focus and commitment needed to penetrate the traditional religious

beliefs and practices of the people. Hence through the study, it could be deduced that the

missionaries craved influence more than true conversion of the natives. However, the rivalry that

accompanied the influx of missionaries was a healthy development efforts to most Igbo

subgroups, especially Amichi. The struggle for dominance led to the establishments of schools

with adequate infrastructure as a way to entice converts. Hence, the Amichi people benefited

from the early education of the Anglican Mission in the area. Therefore, the researcher seeks to

uncover the spread and development of the Anglican mission and subsequent upgrade of the

Amichi Anglican church to a diocese.

5
Jacinta Chiamaka Nwaka, "The Early Missionary Groups and the Contest for Igboland: A Reappraisal of Their
Evangelization Strategies," SAGE Journals, Vol 40, 2012, pp 3-10
 K. L. Nwadialor's study on 'The C.M.S. On The Banks Of the Niger: The Aboh/Onitsha

Story 1841-1937," Offers a dynamic proposition. The study reveals that Aboh would have been

the cradle of Anglicanism and western civilization in Igboland had the C.M.S. Niger Igbo

mission succeeded in establishing Christianity at Aboh in the middle of the nineteenth century.

The leadership of the mission relocated from Aboh in 1857 and thus abandoned it for Onitsha. 6

Deductively, while Aboh remains the first Igbo speaking town to encounter the missionaries in

Nigeria during the Niger expeditions, Onitsha is remarked as the first Igbo society where a

Christain was instituted. The writer focuses on various reasons for the abandonment of Aboh as a

missionary station. Whatever reasons adduced, Onitsha maintains the port through which

Christianity spread to most Igbo subgroups including Amichi, and studies on Christian

missionaries, reckon such historical record. Hence, the researcher through the development of

the Anglican Mission in Onitsha traces the growth of Anglican churches in Amichi alongside

several developments.

Another important work by J.B. Chika, and O. Gabriel ‘The Missionary Twist in the

Development of the Igbo Identity: The Dialectics of Change and Continuity’. The work discusses

how missionary adventure in Africa led to change and continuity. The work argues that every

society, in order to have any stability and meaningful development, peace and orderly progress,

usually requires that its members adhere to an articulated set of values which provides a sense of

group identity for them. For the Igbo, as in many parts of Africa, it is religion, albeit traditional

religion, that provides most of the bases for the values and distinctive identity. 7 The work argues

6
Kanayo Louis Nwadialor, 'The C.M.S. On the Banks of the Niger: The Aboh/Onitsha Story 1841-1937,"
International Journal of Theology & Reformed, Vol.2
7
Chika J.B Okpalike, ‘‘The Missionary Twist In The Development Of The Igbo Identity: The Dialectics Of Change
And Continuity’’13th International Conference of the Igbo Studies Association at Marquette University Marquette,
Wisconsin, USA, volume 13, ,2015, 3-5, [Link].
that there is no doubt that the traditional religion on which the Igbo societies were based gave

meaning and significance to the lives of people in those societies. But those values have been

thoroughly affected by historical factors, by encounter with Europeans and their Christian

religion with its accompanying new systems of living. The writer further reveals that the extent

of the Christianization of Igboland is a question of change and continuity in social identity. By

and large, the work looks at the extent to which missionary enterprise has brought changes in the

identity of Igbo people and how the Igbo responded to its new challenges. The work gives an in-

depth understanding of how the value system of Africans, Igboland in particular was altered as a

result of the coming of the Christian missionaries. Hence, the study is useful to this present

research on Anglican Diocese in Amichi.

E. Ilogu, in the book, Christainity and Igbo Cultures, examines marriage practices in

Igbo land in line with the taboos associated with it. The work reveals that the rule of exogamy is

rigidly applied to forbid marriage between any two members of the same lineage. According to

the book, if any kind of kinship relationship can be faintly established, marriage is forbidden, but

if any had taken place unknowingly, due to the remoteness of the relationship. When such

relationship is established no matter how vaguely, a sacrifice for the removal of the abomination

is performed.8 Ilogu’s work is important to this study as it rightly points out how Christianity

affected Igbo culture. This present study would draw insight from Ilogu’s work.

Korieh in his book, The Way we Lived: Essays on Nigerian History, Gender and Society,

explained how Nigerian Society thrived prior to colonial incursion. He further discussed the

Agrarian history of South Eastern Nigeria. According to his work, Agricultural transformation

among the Igbo was influenced by the physical geography which include; environmental
8
Edmund Ilogu, Christainity and Igbo Culture, (New York: Nok Publishers, 1974), 29.
conditions; such as climate, rainfall, patterns of soil formations and the abundance of the oil

palm in the region. Korieh’s work among other things, argued that Christian missions created

new identity formations in colonial Nigeria. Colonialists and missionaries established a

hegemonic relationship that used Christianity as a ’’Civilising Agents’’. Korieh maintained in his

book that the forces of Christianity and colonialism were problematic for colonized societies. 9 He

further explained that the challenges posed to Nigerian society as a result of Christianity were

witnessed in the areas of marriage and inheritance rights, cultural practices, community life and

social obligations. The book is useful to this research, as it provides an understanding of the

impact of Christianity on Nigerian culture; it would serve as a guide in discussing the

developmental influence of the Anglican Mission in Amichi.

E. Isichei’s book titled A History of the Igbo People is another important literature which

helps on the quest to trace the Igbo history. The book narrates the history of Igbo people,

discussing the traditional and cultural history of the Igbo before the European contact. 10

Although this work is not on Onicha Ezinihitte, it studies the history of Igbo people which

provides an insight on Igbo history. Isichei’s work is a clear explanation of Igboland before

colonial incursion. Notwithstanding, this present study drawing insight from Isichei’s work;

would discuss Anglican Diocese in Amichi, with special interest on the development of the

Anglican Mission in the Area.

The above reviewed works revealed relevant information about the advent of

Missionaries and their further spread into most Igbo societies. However, each of the work

9
Chima Korieh, The Way we Lived: Essays on Nigerian History, Gender and Society, (Goldline and Jacobs
Publishing, GlassBoro, New Jersey, 2013), 120-138.
10
Elizabeth Ishichei, A History of Igbo People, (London: Macmillan, 1976), 3.
discusses an aspect of change engendered by the influence of Christian missionaries. This

present study seeks to analyse developmental impact of the Anglican Diocese in Amichi.