R&L Logo R&L Logo
  • GENERAL
    • Browse by Subjects
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Chases's Calendar
  • ACADEMIC
    • Textbooks
    • Browse by Course
    • Instructor's Copies
    • Monographs & Research
    • Reference
  • PROFESSIONAL
    • Education
    • Intelligence & Security
    • Library Services
    • Business & Leadership
    • Museum Studies
    • Music
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Psychotherapy
  • FREUD SET
Cover Image
Paperback
share of facebook share on twitter
Add to GoodReads

Africa and the New Face of Mission

A Critical Assessment of the Legacy of the Irish Spiritans Among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria

Charles A. Ebelebe

In Africa and the New Face of Mission, Ebelebe argues that the mission theory and practice of the Irish Spiritans in Igboland (1905-1970) was forged in the socio-political and faith environment of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland; an environment that produced a Church that was sacramentized, devotional, conservative, and clerical. It was this Church that the Irish Spiritans took to Igboland, and the Church that has largely endured there until now. The author considers this regrettable and calls for inculturation as the only way forward. He highlights the significant contribution of the Igbo Catholic Church to the growing pool of missionaries from the South and argues that for this Church to be truly Igbo, it must be selective in what it reclaims from its Irish Heritage and must draw from the resources of Igbo traditional culture and religion. In this way, the Church can better equip its growing number of missionaries to other nations.
  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
University Press of America
Pages: 262 • Trim: 5¾ x 8¼
978-0-7618-4596-6 • Paperback • June 2009 • $57.99 • (£45.00)
Subjects: Religion / Christian Ministry / Missions, Religion / Ethnic & Tribal
Charles A. Ebelebe, C.S.Sp., Ph.D., is a Spiritan priest from Nigeria. He received his academic formation in the seminaries of the Spiritans in Nigeria and was ordained in 1995. He has served as a missionary among the Borana of southern Ethiopia (1997-2001) after which he went to Marquette University in Wisconsin for both his graduate and doctoral studies. He teaches theology at the Spiritan International School of Theology in Enugu, Nigeria.
Chapter 1 Foreword
Chapter 2 Preface
Chapter 3 Introduction
Chapter 4 Chapter 1: Igbo Culture at the Time of Encounter with Christianity
Chapter 5 Chapter 2: The Irish Spiritans
Chapter 6 Chapter 3: The Sources of the Irish Spiritan Mission Theology in Igboland
Chapter 7 Chapter 4: The Mission Theology of the Irish Spiritans in Igboland
Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Mission Theology Today: The Major Trends
Chapter 9 Chapter 6: The Igbo Catholic Church and the Changing Face of Mission Today
Chapter 10 Conclusion
Chapter 11 Bibliography
Chapter 12 Appendix 1: Map of Nigeria
Chapter 13 Appendix 2: Map of Igboland
Chapter 14 Index
Chapter 15 About the Author
Not restricted simply to critiquing the past, Ebelebe's study outlines future pastoral initiatives that would solidify achievements and enrich other cultural contexts.
— Michael A. Fahey, S.J., Department of Theology, Boston College


American as well as Nigerian readers will find Ebelebe's arguments challenging and his style charming....[a] valuable contribution.
— Patrick W. Carely, William J. Kelly, S.J. Chair in Catholic Theology; Marquette University, Milwaukee


Dr. Ebelebe brings to bear his respected and sharp intellectual acumen, extensive and dogged research, and felicitous expression....This book will reward the general reader, but professors and students of missiology and Catholic theology will find it especially valuable.
— James Chukwuma Okoye, C.S.Sp., Carroll Stuhlmueller Professor of Old Testament; Catholic Theological Union


This book opens with a powerful and poignant foreward. . . . It provides good insight into the cultural context in which the Christian message was eventually immersed. . . . This volume makes significant contributions to the larger discourse on mission studies. Ebelebe writes with clarity and conviction. His study provides an important African perspective on the theology and raison d'etre of mission, on which the future of the Christian church necessarily rests.
— Akintunde E. Akinade; International Bulletin of Mission Research, January 2010


This is a pioneer study. . .an intimate journey into the missiological soul of the Congregation.
— Ogbu.U. Kalu; Mccormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, Henry Winters Luce Professor of World Christianity and Mission


This is a fascinating book.... I was amazed at the number of different insights that he had, pointing out things I had not even considered.... It has an excellent bibliography and an index.


— Missiology: An International Review


Africa and the New Face of Mission

A Critical Assessment of the Legacy of the Irish Spiritans Among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria

Cover Image
Paperback
Summary
Summary
  • In Africa and the New Face of Mission, Ebelebe argues that the mission theory and practice of the Irish Spiritans in Igboland (1905-1970) was forged in the socio-political and faith environment of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland; an environment that produced a Church that was sacramentized, devotional, conservative, and clerical. It was this Church that the Irish Spiritans took to Igboland, and the Church that has largely endured there until now. The author considers this regrettable and calls for inculturation as the only way forward. He highlights the significant contribution of the Igbo Catholic Church to the growing pool of missionaries from the South and argues that for this Church to be truly Igbo, it must be selective in what it reclaims from its Irish Heritage and must draw from the resources of Igbo traditional culture and religion. In this way, the Church can better equip its growing number of missionaries to other nations.
Details
Details
  • University Press of America
    Pages: 262 • Trim: 5¾ x 8¼
    978-0-7618-4596-6 • Paperback • June 2009 • $57.99 • (£45.00)
    Subjects: Religion / Christian Ministry / Missions, Religion / Ethnic & Tribal
Author
Author
  • Charles A. Ebelebe, C.S.Sp., Ph.D., is a Spiritan priest from Nigeria. He received his academic formation in the seminaries of the Spiritans in Nigeria and was ordained in 1995. He has served as a missionary among the Borana of southern Ethiopia (1997-2001) after which he went to Marquette University in Wisconsin for both his graduate and doctoral studies. He teaches theology at the Spiritan International School of Theology in Enugu, Nigeria.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Chapter 1 Foreword
    Chapter 2 Preface
    Chapter 3 Introduction
    Chapter 4 Chapter 1: Igbo Culture at the Time of Encounter with Christianity
    Chapter 5 Chapter 2: The Irish Spiritans
    Chapter 6 Chapter 3: The Sources of the Irish Spiritan Mission Theology in Igboland
    Chapter 7 Chapter 4: The Mission Theology of the Irish Spiritans in Igboland
    Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Mission Theology Today: The Major Trends
    Chapter 9 Chapter 6: The Igbo Catholic Church and the Changing Face of Mission Today
    Chapter 10 Conclusion
    Chapter 11 Bibliography
    Chapter 12 Appendix 1: Map of Nigeria
    Chapter 13 Appendix 2: Map of Igboland
    Chapter 14 Index
    Chapter 15 About the Author
Reviews
Reviews
  • Not restricted simply to critiquing the past, Ebelebe's study outlines future pastoral initiatives that would solidify achievements and enrich other cultural contexts.
    — Michael A. Fahey, S.J., Department of Theology, Boston College


    American as well as Nigerian readers will find Ebelebe's arguments challenging and his style charming....[a] valuable contribution.
    — Patrick W. Carely, William J. Kelly, S.J. Chair in Catholic Theology; Marquette University, Milwaukee


    Dr. Ebelebe brings to bear his respected and sharp intellectual acumen, extensive and dogged research, and felicitous expression....This book will reward the general reader, but professors and students of missiology and Catholic theology will find it especially valuable.
    — James Chukwuma Okoye, C.S.Sp., Carroll Stuhlmueller Professor of Old Testament; Catholic Theological Union


    This book opens with a powerful and poignant foreward. . . . It provides good insight into the cultural context in which the Christian message was eventually immersed. . . . This volume makes significant contributions to the larger discourse on mission studies. Ebelebe writes with clarity and conviction. His study provides an important African perspective on the theology and raison d'etre of mission, on which the future of the Christian church necessarily rests.
    — Akintunde E. Akinade; International Bulletin of Mission Research, January 2010


    This is a pioneer study. . .an intimate journey into the missiological soul of the Congregation.
    — Ogbu.U. Kalu; Mccormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, Henry Winters Luce Professor of World Christianity and Mission


    This is a fascinating book.... I was amazed at the number of different insights that he had, pointing out things I had not even considered.... It has an excellent bibliography and an index.


    — Missiology: An International Review


ALSO AVAILABLE

  • Cover image for the book The Emergence of the Evangelical Egyptians: A Historical Study of the Evangelical-Coptic Encounter and Conversion in Late Ottoman Egypt, 1854-1878
  • Cover image for the book Migration, Transnationalism, and Faith in Missiological Perspective: Los Angeles as a Global Crossroads
  • Cover image for the book Converting Witness: The Future of Christian Mission in the New Millennium
  • Cover image for the book Christian Social Activism and Rule of Law in Chinese Societies
  • Cover image for the book Cooperating Congregations: Portraits of Mission Strategies
  • Cover image for the book War and Occupation in China: The Letters of an American Missionary from Hangzhou, 1937–1938
  • Cover image for the book The Christian and Missionary Alliance: An Annotated Bibliography of Textual Sources
  • Cover image for the book Wealth, Health, and Hope in African Christian Religion: The Search for Abundant Life
  • Cover image for the book Making a Difference in a Globalized World: Short-term Missions that Work
  • Cover image for the book The Nicaraguan Church and the Revolution
  • Cover image for the book Mission as Globalization: Methodists in Southeast Asia at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
  • Cover image for the book History of the Methodist Church in the Central Congo
  • Cover image for the book Irenaeus on the Salvation of the Unevangelized
  • Cover image for the book The Emergence of the Evangelical Egyptians: A Historical Study of the Evangelical-Coptic Encounter and Conversion in Late Ottoman Egypt, 1854-1878
  • Cover image for the book Migration, Transnationalism, and Faith in Missiological Perspective: Los Angeles as a Global Crossroads
  • Cover image for the book Converting Witness: The Future of Christian Mission in the New Millennium
  • Cover image for the book Christian Social Activism and Rule of Law in Chinese Societies
  • Cover image for the book Cooperating Congregations: Portraits of Mission Strategies
  • Cover image for the book War and Occupation in China: The Letters of an American Missionary from Hangzhou, 1937–1938
  • Cover image for the book The Christian and Missionary Alliance: An Annotated Bibliography of Textual Sources
  • Cover image for the book Wealth, Health, and Hope in African Christian Religion: The Search for Abundant Life
  • Cover image for the book Making a Difference in a Globalized World: Short-term Missions that Work
  • Cover image for the book The Nicaraguan Church and the Revolution
  • Cover image for the book Mission as Globalization: Methodists in Southeast Asia at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
  • Cover image for the book History of the Methodist Church in the Central Congo
  • Cover image for the book Irenaeus on the Salvation of the Unevangelized
facebook icon twitter icon instagram icon linked in icon NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
  • Mission Statement
  • Employment
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Statement
CONTACT
  • Company Directory
  • Publicity and Media Queries
  • Rights and Permissions
  • Textbook Resource Center
AUTHOR RESOURCES
  • Royalty Contact
  • Production Guidelines
  • Manuscript Submissions
ORDERING INFORMATION
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • National Book Network
  • Ingram Publisher Services UK
  • Special Sales
  • International Sales
  • eBook Partners
  • Digital Catalogs
IMPRINTS
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • Lexington Books
  • Hamilton Books
  • Applause Books
  • Amadeus Press
  • Backbeat Books
  • Bernan
  • Hal Leonard Books
  • Limelight Editions
  • Co-Publishing Partners
  • Globe Pequot
  • Down East Books
  • Falcon Guides
  • Gooseberry Patch
  • Lyons Press
  • Muddy Boots
  • Pineapple Press
  • TwoDot Books
  • Stackpole Books
PARTNERS
  • American Alliance of Museums
  • American Association for State and Local History
  • Brookings Institution Press
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
  • Fortress Press
  • The Foundation for Critical Thinking
  • Lehigh University Press
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Other Partners...