Spirit, Mission and Transnational Influence
Nigerian-led Pentecostalism in Eastern Europe
Keywords:
African Pentecostalism, African migrant churches, Ukraine, Sunday Adelaja, TransnationalismAbstract
This article examines the transnational significance and impact of the Church of the Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for all nations (Embassy of God), a Nigerian-led Pentecostal church based in Kyiv, Ukraine. It shows that the church’s uniqueness lies both in its huge following and in the fact that the majority of its members are white Eastern European. In this sense, it represents a “negative instance” of current trends within African-led migrant churches, where membership is pre- dominantly African. The church’s popularity is explained in terms of its Pentecostal spirituality, which satisfies the spiritual hunger fostered by socialism in Eastern Europe and challenges the staid religiosity of older denominations such as the Eastern Orthodox Church. Its deliberate pursuit of a transnational agenda is evident in the extensive foreign engagements of its leader, Sunday Adelaja, its international media ministry, the growing network of pastors attached to its ministry and its global missionary vision.
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