Church of Christ in the Congo

The Church of Christ in the Congo or CCC (in French, Église du Christ au Congo or ECC), is a union of 62 Protestant denominations, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Church of Christ in the Congo
Église du Christ au Congo
AbbreviationCCC
ECC
ClassificationProtestant
Orientationgenerally United Protestant, including:

Methodist
Pentecostal
Baptist
Mennonite
Reformed
Anglican/Episcopalian
Independent evangelical[1]
PolityVarious
BishopPierre Marini Bodho
RegionDemocratic Republic of the Congo
HeadquartersKinshasa, Kinshasa Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Members25.5 million in 2014[2]
Official websitehttp://ecc.faithweb.com/

Within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is often simply referred to as the Protestant Church, as it federates the vast majority of the Protestants in that country. It is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa.

According to the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, 95.4% of the country has a Christian affiliation; of these, an estimated 48.1% are Protestant, including evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth.[3]

History

The Union has its origins in a grouping of different Protestant and Evangelical churches by missionaries that took place in 1902.[4] It was officially founded in 1924 as the Protestant Council of Congo (CPC).[5] In 1934, it took the name of Church of Christ in Congo.

Functions

The CCC functions as a religious institution, and provides a central administration and a spiritual forum for the numerous Protestant denominations. It functions under a national synod and an executive committee. Both of these entities are assisted in their tasks by a national secretariat.

The CCC is said to be part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, but it also insists on maintaining unity in diversity, as they see it as being the only system common to the Holy Bible, the primitive church, and African traditions.

Leadership

The Church of Christ in Congo is led by a President that holds the rank of Bishop, and two Vice-Presidents.

The president is the presiding minister of the Cathedral of the Protestant Centennial in Congo (French: Cathédrale du Centenaire Protestant au Congo), also known as the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa (French: Paroisse Internationale Protestante de Kinshasa) - the de facto head church of the CCC.

One of the previous Presidents of the CCC was Monsignor Pierre Marini Bodho. Following the end of the Second Congo War, transitional institutions were established, consisting of the former warring parties, as well as representatives of the non-belligerent opposition, and representatives of the civil society. Consequently, during the 2003 to 2006 transition period, following the end of the Second Congo War, as a reasonably neutral and consensual figure, and as a representative of the organized religion section of the civil society, Mgr. Marini Bodho served as the President of the Senate, the upper house of the Congolese Parliament.

In the 2006 elections, Mgr. Marini Bodho won a senate seat and went on to serve as a government senator.[6]

Member communities
  • Communauté des Assemblées des Frères au Katanga (CAFKAT)
  • Communauté Baptiste au Kivu (CBK)
  • Communauté des Eglises des Frères Mennonites au Congo (4ème CEFMC)
  • Communuatés des Eglises Libres de Pentecôte en Afrique (CELPA)
  • Communauté des Eglises Baptistes Unies (CEBU)
  • Communauté des Eglises de Grâce au Congo (GEGC)
  • Communauté des Eglises de Pentecôte en Afrique Centrale (C.E.P.A.C)
  • Communauté Evangélique Mennonite (CEM)
  • Communauté des Disciples du Christ au Congo (CDCC)
  • Communauté Anglicane au Congo (CAC)
  • Communauté des Assemblées de Dieu au Congo (CADC)
  • Communauté Baptiste du Fleuve Congo (CBFC)
  • Communauté Baptiste du Bas-Uélé (CBCN)
  • Communauté Baptiste du Congo (CBCO)
  • Communauté Evangélique du Christ au Cœur de l'Afrique (CECCA)
  • Communauté Evangélique du Christ eu Ubangi (CECU)
  • Communauté Evangélique de l'Alliance au Congo (CEAC)
  • Communauté Evangélique Berreenne au Congo (CEBC)
  • Communauté Evangélique au Centre de l'Afrique (CECA)
  • Communauté Nations du Christ en Afrique (CNCA)
  • Communauté Association des Eglises Evangéliques de la Lulonga (CADELU)
  • Communauté Evangélique au Congo (CEC)
  • Communauté Libre de Maniema-Kivu (CLMK)
  • Communauté Evangélique du Kwango (CEK)
  • Communauté Libre Méthodiste au Congo (CLMC)
  • Communauté Mennonite au Congo (CMCO)
  • Communauté Méthodiste Unie au Congo Central (CMCC)
  • Communauté Méthodiste au Sud-Congo (CMSC)
  • Communauté Pentecôtiste au Congo (CPCO)
  • Communauté Presbytérienne au Congo (CPC)
  • Communauté Presbytérienne de Kinshasa (CPK)
  • Communauté Région Sankuru (CRS)
  • Communauté Assemblée de Dieu à l'Est du Congo (CADAF)
  • Communauté Union des Eglises Baptistes au Congo (CUEBC)
  • Communauté Centrale du Christ en Afrique (CCCA)
  • Communauté des Assemblées de Dieu au Congo (CADC)
  • Communauté des Frères en Christ Garenganze (CFCG)
  • Communauté Assemblée des Frères Evangéliques au Congo (CAFECO)
  • Communauté des Eglises Chrétiennes en Afrique (CECA)
  • Communauté des Eglises Baptistes Indépendantes Evangéliques (CEBIE)
  • Communauté Evangélique Congolaise (CECO)
  • Communauté des Fidèles Protestants (CFP)
  • Communauté Evangélique de Pentecôte au Katanga (CEPK)
  • Communauté Protestante au Katanga (CPK)
  • Communauté des Assemblées des Frères en Christ au Congo (CAFCC)
  • Communauté Baptiste Autonome Entre Wamba-Bakali (CBAWB)
  • Communauté Episcopale Baptiste Africaine (CEBA)
  • Communauté Chrétienne Evangélique au Congo (CCEC)
  • Communauté Evangélique en Ubangi Mongala (CEUM)
  • Communauté Evangélique Luthérienne du Congo Ouest (CELCO)
  • Communauté Baptiste du Sud-Kwango (CBSK)
  • Communauté Méthodiste Unie au Nord-Katanga (CMUNK)
  • Communauté des Eglises Baptistes du Congo-Est (CBCE)
  • Communauté Evangélique du Kasaï-Occidental (CEK-BOOKE)
  • Communauté Presbytérienne au Kasaï-Occidental (CPKO)
  • Communauté Presbytérienne au Kasaï-Oriental (CPKO)
  • Communauté Evangélique Africaine (CEA)
  • Communauté Réformée Presbytérienne (CRP)
  • Communauté de Jésus-Christ au Congo (CJCC)
  • Communauté de Douze Apôtres au Congo (CDAC)
  • Communauté du Saint-Esprit en Afrique (CSEA)
  • Communauté Chrétienne de Pentecôte au Congo
  • Communauté Réformée du Congo

See also

References
  1. Communautés membres de l'ECC Vous êtes ici: Accueil > Infos > Communautés membres Mar, le 13 Septembre 2016
  2. "Eglise du Christ au Congo". Ecc.faithweb.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  3. "US State Dept 2020 report: DRC, International Religious Freedom" (PDF). United States Department of State.
  4. Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, Jan Milic Lochman, John Mbiti, Jaroslav Pelikan, The Encyclodedia of Christianity, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2008, p. 843
  5. Emizet Francois Kisangani, Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 209
  6. Murithi, Timothy (2005). The African Union : Pan-Africanism, peacebuilding and development (Reprinted. ed.). Burlington, VT: Ashgate. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7546-3953-4.
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