Igbo Christian Rite Of Marriage

The problems arising from the separate celebrations of traditional marriage and church wedding in the Igbo Church of Nigeria are the main objectives of the proposed Rite. The Igbo Christian man and woman require the traditional marriage and the church wedding to be considered as husband and wife. The important fact is that marriage for the Igbo people, even for some Christians among them, is the traditional marriage. In such traditional marriages today, experience shows that in addition to Christians and Non-christians, the clergy are very often present not only to grace the occasion by their presence, but also to say the opening prayer, prayer over the kola nuts, and sometimes also the closing prayer, and give the blessing. The obvious questions arising from these separate celebrations call for attention and review in the light of the on-going liturgical inculturation and the provisions made by the reformed liturgy of the Second Vatican Council. Is it then possible to evolve a unique Rite whereby the two celebrations can be validly and lawfully celebrated in one ceremony? Such a Rite would be required not only to be fully cultural and truly Christian but above all acceptable by both the culture and the church. The Igbo Christian Rite of Marriage is, therefore, a concrete proposal.

Frankfurt/M., Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien. Traditional marriage and Christian marriage rites presently exist as two distinct ceremonies in some parts of Africa. Is there no way of bringing the two together to avoid any form of duplication or multiplication of rite? More so because the Church has always implicitly recognised matrimonial institution as a cultural product. The answer to the above question is located in the whole issue of inculturation. A process that successfully flourished in the Western civilisation and consequently influenced the teaching of the Church on marriage. The answer to our question seeks to establish a marriage rite where couples will genuinely experience the happy marriage between culture and Church. A marriage rite that will fulfil both the traditional and Christian demands. Contents: Concrete steps towards the inculturation of Christian sacramental and Igbo traditional marriage.

"A disciplinary map for understanding African Catholicism today by engaging some of the most pressing and pertinent issues, topics, and conversations in diverse fields of studies in African Catholicism"--

Religious education in Nigeria is in a state of transformation, owing to the country's current pluralist nature among other factors. In the process, concepts of religion and education are revisited and reassessed in order to make them meaningful to mankind in his pluralist world. With this book, author Michael Okoh inaugurates a fundamental revision. He brings traditional African education and values alongside Christian ideals into dialogue with the "Western progressive learning approaches," paving new ways for religious education activity in Nigeria, particularly in Igboland. (Series: Tubingen Prospects on Pastoral Theology and Religious Pedagogics / Tubinger Perspektiven zur Pastoraltheologie und Religionspadagogik - Vol. 45)

For not integrating initially some of the good elements in Igbo culture, many Igbo Christians have double personality - Christian personality and traditional personality. They are Christians on Sundays but traditionalists on weekdays. To combat such an anomalous situation, in imitation of Christ's effort at completing what was lacking in the Jewish religion, author Edwin Udoye proposes radical inculturation. His book equally contains many serious theological reflections such that it recommends itself to both theologians and the scholars researching on the religions of the world. Udoye has therefore made a very significant contribution worthy of commendation to both theological and religious studies.