Celebrating Our Heroes and Heroines

The Celestial Church of Christ was founded through the calling God placed on the Reverend Pastor Prophet Founder, Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa. Around him, God also used other people, each in a different way, as the Church was formed and began to grow.

This month we are celebrating those heroes and heroines. Papa Oshoffa received the founding mission. A police officer in Porto Novo gave the wise counsel that led to the first open-air meeting. Today we come to Alexander Yanga, through whom the Church’s name was revealed.

Their roles were different, and we honour each one for what is actually recorded. Spiritual gifts, practical wisdom, encouragement and service can all become instruments of God’s purpose. More heroes and heroines are still to come in this series. As we remember them, we learn from their example and give the glory to God.

A name we carry across generations

Every time we say “Celestial Church of Christ,” we speak a name that carries our identity, our faith and our history.

It stands above the doors of our parishes and at the head of our documents. It is the answer we give when someone asks where we worship. Across languages and continents, it joins generations of worshippers into one family.

Yet how often do we stop to remember the man through whom, according to the Constitution, that name was revealed?

He came seeking healing

The Constitution’s account is in its Second Schedule, under “Divine Order.” Right after it records the vision of 29 September 1947, it turns to the name:

“

The name of the Church came down from Heaven by divine revelation through Mr. Alexander Yanga, who was at that time undergoing spiritual healing at the residence of the Pastor Founder and who was held in trance for seven days.

— CCC Constitution (Nigeria Diocese, 1980)
Second Schedule, “Divine Order,” section 3

At the end of the seventh day, he asked for a piece of chalk and wrote the name on the wall:

Église du Christianisme Céleste
Celestial Church of Christ

Think of what that means. A man who had come to be cared for became the one through whom the Church received its name.

The person receiving care also has something to give

When someone comes to a church seeking help, we naturally see their need first. We pray for them, support them and hope for their healing.

Alexander Yanga’s story asks us to see the whole person. Today’s difficulty does not tell us everything about a life. The person sitting quietly among us, asking for prayer, may carry gifts and insight the community has not yet recognised.

So we receive people with compassion and humility. Their dignity does not depend on whether they later become well known.

Why his contribution matters

A name becomes part of a community’s daily life. It marks our places of worship, goes with us into public witness, and gives every member a way to say where they belong.

To remember how that name was received is to remember the person through whom it came. That is why Alexander Yanga belongs among our heroes.

We do not need to fill the gaps in his life with stories we cannot prove. The Constitution does not tell us where he came from, what illness brought him, or what became of him afterwards. What it does record is enough for us to remember him with gratitude.

Different people, different contributions

In our last reflection we remembered the police officer in Porto Novo who listened to Papa Oshoffa and suggested a public meeting. With Alexander Yanga we meet a different kind of contribution: not counsel, but revelation.

A church’s history includes those who gave advice, those who carried messages, those who gave practical help, and those through whom spiritual revelations were received. Each deserves to be understood on its own terms.

It is worth asking: are there people in our own parishes whose contribution we overlook because they hold no title?

Honouring the vessel, giving the glory to God

We can remember Alexander Yanga with gratitude while directing our worship to God. Honouring him preserves our history and helps younger members understand why his name is in the story.

It should also keep us humble. Whatever gift we receive, we remain one part of a community in which others also have a place and a purpose. So his story turns the question back to us:

• Do our gifts help others?
• Do they strengthen the community?
• Do they lead us to grateful service?

Let the name shape our conduct

Remembering how the name was revealed should make us think about how we carry it today. People meet the Church through our words, our choices and the way we treat them.

• Do we welcome those who come seeking help?
• Do we listen patiently?
• Do we serve with honesty?
• Do we treat the vulnerable with care?

We honour those who helped the Church begin by faithfully doing the part entrusted to us.

Remembering Alexander Yanga

This month, let us make room in our remembrance for Alexander Yanga. Let us teach his part in our history accurately, honour the dignity of everyone who comes among us seeking healing, and stay alert to gifts we may not recognise at first.

More heroes and heroines are still to come, and their stories will help us see more fully the people through whom our shared history unfolded.

Today we honour Alexander Yanga, the man through whom, according to the Church’s account, God revealed the name we still bear: Celestial Church of Christ.

We remember the people. We honour their contributions. We give the glory to God.

Historical source: Constitution of the Celestial Church of Christ (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), Second Schedule, “Divine Order,” section 3. The Constitution also names a “Wolida Afose Yanga” among those who went with Papa Oshoffa to Grand-Popo (paragraph 38). It does not say whether he is the same man, so we do not assume it. The reflections on care, service and remembrance are devotional applications of that account. The picture is an illustration: no photograph of Alexander Yanga is known.

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