C&S History

To evangelise and to arouse the African in Nigeria in particular and the whole world in general to the practice of a spiritual Christian life and of those sublime principles of Christian charity and faith as taught by Christ Himself. The object of the Order — Memorandum of Association, clause 2, 1st February 1930 Moses Orimolade Tunolase Baba Aladura · Sole Founder & Supreme Head · 1925 – 1933 Baba Aladura — the Praying Father. Born at Ikare-Akoko about 1879; entered rest 19 October 1933. Founder Baba Aladura Prophetic Apostolic Evangelistic Revival Praying Father Healing Intercession Holiness Itinerant Mission Moses Orimolade Tunolase — known to the Order as Baba Aladura , the Praying Father — is the sole founder of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim. The Order's own constitution says so in plain words: it is “a religious Christian association founded in November in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty-five by Moses Orimolade Tunolase by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.” No second name stands beside his on that page. He was born about 1879 into the royal family of Ayibiri, in the Okorun quarter of Ikare-Akoko in what is now Ondo State. He left Ikare in 1915 as an itinerant preacher with no formal schooling, and the mission carried him through Lokoja, Jos, Zaria and Kano, then down through Ilorin and Oshogbo, until he reached Lagos in July 1924. There the crowds who came to him for prayer gave him the name that stayed, and out of that praying company the Order was raised. He led it as Sole Founder and Supreme Head from 1925 until his death on 19 October 1933. Under Article 11 the Baba-Aladura holds “full power of control, management and direction in all matters”, with authority to appoint a deputy, a Secretary and any other officers, and to admit, suspend, dismiss and re-admit members. The Sole Founder Some published accounts describe the Order as founded jointly by Moses Orimolade and Christianah Abiodun Akinsowon (later Emmanuel). That is not the Order's history, and it is not what the founding documents say. On 18 June 1925 Orimolade was called to pray for Abiodun Akinsowon, a young Methodist woman who had fallen into a trance during the Corpus Christi procession in Lagos. She recovered, she became a member and a visioner of the praying band, and news of the healing drew great crowds to it. She did not found the Order. She left the band in 1929 to form the separate Cherubim and Seraphim Society, and when the mother band was incorporated the following year, one founder was named on the instrument: Moses Orimolade Tunolase. A note on the record Milestones Beginnings Born into the royal family of Ayibiri, in the Okorun quarter of Ikare, in what is now Ondo State. Accounts of his childhood tell of a boy who could not walk for years, set by his parents at St. Stephen's Anglican Church in Ikare, and of a call that came to him in a dream at twelve. Born at Ikare-Akoko Mission He leaves Ikare to preach, travelling through Lokoja, Jos, Zaria and Kano, then down through Ilorin and Oshogbo, confronting the old practices and gathering congregations as he goes. The itinerant mission begins Lagos Orimolade reaches Lagos in July 1924. The crowds who come to him for prayer call him Baba Aladura — the Praying Father — and a praying band forms around him. Jul 1924 Arrival in Lagos On 18 June 1925 he is called to pray for Christianah Abiodun Akinsowon, who had fallen into a trance during the Corpus Christi procession. Her recovery draws great crowds to the band. Jun 1925 The Corpus Christi healing Naming On 9 September 1925 Orimolade gives the company its name: the Band of Seraph. Sep 1925 The Band of Seraph is named Founding The Articles of Association record the founding in November 1925 “by Moses Orimolade Tunolase by inspiration of the Holy Spirit” — he alone, as Sole Founder and Supreme Head. Nov 1925 The Order is founded On 26 March 1926, by spiritual injunction, “Cherubim” joins the name — the Cherubim and Seraphim, after the two heavenly orders the membership is itself divided into. Mar 1926 Cherubim is added Constitution On 1 February 1930 fourteen subscribers set their names and marks to the Memorandum and Articles, read over and explained to them in Yoruba by H. King Paul of 9, Ondo Street, Ebute Metta. Registration was sanctioned by J. C. Howard, Acting Attorney-General, on 12 February. Feb 1930 The Memorandum is subscribed Incorporation On 14 February 1930, Charles A. Gordon, Registrar of Companies, certified at Lagos that The Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim was incorporated under the Companies Ordinance, 1922 (Cap. 138), limited by guarantee. Incorporated as No. 316 Expansion Branches multiply through Nigeria and outward into Benin, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Under Article 19 every branch in Nigeria, and every subsidiary society such as the Praying Band, holds allegiance to the Baba-Aladura and the parent Order. Growth across West Africa Passing At 3 a.m. on Thursday 19 October 1933, in the midst of his disciples, the founder breathed his last. He was laid to rest at Ojokoro on 20 October 1933. Oct 1933 Baba Aladura goes home Legacy As he had instructed his followers, his body was exhumed forty years on and reburied in his home town of Ikare-Akoko on 19 October 1975. Oct 1975 Reburied at Ikare Seraphmedia The Order is counted among the largest of the African-initiated churches, with branches across Africa, Europe and North America. Seraphmedia exists to preserve and distribute the sacred sound of the C S movement. Today A worldwide Order Registered name The Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Founded November 1925, by Moses Orimolade Tunolase Certificate No. 316, Nigeria Incorporated 14 February 1930, at Lagos Statute The Companies Ordinance, 1922 (Cap. 138) Status Association limited by guarantee Registrar Charles A. Gordon, Registrar of Companies Memorandum dated 1 February 1930, by fourteen subscribers Registration sanctioned J. C. Howard, Acting Attorney-General, 12 February 1930 — s. 11(4), Cap. 138 Members' guarantee Not exceeding £10 on a winding up Fees and deed stamps £3 : 0 : 0 Stamp duty on capital £20 : 0 : 0 Particulars as they appear on the certificate and the instrument itself. The 1930 incorporation, at a glance Article 10 states the faith of the Order without embellishment: unshaken faith in the Holy Bible as the Word of God and in salvation through Jesus Christ; the Trinity in Unity; the use of incense; purification by prayer and fasting; and the resurrection of the dead. Its “first and primary work” is prayer and the preaching of the Gospel. It believes in the curative effect of prayer for every affliction, spiritual and temporal. It condemns and abhors charms and fetish, witchcraft and sorcery of any kind, and all heathenish sacrifices and practices — while it is not averse to the judicious use of curative herbs, to qualified medical practitioners, or to patent medicines and other drugs. It endorses and practises the sanctification of water by prayer, and the use of that Holy Water for every purpose. The Patron Saint of the Order is Archangel Michael (Article 9). The Order enjoins purity of life and high morals, admits the sanctity of Christian marriage while prescribing its own rites of marriage contract (Article 15), and recognises baptism by any Christian church while prescribing its own christening rites and discouraging names bound up with fetish or paganism (Article 16). Doctrine, as the Articles set it down Baba-Aladura (Praying Father) The founder, and after him the head of the Order: full power of control, management and direction in all matters, with power to appoint a deputy, the Secretary and any other officers, and to induct, admit, suspend, dismiss and re-admit members. Alagba (Elder) The title a successor assumes on induction, taking up all the powers of control formerly exercised by his predecessor. The Advisory Board The fourteen subscribers to the Memorandum, added to at the Baba-Aladura's discretion. Advisory in his lifetime — his decision in all matters is final — but during an interregnum the Board governs, and its decisions are final until a successor is inducted. The Secretary Keeps the Minute Book of the Board's proceedings, signs cheques and orders for withdrawal — countersigned by a member of the Advisory Board — and attends court on the Order's behalf when it must be represented. The Cherubim and the Seraphim The two subordinate sections into which the unlimited membership is divided, each keeping its own Roll of Members. Articles 1, 2, 11, 12 and 20 set the offices and say where authority rests. How the Order is governed Sunday evening Open-air service, at whichever centre is chosen. Wednesday evening General meeting of the Order — exhortation, prayer and praise. Thursday evening Special prayer for the progress and welfare of the country and for those set in authority — as first written in 1930, for peace and prosperity to the British Empire, for His Majesty the King and the Royal Family, and for Governors and native rulers. Article 14 fixes three meetings a week, and leaves the Baba-Aladura free to summon the Board, or a general or special meeting, at any time. The three weekly fixtures Membership is open to “any penitent sinner — whether Christian, Mohammedan or Pagan” — who acknowledges their sins, accepts salvation through Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and purposes to lead a new and holy life; a member is entitled on death to the funeral rites of the Order (Article 3). One becomes a member by having one's name entered on the Roll of Members of either section and promising to abide by the rules (Article 2), and no entrance fee is ever payable (Article 5). Members pay a monthly subscription of not more than one shilling; the indigent, invalid, poor and sick may be exempted in part or in whole with the Baba-Aladura's approval. All income goes to promoting the object of the Order, and no dividend may be paid to any member under any circumstance (Article 6). A stipend may be paid to a member whose service has kept them from work (Article 7), and voluntary contributions may be sought from members only, for a specific purpose within the Order's object (Article 8). Money is banked in the name of the Order (Article 20). Property may be acquired freehold for worship, a school, a meeting hall or any lawful purpose, with the title vested in the Order and the deeds deposited with the Baba-Aladura or Alagba; nothing may be mortgaged, sold or otherwise disposed of without his consent and the unanimous vote of the Advisory Board (Article 17). The Order discourages members from taking one another to court and asks that differences be settled amicably by investigation (Article 18). Robes, banner, canopy and the rest are worn and used only as the Baba-Aladura directs, and no one who has ceased to be a member may make public use of them (Article 13). Article 21 closes the Articles by asking of every member a peaceable, law-abiding life: to honour those in authority, to help the sick, the poor and the needy, and to relieve suffering humanity in all honourable ways, “with steadfast faith in the Good Providence of God and a sure hope of the reward promised to all Good and Faithful servants. In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. — Amen.” Membership, money and property 42, Daddy Alaja Street, Lagos Peter Omojola E. O. Bada 160, Cemetery Street, Ebute Metta Isaac Adebulewo Olushi Street, Lagos — Clerk N. B. Seton Ibadan Street, Ebute Metta — Clerk Gabriel Ade Ogunyadi Great Bridge Street, Lagos — Carpenter Sabina A. Roberts Offin Road, Lagos — Trader J. O. Coker 15, Glover Street, Ebute Metta — Clerk Samuel Amodu Strachan Street, Ebute Metta Sarah A. Johnson 86, Strachan Street, Ebute Metta Rachael C. Johnson Jennie C. Winful Koseh Street, Lagos Edward Ade Johnson G. O. Fakoleti Tailor, Alagbado, Nigeria The names set to the Memorandum and Articles on 1 February 1930, with the addresses and descriptions as they were written. The founder heads the list, and the fourteen became the Order's first Advisory Board. The fourteen subscribers of 1930 The C S tradition is marked by practices anyone who has worshipped with the Order will recognise: the white garment ( aṣọ àdúrà ), the bell, reverence and bare feet in the sanctuary, intense prayer with fasting, incense, sanctified water, and a richly layered Yoruba hymnody sung in parts. Prayer is not the accompaniment to the Order's work — it is the work, put first in the Articles and carried in the name Aladura , the owners of prayer. Core Distinctives This page is built from the Order's own founding instrument, with dates cross-checked against published histories. The primary source — certificate of incorporation No. 316, the Memorandum, and Articles 1 to 21. Compiled by Seraph Media. Memorandum and Articles of Association, 1930 The Order's own chronology: the naming dates, the 1930 registration and the Sole Founder record. The Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim & Seraphim — official history A scholarly account of the movement within the African-initiated churches. The history of the Cherubim and Seraphim movement Sources Who founded the Cherubim and Seraphim? Moses Orimolade Tunolase, known in the Order as Baba Aladura, the Praying Father, is the sole founder. The Order's own constitution records it as “a religious Christian association founded in November in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty-five by Moses Orimolade Tunolase by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.” He was born about 1879 at Ikare-Akoko, in what is now Ondo State, and led the Order as Sole Founder and Supreme Head from 1925 until his death on 19 October 1933. Was the Cherubim and Seraphim co-founded by Christianah Abiodun Akinsowon? No. Some published accounts describe a joint founding, but the Order's founding documents name one founder. On 18 June 1925 Orimolade was called to pray for Abiodun Akinsowon, a young Methodist woman who had fallen into a trance during the Corpus Christi procession in Lagos. She recovered, became a member and a visioner of the praying band, and news of the healing drew great crowds to it. She left the band in 1929 to form the separate Cherubim and Seraphim Society, and when the mother band was incorporated the following year, the instrument named Moses Orimolade Tunolase alone. When was the Cherubim and Seraphim founded and incorporated? It was founded in November 1925. The Memorandum and Articles of Association were subscribed on 1 February 1930 by fourteen subscribers, who became the Order's first Advisory Board, and the Order was incorporated at Lagos on 14 February 1930 under the Companies Ordinance, 1922 (Cap. 138), as an association limited by guarantee, on certificate No. 316. What is the Order's full registered name? The Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim, as entered on the 1930 certificate of incorporation. What does the Cherubim and Seraphim believe? Article 10 of the Articles of Association states unshaken faith in the Holy Bible as the Word of God and in salvation through Jesus Christ; the Trinity in Unity; the use of incense; purification by prayer and fasting; and the resurrection of the dead. The Order's “first and primary work” is prayer and the preaching of the Gospel, and it believes in the curative effect of prayer for every affliction, spiritual and temporal. It condemns charms, fetish, witchcraft and sorcery, while it is not averse to curative herbs, qualified medical practitioners or ordinary medicines. Its Patron Saint is Archangel Michael. What does Baba Aladura mean? Baba Aladura is Yoruba for the Praying Father — the name the crowds who came to Orimolade for prayer gave him, from aladura, the owners of prayer. It is also the Order's highest office: under Article 11 the Baba-Aladura holds full power of control, management and direction in all matters, with authority to appoint a deputy, a…