University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh THE EFFECTS OF THE 1991 SCHISM ON THE EVANGELICAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, GHANA: 1992-2015 THIS THESIS IS SUMMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PAR- TIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF M.PHIL RE- LIGION DEGREE BY NELSON AKATSE (10440175) JULY 2016 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION This is to certify that this thesis is the result of research undertaken by Nelson Akatse under the supervision of Rev. Dr. George Ossom-Batsa and Dr. Nicoletta Gatti towards the award of M.Phil Degree in Study of Religions in the Department for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana (Legon). ……………………………... …….………………….. NELSON AKATSE DATE (Student) …………………………….. ………………………….. REV. DR. GEORGE OSSOM-BATSA DATE (Supervisor) ……………………………… ……..………………….. DR. NICOLETTA GATTI DATE (Co-Supervisor) ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) experienced a number of conflicts and divi- sions from 1942 to 1991. Among them, the schism on the 8th June, 1991 is considered the greatest. After twenty-four years, the effect of this split still persists. The study therefore investigates the effects of the 1991 schism on the EPCG, within the period of 1992 – 2015. It examines the conse- quences of the Schism from EPCG perspective, highlighting both the challenges and the potenti- alities. The study employed the historical approach in its data collection and analysis process. The ap- proach was used to recount the histories of the EPCG. It used this tool to describe, analysis and interpret the available data regarding the historical development of the schism, particularly, its causes and effects. Relevant information was mainly gathered from first-person accounts, church record, court records, manuscripts, letters, minutes and reports. Additional data was collected from interviews to verify the first-person sources of information. The study discovered that the 1991 schism was a result of a misunderstanding between EPCG leadership and BSPF members. The misunderstanding emanated from the BSPF which started in EPCG, Kumasi-Amakom as a Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal movement in 1978. The beliefs and practices of the BSPF were seen by EPCG leadership as a deviation from Presbyterianism. Therefore, the leadership of EPCG wanted to guard its reformed tradition but the BSPF members would not allowed it. This was because, the members of the group considered these beliefs and practices as been biblical. As a result, the misunderstanding resurfaced three main issues: financial mismanagement; constitutional and theological. Additionally, the study identified sixteen (16) congregations as the mostly affected. It further re- vealed that ten (10) of such congregations are located in the southern part of the Volta Region, Ghana. For the reason that majority of the members of the BSPF hailed from the southern sector of the Volta Region, Ghana. As such, the BSPF was very vibrant in the south. Furthermore, the study observed that the 1991 schism was different from all others which happened in the EPCG since its establishment. The earlier schisms either involve one or few congregations in a particular district but for the 1991 schism, it manifests nationally. Also, the study underscores that the schism in 1991 was the only one that involve constitutional issues. In conclusion, the study recommended future investigation of a comparative study of the effects of the 1991 schism on both EPCG and GEC. This will highlight GEC version of the story and also contribute to the ongoing academic discourse. It also recommended that possible steps should be taken to withdraw all property issues pending before court. Leadership of both EPCG and GEC should work towards an out of court arbitration. By so doing, it would speed up the arbitration process. It would also prevent any further deterioration of church properties in locked chapels at the time of the research. Better still, the leadership of both churches must visit their respective mostly affected congregations and educate members on the need to allow peace to prevail. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION The study is dedicated to my wife Matilda Taylor-Akatse and our beloved son Philemon Mawunyo Akatse. Also to my mother, Comfort Afua Kango. iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This study would not have been successful without God’s support. I am grateful to God for the blessing of good health, protection, guidance and knowledge he has given to me throughout the period of the study. In addition, the study has been made possible through the enormous support of many individuals. My foremost gratitude goes to my supervisors, Rev. Fr. Dr. George Ossom-Batsa and Dr. Nicoletta Gatti, who helped in fine tuning my title and making time off their busy schedules to offer their advice and suggestions which has made this study possible. Also, to all the lecturers at the Depart- ment for the Study of Religion, University of Ghana, Legon who have offered any support during my study. Appreciation goes to all my interviewees especially Rev. Dinah Abbey-Mensah and Mr. W.L.S. Morny. Both respondents did not only give me the opportunity to interview them, also, they made available the required materials for the study. I am also thankful to the Rev. F.M. Amevenku, Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon for helping me with some of the information regarding the study as well as his encouragement. The secretary, Mrs. Felicia Galenkui-Anati of E.P. Publishing Ltd; the typist, Ms. Tina Kumassah of EPCG Head Office and Mr. Eric Segbefia of University of Education, Winneba deserve com- mendation for their support in this study. I am indepted to Mr. Samuel Kwaku Ayisah, former Assistant Headmaster, Academic, Ola Senior High School (now Headmaster, Klikor Senior High Technical School) for proof reading every chapter of the study. Special thanks go to Pastor Vicent Cudjoe Amuzu and his wife, Mabel Cudjoe Amuzu of the Church of Pentecost, Dzolo-Kpuita District. They have given me the enabling environment to write anytime I took few days away from family and pastoral activities. My sincere appreciation goes to my family members especially Ms. Bertha Morgadzi and her hus- band for the support they offered during my study. I thank my colleagues at the Department for the Study of Religion, University of Ghana, Legon for their encouragements. Finally, my wife and son deserved to be praised, not forgetting Patience Agya. They were always helpful all through the study. v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION............................................................................................................................. ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT............................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTORY ISSUES.............................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of the Study ....................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Objectives of the Study ......................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research Question ................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 7 1.5.1 Pentecostal/Charismatic Renewal in the Mainline Churches ......................................... 7 1.5.2 Schisms in the EPCG ................................................................................................... 15 1.6 Methodology and Methods of Data Collection ................................................................... 17 1.7 Scope of the Study ............................................................................................................... 21 1.8 Importance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 21 1.9 Organization of the Study .................................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER TWO: FROM THE FOUNDATION TO THE 1991 SCHISM ................................. 23 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 23 2.2 Establishment of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana: 1847-1942 ........................ 23 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.2.1 Missionary Roots .......................................................................................................... 23 2.2.2 Formation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana ......................................... 25 2.2.3 The Role of Indigenous Leaders .................................................................................. 29 2.2.4 Challenges faced by the North German Mission Society ............................................. 31 2.2.5 Achievements of the NGMS ........................................................................................ 34 2.3 The Early Schisms of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana: 1945 – 1964 ............ 37 2.3.1 The Schism in 1945: Apostle Revelation Society ........................................................ 37 2.3.2 The Schism in 1954: Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Buem Krachi..................... 38 2.3.3 The Schism in 1960: White Cross Society ................................................................... 40 2.3.4 The Schism in 1961: Lord’s Pentecostal Church ......................................................... 41 2.3.5 The Schism in 1964: Christ Evangelical Mission ........................................................ 43 2.4 The 1991 Schism of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana (1988 – 1991) .............. 45 2.4.1 Contribution of Renewal Groups in EPCG to 1991 Schism ........................................ 45 2.4.2 The Court Case(s) ......................................................................................................... 50 2.4.3 The Events after the Two Court Judgments: 1989 & 1990 .......................................... 52 2.5 The Immediate Events leading to the Schism of 8th June, 1991. ........................................ 53 2.5.1 The Appeal Court Ruling ............................................................................................. 53 2.5.2 The Press Conferences ................................................................................................. 54 2.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER THREE: THE UPSHOT OF THE 8TH JUNE, 1991 EVENT .................................. 60 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 60 3.2 The New Administration ..................................................................................................... 60 vii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.3 Reaction to the New Administration ................................................................................... 61 3.4 The Committee of Investigation .......................................................................................... 62 3.5 Ex-Communication of Leaders ............................................................................................ 64 3.6 The Fight Over Church Assets ............................................................................................ 65 3.7 The Earlier Attempt at Reconciliation ................................................................................. 67 3.8 The Failure of the Reconciliation Process ........................................................................... 69 3.9 The Change of Name ........................................................................................................... 73 3.10 The Recent Attempt at Reconciliation .............................................................................. 75 3.11 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 79 CHAPTER FOUR: THE EFFECTS OF THE 1991 SCHISM ...................................................... 81 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 81 4.2 Challenges ........................................................................................................................... 81 4.2.1 Violent Attacks ............................................................................................................. 81 4.2.2 Family and Community Life ........................................................................................ 87 4.2.3 Human Resources ......................................................................................................... 87 4.2.4 Numerical Growth ........................................................................................................ 89 4.2.5 Church Property ........................................................................................................... 92 4.2.6 Financial Resources ...................................................................................................... 95 4.3 Opportunities ....................................................................................................................... 98 4.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 100 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................... 102 5.1 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 102 viii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 107 5.3 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 110 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 113 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................. 118 Appendix A: Interview Schedule for all Categories of Respondents ...................................... 118 Appendix B: Notification of the Dismissal of some Pastors of the EPCG. ............................ 120 Appendix C: The List of Members of the Reconciliation Committee Constituted by CCG. .. 122 Appendix D: The Aftermath of the Closure of the EPCG, Amakom Chapel ......................... 124 Appendix E: The Cleaning of the EPCG, Amakom Chapel ................................................... 125 Appendix F: Location of the mostly Affected Communities/Congregations.......................... 126 ix University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SCGAC Standing Committee of the General Assembly Council GEC Global Evangelical Church PCG Presbyterian Church of Ghana EPCG Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana AC Anglican Church MCG Methodist Church Ghana GBC The Ghana Baptist Convention AICs African Independent (or Initiated) Churches RC’s Roman Catholics GAC General Assembly Council CE Church Executive MGA Moderator of the General Assembly PE Presbyter Executive CGA Clerk of General Assembly CAC Christ Apostolic Church AP Apostolic Church COP Church of Pentecost CCMs Charismatic Churches/Ministries x University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh FGBMFI Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International BSPF Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship NGMS North German Mission Society BM Bremen Mission ARS Apostle Revelation Society PECBK Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Buem Krachi WCS White Cross Society LPC Lord’s Pentecostal Church CEM Christ Evangelical Mission CYB Christian Youth Builders IMC Interim Management Committee CMs Concerned Members RGs Revolutionary Guards EEPT Eglise Evangelique Presbyterienne du Togo WARC World Alliance of Reformed Churches DoF Defenders of the Faith xi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTORY ISSUES 1.1 Background of the Study As observed by Paul Gifford1 Christianity in Ghana is deeply divided in a myriad of churches and sects. Scholars have proposed a variety of classification in order to under- stand the phenomenon. For example, J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu2 and Cephas N. Omenyo3 identified one strand as the Mainline Churches, also referred to as ‘Older Western Churches’, and ‘Historic Mission Churches’.4 According to Asamaoh-Gyadu, there are the “older Western churches…standing in historic continuity with Roman Catholic and Protestant missions that evangelized the country from the late fifteenth and early nineteenth centuries respectively”.5 Omenyo listed some of the Mainline Churches in Ghana – the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG); the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG); the Anglican Church (AC); the Methodist Church Ghana (MCG); and the Ghana Baptist Convention (BCG).6 As identified above, these churches have their distinctive missionary roots. The EPCG; the PCG; and the MCG missionary roots, for instance, can be traced to the North German Missionary Society; the Basel Missionary Society; and the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society in that order.7 1Paul Gifford, Ghana’s New Christianity: Pentecostalism in a Globalizing African Economy (Blooming- ton & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2004), 20-27. 2J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics: Current Developments within Independent Indig- enous Pentecostalism in Ghana (Leiden: African Christian Press, 2005), 10-16. 3Cephas N. Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism: A study of the Development of Charismatic Re- newal in the Mainline Churches in Ghana (Amsterdam: Boekencentrum Publishers, 2006), 63, 111, 127. 4For the purpose of consistency, ‘Mainline Churches’ will be used. 5Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics, 14. 6Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 63, 101, 111, 127, 154, 169, 189. 7J. Kofi Agbeti, West African Church History: Christian Missions and Church Foundations:1482-1919 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1986), 102; Scott W. Sunquist, and Carolin N. Becker, eds. A History of Presbyterian Missions (Louisville: Geneva Press, 2008), 253. Paul Gifford also studied Ghana’s mainline churches, 1 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The second strand of Christianity is constituted by the Pentecostal churches and/or movements. Asamoah-Gyadu categorizes this strand into three main streams. Firstly, the classical Pentecostal churches such as the Church of Pentecost and the Assemblies of God Church. Secondly, the neo-Pentecostals comprising “renewal groups within his- toric mission denominations, trans-denominational charismatic fellowships like the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International...”8 The third stream is the African In- dependent (or Initiated) Churches (AICs). Omenyo observes that the AICs are the churches that originated ‘in Ghana or from other African countries.’9 The Action Chapel International (ACI), founded by Bishop Nicolas Duncan-Williams; Interna- tional Central Gospel Church (ICGC), founded by Pastor Mensa Otabil; and the World Miracle Church International (WMCI), founded by Bishop Charles Agyin Asare are just a few of the many churches, not only founded by Ghanaians but also originated in Ghana.10 The other church not founded by Ghanaians and originated in Nigeria is the Living Faith Church, commonly known as Winners’ Chapel. It was founded in Septem- ber, 1983 by Bishop David Oyedepo.11 These multitudes of churches in the contemporary Ghana exist with their associated challenges, particularly, conflicts and divisions. In the past and now, the Christian for details see Paul Gifford, African Christianity: Its Public Role (London: C. Hurst & Company, 1998), 67-111. For an elaborate history of MCG and PCG, refer to F.L. Bartels, The Roots of Ghana Methodism (Cambridge: University Press, 1965) and Noel Smith, The Presbyterian Church of Ghana 1835-1960 (Accra: Ghana University Press, 1966) respectively. Foli associated himself with the name ‘Historic Churches’ rather than ‘mainline churches’ for the reason that these churches are as a result of the sacri- ficial effort of the pioneer missions from Western Europe and United State of America. Furthermore, Foli claims, these churches follow ‘strictly the older, more traditional practices of Western countries’ and as such ‘are very orthodox in their operation’. Is it true, however, that in contemporary Ghanaian Chris- tianity the mainline churches are orthodox in their operation? I do not intend to provide an answer. For details on Foli’s understanding of mainline churches, see Richard Foli, Christianity in Ghana: A Com- parative Church Growth Study (Accra: Trust Publications, 2006), 64-73. 8J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, “Taking Territories & Raising Champions: Contemporary Pentecostalism and the Changing Face of Christianity 1980-2010” (Inaugural Lecture, 16th December, 2010), 9. 9Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 94. 10Gifford, Ghana’s New Christianity, 26-27; Asamoah-Gyadu, “Taking Territories”, 3-4. 11Gifford, Ghana’s New Christianity, 26; See also, Asamoah-Gyadu, “Taking Territories”, 3-4. 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh church has been a divided one.12 Kpobi, for instance, pointed out that “the Christian church is perhaps the most divided institution in the world today…The church started to experience division from the very beginning of its existence as a movement”.13 Mwanampepo also admitted that: The Christian Church is in need of unity at the level of each denomination singly and at the level of all denominations jointly…that the present divisions were brought to Africa by the missionaries. Since then the divisions have been more or less furthered by the indigenous churches.14 In addition to his admission above, Mwanampepo further pointed out that the issue of division among Christian churches is a present reality. Now, whether the divisions were brought to Africa by the early missionaries or not, what is paramount, however, to this discussion is the fact that there is division in the Christian church. It is true the issue of conflicts and divisions is not a new development. It has accompa- nied the history of the church since its apostolic origin. The first occurrence of disunity described in the New Testament was a division between the Jews and Hellenists as a result of daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1ff). Though the misunderstanding was re- solved later (Acts 15:1-5), the negotiation was not fully accepted by the Jews and this consequently led to a division. Persecution is also identified as another factor that brought division into the church in the early years as the Roman rulers sought to enforce Emperor worship among the Christians. The third and the last factors are the doctrinal controversies that came up from time to time in the early church; and the division within 12David N.A. Kpobi, Mission in Ghana: The Ecumenical Heritage (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 2008), 4- 9. See also Malema L. Mwanampepo, “Unity of the Church and Unity of Humankind,” in D.W. Waratu, ed., Africa Church in the 21st Century: Challenges and Promises, 46-47. 13Kpobi, Mission in Ghana, 4. 14Mwanampepo, “Unity of the Church and Unity of Humankind,” 46. 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the Christian churches due to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century.15 Simi- larly, it was the pursuit for unity among Christian churches that necessitated a World Mission Conference which was organized in Edinburg in 1910. The Edinburg Conference,16 as it is normally called, “became the single most important step towards the organization of a formal ecumenical movement”.17 The Edinburg Con- ference, Kpobi noted, “was only a beginning of a new ecumenical movement, and that the issues that had been discussed needed to be pursued further”.18 And among many other issues that had been discussed at The Edinburg Conference, cooperation and unity in mission was one of the salient topics.19 The implication, therefore, is that the ex- pected co-operation and unity among Christian churches in the 1990’s with regard to mission was lacking. The search for unity and co-operation in the Christian churches was not only an issue of the past. In fact, it is also a present reality in Africa. The church that Christ said would be characterized by love and unity (John 17:22-23) had now fractured to the point that it hardly looked united – Ghana’s present Christian churches are not ex- empted. In Ghana’s strands of Christianity, issues of disunity and its apparent upshot – schism, can be traced without doubt. The common view held by some scholars such as Larbi is that most of the confusion which always lead to a split has occurred mainly in the main- line churches – MCG; PCG; AC; EPCG; GBC and so on. Yet still, there are Pentecostal 15Kpobi, Mission in Ghana, 6-7. 16For an elaborated work on the Edinburg Conference, see K.S. Latourette, ‘Ecumenical Bearings of the Missionary Movement and the International Missionary Council’ in R. Rouse and S. Neill, eds., A His- tory of the Ecumenical Movement 1517-1948, 3rd ed. (Geneva: WCC, 1986), 355-362. 17Kpobi, Mission in Ghana, 20. 18Ibid., 21. 19Ibid. 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and Charismatic churches in Ghana which suffered conflicts and divisions. For exam- ple, the Christ Apostolic Church and the Apostolic Church of Ghana20 were originally a unified church but divided over doctrinal discrepancies.21 When we consider how disunity is doted all over in the Christian Churches in Ghana, which is seen daily in our societies and the nation at large, one may wonder if the Chris- tian church in Ghana, at all, has power to restore unity in other institutions – political, educational, health and financial among others. Liturgical practices, Pentecostal and Charismatic spirituality in a reformed church, abuse of power, church polity, misman- agement of church finances, fight over church property, constitutional and personal is- sues are just a few of the likely causes of internal confusion within the Christian churches today. These issues, when not resolved fairly and promptly, always end in a schism. For example, the present work focuses on one Ghanaian mainline church, EPCG, which from its foundation have had its fair share of such in-fighting. In its history, within a time of 52 years (1939-1991), the EPCG underwent six schisms.22 The seceded groups include: the Apostle Revelation Society – 1942; the Presbyterian Church of Buem Krachi – 1954; the White Cross Society – 1960; and the Lords Pentecostal Church – 1961. Others are: the Christ Evangelical Mission – 1964 and the Global Evangelical Church – 1991.23 20The Apostolic Church of Ghana is now called the Church of Pentecost. 21E.K. Larbi, Pentecostalism: The Eddies of Ghanaian Christianity (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 2001), 12. It is for a fact that division among Christian churches in Ghana started with the mainline churches, for the reason that the classical Pentecostal and African Initiated Churches start lately as compared to the mainline churches. The EPCG, for instance, was established in November, 1847 while Pastor Mensa Otabil began his International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) in February, 1984. For details, see Gifford, Ghana’s New Christianity, 24. 22George K. Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana, 1939-1991” (MPhil The- ses, University of Ghana, 2000), 37. 23Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana” 37, 47, 53, 65, 69. 5 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.2 Statement of the Problem The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) had undergone a series of con- flicts and divisions from its foundation. Among them, the schism on the 8th June, 1991 is considered the greatest regarding the numbers involved. After two decades, the ef- fects of the Schism on EPCG seem to be still present. In relation with the 1991 schism24, there are a number of questions that need to be an- swered. What are the contributing factors? Is the EPCG still having unresolved issues? If there are issues, then, how is EPCG adequately pursuing its Mission – ‘Bringing light to where there is Darkness’? Is there any impediment on the growth and developmental programmes of the EPCG as a result of the Schism? Can it be said that some EPCG congregations are mostly affected than others? Are there any lessons for EPCG? It is against this background that this study investigates the causes of the Schism, im- mediate events leading to the Schism and the outcome of the 8th June, 1991 events in order to evaluate the effects on the lives of the mother church (EPCG) from 1992 to 2015. The study assessed both the challenges and opportunities that came up as a result of the Schism with case studies from some affected congregations and/or communities. 1.3 Objectives of the Study This study aimed at: a) Identifying and examining the issues that have resulted into the Schism. b) Identifying and examining the immediate and recent aftermath events of the Schism. 24Henceforth, the 1991 schism will be referred to as ‘the Schism’. Any other use of the word ‘schism’ in general terms will start with a small letter except it begins a sentence. 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh c) Identifying and examining some congregations of EPCG that are mostly af- fected by the Schism. d) Assessing how far the Schism has generally affected the lives of individual members of EPCG and the national church. e) Recommending potential solutions to the effects of the Schism. 1.4 Research Question The questions this study has sought to answer are: a) What were the causes of the 1991 schism? b) What are the effects of the 1991 schism on the EPCG? 1.5 Literature Review For the purpose of this study, two main categories of scholarly works were reviewed: literature that focuses on Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal in the mainline churches, and scholarly works on schism in the EPCG. The first category of scholarly works is se- lected because Pentecostal/Charismatic spirituality is represented in the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship of the EPCG. Moreover, the causes of the Schism are traced to this Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal group in the EPCG. 1.5.1 Pentecostal/Charismatic Renewal in the Mainline Churches Prior to the discussion on Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal in the mainline churches – its contribution to the 1991 schism of the EPCG, it will be prudent to know the meaning of Pentecostalism. Omenyo25 and Asamoah-Gyadu26 in their works, gave a detailed meaning of Pentecostalism. The term ‘Pentecostalism’ is used to designate the strand of Christianity that stresses on salvation in Christ, the continual presence and activeness 25Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 86-98. 26J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics: A Study of Independent Indigenous Pentecostal Movements in Ghana (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2005), 10-34. 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of the Holy Spirit in the church’s life throughout the ages.27 Pentecostals believe that the Spirits’ active presence becomes most evident through the believer’s reception and experience of Spirit Baptism. It is believed by Pentecostals, generally, such experiences must be accompanied with speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing, exorcism, deliver- ance and the like.28 Asamoah-Gyadu’s definition of Pentecostalism, at this stage, will aid our understanding. He defines Pentecostalism as: Christian groups which emphasize salvation in Christ as a transformative expe- rience wrought by the Holy Spirit and in which pneumatic phenomena including ‘speaking in tongues’, prophesies, visions, healing and miracles in general, per- ceived as standing in historic continuity with the experiences of the early church as found especially in the Acts of the Apostles, are sought, accepted, valued and consciously encouraged among members as signifying the presence of God and experiences of his Spirit.29 I extol Asamoah-Gyadu30 and Cox31 when they rightly observed that Pentecostalism, cannot only be considered as a religious movement in Africa, for that matter Ghana – it is also a global movement. Pentecostalism is a global movement which is seen today as the fastest growing stream of Christianity in the world. Asamoah-Gyadu states: “Pen- tecostalism as a pneumatic religious form is a global movement with very many local varieties and various studies regarded it as the fastest growing stream of Christianity in the world today”.32 Even some of the Pentecostal and charismatic churches that started in Ghana have branches outside Africa, and have become important in the overseas communities. In the Netherlands, for example, there are about twenty-five Ghanaian 27 Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics, 12. 28J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, “Pentecostalism and the Missiological Significance of Religious Expe- rience: The Case of Ghana’s Church of Pentecost,” Trinity Journal of Church and Theology XII, no. 1 & 2 (2002): 30-36. 29Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics, 12. 30Asamoah-Gyadu, “Taking Territories”, 1. 31Harvey G. Cox. Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1995), 31. 32Asamoah-Gyadu. Taking Territories, 1. 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Pentecostal churches “with sizeable Ghanaian migrant communities found in Amster- dam, The Hague and Rotterdam”.33 Possibly, the rapid emergence and growth of Pen- tecostalism globally, might be as a result of “its ability to adapt itself to different cul- tures and societies and give contextualizes expressions to Christianity”.34 Indeed, this movement is a global phenomenon because all over the world there are Pentecostal churches and Pentecostal movement in the mainline churches. In order to give a better and further meaning to Pentecostalism, the terms – Classical Pentecostalism and Neo-Pentecostalism are employed in Pentecostal studies.35 Classi- cal Pentecostalism, in the first place, refers to the earlier Pentecostal movement in Ghana that is traceable to the work of Apostle Peter Newman Anim and others such as James McKeon.36 The efforts of Anim eventually led to the evolution of three major churches – the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), the Apostolic Church (AP) and the Church of Pentecost (COP).37 These churches together with the Assemblies of God (AG) largely constitute the Classical Pentecostal churches in Ghana. Neo-Pentecostal- ism (NP), on the other hand, is used to mean the strand of Pentecostalism evident in the charismatic churches/ministries (CCMs)38 which have their roots in the evangelical fel- lowships of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.39 The NP is organized in three ways in 33André Corten, and Ruth Marshall-Fratani, eds. Between Babel and Pentecost: Transnational Pentecos- talism in Africa and Latin America, (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2001), 222-224. 34J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity: Interpretations from an African Context, (Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2013), xiii. 35Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics, 26-29; Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 93-96. 36Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 94. 37Abamfo O. Atiemo, The Rise of Charismatic Movements in the Mainline Churches in Ghana (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 1993), 20-24. See also Hans W. Debrunner, History of Christianity in Ghana (Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 1967), 324-325. 38The CCMs are churches/ministries that were started by young Christians who either felt discontent with their mother churches or believed they had received a ‘new revelation’ for the renewal of the church. 39Abamfo Atiemo, “Deliverance in the Charismatic Churches in Ghana” Trinity Journal of Church and Theology IV, no.2 (1994-95): 39-40, 44. 9 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ghana’s Christianity – the autonomous charismatic churches such as International Cen- tral Gospel Church (ICGC); the trans-denominational fellowship such as Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (henceforth FGBMFI); and the renewal movements in the mainline churches, notably are the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship (BSPF) of EPCG and the Charismatic Renewal Movement of RC.40 Apart from the foregoing discussion on Pentecostalism – its meaning and strands, our main and next direction, however, is to discuss how Pentecostal/Charismatic attributes – whether clas- sical or neo-Pentecostal – have contributed to the schisms in the EPCG – more espe- cially, the 1991 schism. In contemporary Ghanaian Christianity, Pentecostal/Charis- matic traits – speaking in tongues, bubbling prayer, deliverance, welcoming of first time attenders’ to some extent are present in the worship of some mainline churches, if not all. Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal movements in the Ghanaian context have been studied by different scholars – Onyinah,41 Asamoah-Gyadu,42 Atiemo43 and Omenyo.44 These scholars have converging opinions – that the presence of Pentecostal/Charismatic traits in Ghana’s mainline churches is a present reality. Asamoah-Gyadu’s portrayal of Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal movements in the mainline churches, for instance, supports an aspect of Omenyo’s description – movements which have been recognized nationally, have features of Pentecostalism and countrywide networks.45 Nevertheless, 40Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics, 26-28. 41Among others, Onyinah talked about the emergence of Prophetism within the mainline churches. In these churches there is usually the emergence of some charismatic figures who are known as prophets. Onyinah pointed out that many of these prophets were catechists, chapel keepers or elders with little or no formal education. For details see Opoku Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism: Witchcraft and Demonology in Ghana (Blandford Forum: Deo Publishers, 2012), 108-113. 42Asamoah-Gyadu also looked at the rise of prayer renewal groups in the mainline churches. Refer to Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics, 30-32. 43Abamfo O. Atiemo, “The Evangelical Christian Fellowship and the Charismatization of Ghanaian Christianity” Ghana Bulletin of Theology, Vol. 2, (2007): 57-63. 44Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 101-291. 45Ibid., 97; Asamoah-Gyadu, African Charismatics, 30-32. 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Omenyo’s work on charismatic renewal movements in the mainline churches is more detailed in comparing it with the various dimensions of the movement that have been studied by the above-mentioned scholars. For example, Omenyo explains: Charismatic renewal movements in the mainline churches in Ghana… are char- ismatic movements formally recognized by the national church. They have na- tional networks. They also have functions or ministries such as evangelism and church planting, outside the framework of their charismatic activities. Examples are the Bible Study and Prayer Group (BSPG) of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement in Ghana. Apart from the charismatic movements which are recognized by the national churches, there are also other charismatic movements limited to and recognized by some local churches, but which have not yet formally received recognition by the national church, and have no national network. Such groups have functions or ministries such as singing and evangelism outside their charismatic prayer meetings and Bible studies…there are entire congregations within a mainline church, which are noted for their charismatic fervor. Usually, the leadership or the nucleus that form such churches, have charismatic persuasion, thus the charismatic ethos be- comes part and parcel of the church. Examples are Kanda and Kotobabi Miracle Presbyterian Churches.46 The presence of Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal movements in the mainline churches at large – the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana in particular has caused dishar- mony far more than expected. Whilst acknowledging that schism “assists multiplica- tion”, Allan Anderson in the forward of Asamoah-Gyadu’s Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity, also applauds that the renewal movements in the mainline churches fore- most leads to schism.47 Omenyo has a divergent view. He believes that the movements 46Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 97. 47Asamoah-Gyadu, Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity, xiii. 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh exist mainly for the “renewal and general growth of their respective churches” rather than wanting to be independent.48 He observes: … that the charismatic renewal groups make conscious efforts to identify with their churches and to demonstrate the fact that the spiritual renewal they seek is rooted in within the traditions of their churches rather than working towards independence. It appears schism was more a problem in the past than it is today. In dealing with the charismatic renewal groups in the mainline churches, we have less and less a picture of separatist groups. Rather, we seem to be dealing more with charismatic renewal groups trying to authenticate and consolidate their existence with the mainline churches.49 Whether or not, “schism was more a problem in the past than it is today”, or the renewal movements seek to promote the general growth of their churches or not – Omenyo, did not entirely fail to acknowledge that “there are areas of conflict between the charismatic renewal groups and the mainline churches”.50 To this effect, one may conclude that Pentecostal/Charismatic spiritualities in the mainline churches have the tendency of generating conflict and its subsequent division. In the history of the EPCG, six schisms, from 1939 – 1991 have been recorded.51 The seceded groups/churches are: Apostle Revelation Society (1943); Presbyterian Evan- gelical Church of Buem Krachi (1954); White Cross Society (1960); the Lord’s Pente- costal Church (1961); Christ Evangelical Mission (1964) and above all, Global Evan- gelical Church (1991).52 All of these schisms except one53, according to Amoah were 48Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 287-288. 49Ibid., 287. 50Ibid., 287-288. 51The historical developments of these schisms are discussed in chapter two. 52Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 37. 53That is the Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Buem Krachi. 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh for the most part caused by individuals and/or groups of people – usually the laity, whose Pentecostal/Charismatic practices came into conflict with the Reformed Protestant tradition of the EPCG.54 The cause of the 1991 schism was no different from the earlier schisms of the EPCG and among others, the Bible Study and Prayer Fellow- ship (BSPF) of the EPCG was at the centre of the split in 1991. In 1978, the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship (BSPF) of the EPCG was formed in Amakom, Kumasi seemingly to complement the normal E.P. Church Wednesday and Friday Bible study and prayer.55 Within a short duration the BSPF spread all over in the church at the instance of the synod of the EPCG. For the fellowship, both the clergy and the laity were involved almost at all levels of the church.56 The activities of the fellowship were predominantly characterized by Pentecostal/Charismatic features. Fi- anu explains that: By 1983, it was noted that the group was grossly going off course, as far as reformed Protestant tradition is concerned. It was developing strong fundamen- talist and Pentecostal tendencies such as speaking in tongues, bubbling prayer, and automatic claim by members to empowerment as healers and visionists. They claimed that they are “born again” Christians and have control over the Holy Spirit to the extent of sharing it amount its members. They felt proclaimed that they “are holier than those outside their cycle” in other words members of the fellowship assumed an attitude of “Holier than Thou”.57 54Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 46. 55J.N.K. Fianu, The E.P. Church Crisis (Accra: Optimum Design & Publishing Services, 2010), 1. 56Ibid. 57Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis 1-2. 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh These Pentecostal tendencies of the fellowship were seen by the leadership of the EPCG as a deviation from the Presbyterian and reformed practices. Consequently, church lead- ership attempted to protect its tradition by prohibiting non-reformed practices. How- ever, the adherents of the fellowship were not ready, as well, to abandon those practices since they believed they were Biblical. These attitude and stand of the members of the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship vis-à-vis the leadership of the EPCG resulted in series of conflicts, hence the split in 1991. I agree with Aryee when he states: “one of the inevitable aspects of human interaction is conflict. It is generated by the presence of several actors and exacerbated by several choices and decisions. Although conflict is unavoidable and therefore, inevitable, mechanisms must be found or devised to keep it within limits”.58 Indeed, there are areas of conflict between the Pentecostal/Charis- matic renewal groups and the mainline churches in which they existed and if appropri- ate methods are not brought into play to tackle it properly – it is always a split. From the earlier discussions, it could be seen that a significant effort has been devoted to the study of Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal in the mainline churches in Ghana. Onyinah, Asamaoh-Gyadu, Atiemo and Omenyo have all considered various aspects of the renewal movement. The rises of prayer renewal groups, the emergence of Pro- phetism, the evangelical Christian fellowship in the mainline churches and so forth have all been studied. Omenyo, for instance, went further and indicated how Pentecos- tal/Charismatic renewal in the mainline churches could create disharmony if not moni- tored and controlled properly. But, since the focus of these scholars was not on the effects of the 1991 schism of the EPCG, not much was said about it. The researcher’s 58R.A. Aryee, “Conflict Resolution and Grievances Redressing Mechanisms at the District Levels” in Mike Oquaye, ed. Democracy and Conflict Resolution in Ghana (Accra: Gold-Type Publication Ltd, 1995), 231. 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh subsequent task is to examine some studies on schism in the EPCG as the last category of literature review for this study. 1.5.2 Schisms in the EPCG Amoah in his theses gave some common pattern of the causes of all the schisms that occurred in the EPCG from 1939 – 1991; except one – Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Buem Krachi (1954). He investigated the histories of the schisms and identified fac- tors that contributed to the conflicts. Significantly, Amoah established that “the con- flicts were the result of not a single factor but a combination of factors”.59 Omenyo affirms Amoah’s position by reiterating that the Pentecostal/Charismatic spiritualities which were present in the BSPF of the EPCG were the core issues of the conflict in 1991.60 Five out of the six schisms mentioned above, Amoah believes, were caused by a common pattern as follows: a) Some lay members of the EPCG started a group within the church. b) As time went on, the beliefs and practices of the group came into conflict with the reformed Protestant tradition of the EPCG. c) The leadership of EPCG tried to defend its reformed Protestant practices. d) The leaders and members of the group were not ready to abandon Pentecos- tal/Charismatic spirituality because they saw it as biblical. e) As a result, split occurred and the followers of the new group becoming auton- omous of the EPCG.61 The causes of the schisms in the EPCG have been explored extensively in many ways by Amoah but unfortunately he gave little or no attention to the effects of the 1991 schism on the EPCG. 59Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 32. 60Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 285. 61Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 46. The schisms that were characterized by these common patterns are discussed in chapter two. 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Atakro’s research, nevertheless, explicitly dealt with the 1991 schism of the EPCG. He singled out and investigated the emergence and development of the constitution of the EPCG and its contribution to the schism of 1991. Unlike Amoah, Atakro asserts that the constitutional issues were the main causes of the 1991 conflict and division in the EPCG.62 The focus of his study is stated as follows: 1) To find out about the inception of the constitution of the E.P. Church. 2) To investigate the development and working of the constitution of the E.P. Church. 3) To examine the role of the constitution and other factors that led to the division in the E.P. Church in 1991.63 Atakro carried out a study on the 1991 schism of the EPCG. Unfortunately, however, he concentrated only on the emergence and development of the 1980 constitution of the EPCG and its contribution to the schism of 1991 and has paid less attention to the effects on the EPCG. He for the most part worked on the evolution, development and growth of the constitution of the EPCG as well as the causes leading to the Schism. Though some of the works that have been reviewed did not deal directly with the subject matter under study, they are of remarkable importance to this study. The literature re- view shows that varied studies have been conducted on the schisms of the EPCG in- cluding the conflict and division in 1991. However, the need for a single up-to-date study on the effects of the 1991 schism has been felt for quite some time. Even though Atakro’s work touched on the effects of the 1991 schism, it was very scant since his focus was to study the emergence and contribution of the 1980 constitution to the con- flict and separation in 1991. The present research therefore, attempts an appraisal of the 62Mewilson Kwaku Atakro, “The Emergence and Development of the Constitution of the E.P. Church and its Contribution to the Schism of 1991” (MPhil Theses, University of Ghana, 1995), 51-52. 63Atakro, “The Emergence and Development of the Constitution,” 3. 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh effects of the 1991 schism on the EPCG from 1992 to 2015, focusing on EPCG’s per- spective. 1.6 Methodology and Methods of Data Collection The historical method was best used in identifying and examining how Pentecostal /Charismatic spiritualities contributed to the Schism; and assessing how far the Schism has generally affected the lives of individual members of EPCG and the national church. In his book entitled What is History?, Carr defined history as “a continuous process of interacting between the historian and his facts, an unending dialogue between the pre- sent and the past”.64 Carr further reminded us that history to some extent engages the study of causes of past events and the historian will always ask the question ‘why’.65 This is to say that making use of the historical method, a researcher, basically, does three things – probing into past historical documents which enable the researcher to understand the present; and envisage the future regarding an issue being researched into.66 In the historical method, there is an assessment of evidence, which will assist the historian to establish a fact and usually draw a conclusion based on past events. By doing so, it helps to understand the changes that have taken place over a period of time.67 The method employed is appro- priate for this study, in that it has helped the researcher, firstly, in the description, anal- ysis and interpretation of the missionary roots of the EPCG in general, and the historical development of the Schism in particular. 64Edward Hallet Carr, What is History? (London: Penguine Books Ltd., 1981), 30. 65Carr, History, 87. 66Jacob Kehinde Ayantayo, Rudiments of Research and Research in Religious Studies (Lagos: Jay Kay- Ayan Publications, 2015), 196-199. 67A. Mustafa, Research Methodology (Delhi: A.I.T.B.S. Publishers, 2010), 45-48. 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Furthermore, the historical approach was advantageous because it enabled the re- searcher to evaluate the available evidence so as to establish facts, draw conclusions with reference to the issues that have resulted in the Schism and its effects on the EPCG. The plus is, the historical method made afresh past events regarding the Schism. It has also helped the researcher to divide the histories of EPCG and the Schism into specific periods for purpose of classification, clarification and analysis and this, according to Ayantayo is ‘periodization’.68 In chapters two and three of this study: the historical development of the establishment of EPCG; the early schisms of the EPCG from 1943 – 1964; the 1991 schism of the EPCG; and the aftermath events of the 1991 schism are surveyed. The historical method, therefore, was employed largely in chapters two and three. To recount and identify how Pentecostal/Charismatic spirituality contributed to the Schism; and to show the effects of the Schism, the historical method made use of the primary and secondary sources. Relevant information was sourced from documented first–person accounts such as church records, court records and/or judgments, ex-com- munication letters or papers, manuscripts, anniversary brochures, newspapers, and synod reports/minutes.69 Published books, theses, long essays, journal articles were also reviewed. Even though data for the study is mainly collected from archive documents, a number of people were interviewed in addition. This was to verify the documented first person information. In this case, the researcher carried out both structured and unstructured oral interviews with some EPCG leaders and members. Primarily, these leaders and 68Ayantayo, Rudiments of Research, 197. 69Karen Saucier, “Historical Research” in Lisa M. Given, ed. The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Re- search Methods, vol. 1 & 2 (Los Angeles: A Sage Reference Publication, 2008), 399. 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh members were interviewed to ask for valid and reliable information. That is information concerning the historical development of the Schism, its effects on EPCG, as well as the contribution of Pentecostal and charismatic features in the Schism. Under the structured form of interview, the researcher formulated a list of questions which helped in providing answers to the research questions.70 In addition, the unstruc- tured form of interview when it became necessary was brought into play. Here, the researcher asked “probing questions which call for explanation and further clarification on unclear issues” which were gathered from the archive documents.71 This placed the researcher at a better position to do a thorough description and analysis of information and investigate in advance into certain answers and ask follow-up questions from the answers provided by the respondents. It helps the researcher to understand past events relating to the problem under study. For this study, four categories of respondents, both leaders and members of EPCG were purposively selected to provide answers to the research questions. The leaders under consideration include – reverend ministers and presbyters of the EPCG. The respond- ents, for all categories, in this study were purposively selected because they were eye- witness to the Schism. In one way or the other, all the chosen respondents have sup- ported in curbing the conflict leading to the split in 1991, except one who played a key role in the post-schism conflict resolution at one of the mostly affected communities. 70Emmanuel Asante, Research & Writing: A Brief Guide (Accra: African Christian Press, 2000), 46. See also Tom K. B. Kumekpor, Research Methods & Techniques of Social Research (Accra: SonLife Ser- vices, 2002), 188. P.A. Twumasi, Social Research in Rural Communities (Accra: Ghana University Press, 2001), 21-22. A.D. Jankowicz, Business Research Projects (London: International Thompson Business Press, 1995), 155-154. 71Asante, Research & Writing, 47. 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The categories of respondents include the following: past members of the Standing Committee of General Assembly Council72 (hereafter Church Executive); pastors; pres- byters and members of EPCG. The Church Executive (CE) was the first synod moder- ator after the Schism. The researcher’s intention was to gather round information from the past CE regarding the effects of the Schism on EPCG as a religious institution and individual members of the church. The incumbent Moderator of the General Assembly (MGA) was not selected to be interviewed, for the reason that he was less than a year in office as at the time of the research. Ayantayo pointed out that research data can be analyzed in two ways – scientifically and descriptively. Scientifically, scientific rules such as coding and tabulations are em- ployed in the discussion and presentation of data. Descriptively, data is analyzed ‘illus- tratively or explanatorily’.73 But in this study, content analysis was used. Ayantayo de- fines content analysis as ‘the systematic procedure devised to examine the contents of recorded information (in case of interview or observation), documents produced by the communication process such as any kind of text…’74 The use of the content analysis 72During the Synodal concept of church polity of the EPCG, the first-three people in the highest position of the church have been known and called: ‘Synod Committee Executive’, which include: Synod Mod- erator, Synod Clerk and the Third Person . Moreover, since the inception of the General Assembly con- cept by the EPCG on Saturday, 23rd August, 2008, the ‘Synod Committee Executive’ is now the ‘Stand- ing Committee of the General Assembly Council’ (SCGAC) and they consist of: the Moderator of Gen- eral Assembly, the Clerk of the General Assembly and the Presbyter Executive. The SCGAC has been mandated by the constitution of the EPCG among others to: deal with matters remitted to it by General Assembly Council (GAC); and be responsible for the administration of the Church for and on behalf of the GAC. The SCGAC reports to the GAC on its actions and decisions. It is important to note that the SCGAC is part of the entire headquarters staff. For the purpose of this work, the SCGAC will be referred to as ‘Church Executive’ (CE). See Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Year Book 2015 (Ho: E.P. Church Publishing Ltd, 2015), 156 & 160; Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, General Assembly Constitution (August, 2010), 50. 73Ayantayo, Rudiments of Research, 105-106 74Ibid, 113-115. Still on Content Analysis, see Earl Babbie, The Practice of Social Research 12th ed. (Wadsworth: Cengage Learning, 2010), 530. 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh assisted the researcher to inspect, clean, transform and model data collected with the aim of getting a better understanding in preparation for discussion.75 1.7 Scope of the Study The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana had experienced six (6) different schisms from 1942 to 1991. However, the focus of this study is primarily on the1991 schism and its effect on the EPCG. The 1991 schism is different from the former schisms in the church for its magnitude. It is chosen for study as it was the schism that affected largely many congregations nationwide. Some mostly affected congregations/commu- nities were selected as case study. They were: Teshie Nungua, Anyako, Adafienu, Dabala, Keta, Woe, Dzelukofe, Akatsi, Adidome, Anloga, Agbozume, Obuasi, Ho-Fi- ave, Saviefe Gbogame, Saviefe Agorkpo, and Kumasi – Amakom. 1.8 Importance of the Study It is hoped that this research contributes to the already existing academic discussions on divisions in the Christian Church. Furthermore, it provides new ideas into the effects of schism on the Christian Churches in Ghana. This study is also important as it serves as education on the issues that generate conflict and division, and the need to avoid it in the future. 1.9 Organization of the Study The study is organized into five chapters. Chapter one deals with introductory issues such as background to the study, statement of the problem, aims and objectives of the study, literature review, research question, methodology and importance of the study. Chapter two explores four main issues – the historical development of the foundation 75Ayantayo, Rudiments of Research, 105. See also Afolorunso Olalekan Diaro, Statistics and Data Anal- ysis for Research in the Humanities (Lagos: Gracellay Publishing House, 2015), 20. 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of the EPCG; the early schisms of the EPCG from 1943-1964; the 1991 schism of the EPCG; and the experiences of some selected congregation during the Schism. The af- termath events of the 1991 schism are discussed in the third chapter. This chapter ex- plores – the fight over church assets, earlier attempts at reconciliation, the quest to prac- tice Pentecostalism, pending court issues and many more. The recent attempt at recon- ciliation was also discussed. Chapter four focuses on the appraisal of the effects of the 1991 schism on EPCG, that is both the challenges and the opportunities. This chapter is the focal point of the study. The fifth chapter is a conclusion to the study. It has also a summary and recommendations of the study. 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO FROM THE FOUNDATION TO THE 1991 SCHISM 2.1 Introduction This chapter aims to identify and examine the issues that result in the 1991 schism in the EPCG. It starts with the missionary roots and the formation of the EPCG in the Volta Region of Ghana. Additionally, it investigates the challenges and achievements of the North German Mission Society (NGMS) as well as the role of the indigenous people/leaders during and/or after the western missionary era. For a balance appraisal of the conflict and division in 1991, the chapter traces the earlier schisms of the EPCG. The chapter discusses immediate happenings such as the court cases, the Appeal Court ruling, and press conference that led to the Schism. 2.2 Establishment of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana: 1847-1942 2.2.1 Missionary Roots The religious spirit of Pietism, which was prevalent in Germany in the eighteenth cen- tury, led to the formation of the NGMS, also called Bremen Mission (BM)76 on the 11th of April, 1836. This Mission Society established a special group in Hamburg at the same time which was dedicated to proclaiming Christ’s gospel to other parts of the world where it had not yet reached.77 Though the primary aim of NGMS was to send missionaries to Africa and elsewhere, they could not realize this immediately. Agbeti offers two reasons: 76The NGMS is also called Bremen Mission (BM) for the reason that the society that started in Hamburg was later moved to Bremen – both Hamburg and Bremen are cities in the Northern part of Germany 77A.A. Agordoh, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana and her Musical Tradition (Accra: Royal Gold Publishers, 2004), 7. See also Eva Shöck-Quinteros and Dieter Lenz, eds., 150 Years of North German Mission: 1836-1986 (Bremen: Layoutsatz, 1989), 1-4. 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh First, the German Protestant Churches did not originally have any strong theo- logical support for sending out missionaries to evangelize non-Christian people. They were convinced that (a) the church’s missionary work should be restricted to the apostate Christian lands; (b) the apostles were the only people called by God to evangelize the world and they had already preached the gospel univer- sally; (c) it was God Himself who leads His elect to faith without the continuing help of any human missionary agency; (d) the end of the world was at hand and therefore it was only necessary to develop and extend the already existing churches, and (e) it was the responsibility of civil authorities to evangelize the heathen among whom they worked because church leaders had been called to remain with their congregation. The second reason for the lateness concerned domestic instability. After the Reformation, the Protestant Churches in Ger- many became involved in the struggle against Roman Catholic secular power. Both the Roman Catholic princes and the Protestants formed defensive leagues in anticipation of possible clashes. Fortunately, however, no war broke out be- cause at the Diet (Church meeting) of Speyer in June 1526, it was agreed that until the final decision by a national council, each prince agreed could regulate the religious affairs of his domain.78 Regardless of the challenges which resulted in the delay, the NGMS was still very de- termined to achieve its aim – sending missionaries to other lands to propagate the Chris- tian faith among unbelievers. Following eleven years (i.e. 1836 – 1847) of recruitment, training and other preparations, the first group of four landed at Cape Coast on 5th May, 1847. They were, Lorenz Wolf, Luer Bultman, James Graff and Karl Flato.79 It has been related by African Church historians like Agbeti that the NGMS did not originally plan to undertake missionary activities in Ghana.80 Their initial target was rather Gabon and this explains why on 17th March, 1847 the missionaries left Germany for Gabon in West 78Agbeti, West African Church History, 80. 79Gilbert Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church: 150 Years of Evangelization and Development, 1847- 1997 (Ho: E.P. Church, 1997), 19. 80Agbeti, West African Church History, 81. 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Africa.81 However, they ended up in undertaking mission in Ghana partly because they were prevented to stay at Gabon and also for the fact that they received warm reception from the Wesleyan missionaries who were already at Cape Coast.82 Ansre explains why Bultman and Wolf were unsuccessful in Gabon: …After about two weeks, Bultman and Wolf left for Gabon to explore the pos- sibility of opening a station there. Their adventure proved abortive. Bultman passed away soon after their arrival in Gabon. Meanwhile, Catholic work had started there and the French Authorities ordered Wolf out because they did not want any rivalry between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Wolf returned to Cape Coast, disappointed, just to learn that Karl Flato too had died.83 Disappointed, but not discouraged, Wolf and Graff left Cape Coast for Christiansborg,84 where the Basel Missionaries had settled since 1828. On arrival, they consulted the Basel Missionaries for a possible mission field and they were encouraged to go to Eweland.85 Agbeti observes that upon the advice of the Wesleyan Missionaries and support from Prince Nyangamagu86, the Bremen Missionaries agreed to start a mission at Peki in Eweland which was the first ever missionary activity to be undertaken by the society in Gold Coast (Ghana). 2.2.2 Formation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana On 9th November, 1847, Wolf and his party set off from Christiansburg. They arrived in Peki on 14th November, 1847.87 Traditionally, 14th November, 1847 marked the be- ginning of the EPCG. It has been related that the Bremen Missionary society came 81Agbeti, West African Church History, 81. 82Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 20. 83Ibid. 84Ibid. 85Ibid. 86Prince was attending a school in Osu near Accra which has been established by the Basel Missionaries. He was the son of Kwadzo Dei II, Tutu Yao, King of Krepi. When he heard that the North German Missionaries were looking for a place to start missionary work, Prince assured them that his father will welcome them. See Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 20-21. 87Agbeti, West African Church History, 82. 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh purposely for mission work. They had no intention of trading. This was made known in the preliminary interaction with the indigenous people. Wolf is purported to have told the people in his inaugural message that he wished to show them the true source of happiness, the true God.88 This, the researcher believes, was the missionary’s deepest motive for fulfilling the missionary task. The North German missionaries were driven by pure motives: the motive of love and mercy.89 The missionaries communicated the gospel in love and mercy regardless of the numerous challenges they encountered. In facilitating the mission work, the missionaries saw the need for mission house. With the support from the indigenous people it was completed on 14th January, 1848.90 More missionaries were also sent to support the mission work. On 3rd March, 1849, two re- placements, Groth and Quinius, arrived at Peki to join Lorenz Wolf. Unfortunately Wolf and Groth died in 1851. In view of this, then Daeubel and Menge arrived to join Quinius in 1851.91 The NGMS, even though encountered difficulties at Peki, persisted in winning con- verts. The resistance of the people of Peki, ill-health, the climate and inter-tribal wars made the work of the missionaries so difficult and slow that they decided to suspend their work at Peki and move out to establish other stations in Eweland.92 The next mission field was Keta. The mission work in Keta started in 1853. The pres- ence of Fort Prizenstein at Keta and the fact that at that time Keta was a port made the place more convenient for the missionaries in terms of communication with Germany, 88Agbeti, West African Church History, 84. 89J. Verkuyl, Contemporary Missiology: An Introduction (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publish- ing Company, 1978), 163-175. 90Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 22. 91Ibid, 23-25. 92Ibid, 24. 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and landing and movement of supplies inland.93 The Bremen missionaries as part of their activities built a mission house at Keta with the help of the young men they had brought from Peki and the local people at Keta. The Bremen missionaries continued to preach the word of God in and around Keta. It is interesting to note that the people always requested the missionaries to reward them for coming to listen to them.94 Agbeti has indicated that in 1855, on February 22nd, the first formal school was opened by Schauffler at Keta. The first pupils who were enrolled in the school were all immi- grants.95 The Anlo people96 according to Agbeti were afraid that if they send their chil- dren to the school, they might become slaves to the missionaries.97 It is significant to note that during this period the missionaries began to make some progress. For the first time, missionaries baptized seven converts in 1855. Agbeti highlights that only one of the neo-baptized was an Ewe and this man, John Ababio, ironically was from Peki, the first mission station.98 During the periods, November, 1847 – February, 1855 (i.e. seven years, three months) Agbeti observes that: The missionaries had labored for seven years, buried seven of their number dur- ing the period and now had won seven souls for the Lord. Thus after many years of disappointments the missionaries had the encouragement that their labours had begun to bear concrete fruits.99 The missionaries resorted to using Keta as their home base to reach out to other villages. This however, was not without opposition. The Paramount Chiefs and people in towns 93Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 26-31; P. Wiegräbe, Eυe Mission Nutinya: 1847-1936 (Ho: E.P. Publishing Ltd., 1936), 8-12. 94Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 28. 95Agbeti, West African Church History, 89. 96The people of Anlo are part of the Ewes in the Volta Region of Ghana. They are settled in the Southern- Eastern coastal plains of Ghana. The people are mainly fishing and farming folks. 97Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 29. 98Agbeti, West African Church History, 89-90. 99Ibid, 90. 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh around the Keta Lagoon did not want any foreign God.100 The Ewes, like any other ethnic group in Ghana believe in the existence of smaller gods (mawuwo). The Bremen missionaries wished many of the new converts could wholly disassociate themselves from the smaller gods. On the contrary, it was not the case.101 According to Ansre, The overall welfare of the Ewe community and the success of its endeavour were under the control of the deities and ancestral spirits. Their presence, influ- ence and power pervade the totality of existence. The Ewe person’s life, before the arrival of the missionaries, was lived in complete interdependency between the living and the ancestral, and between the material and the spiritual. Such was the psycho-religious milieu into which the Bremen missionaries came in the middle of the 19th Century to introduce the Christian Gospel102 Even so, the missionaries persisted to break new grounds – the unwillingness of the Ewes to disown their smaller gods did not dishearten them. They made some progress in Keta. Agbeti is quoted as saying: Using Keta as the base, the missionaries advanced by stages to Peki to resume the work which had been painfully [suspended]. Progress was rapid. Waya sta- tion was opened in 1856, Anyako in 1857, Vegbe in 1859 and the first baptism was made at Ho in 1869. By 1881, after 34 years’ labour, the missionary work of the Bremen Mission made remarkable progress. Thus by the turn of the cen- tury there were three main stations, Ho, Keta and Amedzofe, with their respec- tive outstations. The total strength of the three stations by 1893 was: out-sta- tions, 20; schools, 20; pupils, 591; Church members, 1,247; places of worship, 313; missionaries (1894): men, 18, ladies, 10 including 3 deaconesses; African assistants (unordained), 37.103 100Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 30. 101Bright Meyer, “Heathendom and the Power of Darkness: On the Role of the Devil in the Preaching of the Missionaries of the Norddeutsche Missionsgesellshaft in the nineteenth Century and the Contempo- rary African Churches” Trinity Journal of Church and Theology VII, no. 1 &2 (1979): 15. 102Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 1-5. 103J.K. Agbeti, “Missionary Enterprise, Education and Nationhood in Ghana Since 1828” (STM Theses, Yale Divinity School, 1967), 33. 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Indeed, over three decades the labour of the Bremen missionaries yielded fruits – there were converts; new stations and schools were opened and chapels were built among others. Meanwhile, the efforts of the indigenous people in the mission endeavours of the NGMS are commendable. Outlining some of these commendable efforts is the re- searcher’s next line of action. 2.2.3 The Role of Indigenous Leaders Many African scholars like Omenyo104 will vehemently disagree with the assertion that “Christianity was imposed on the African and that it would experience demise after the exit of European colonizers and missionaries”,105 ignoring the fact that “African has willingly and consistently been part of the evangelizing team, eventually owing it and propagating it with his/her own resources”.106 To correct the above impression, the discussion at this stage is to unearth the enormous support the NGMS received from some Ghanaians. It is also to show that the efforts of the Bremen missionaries are still alive for the reason that the indigenous leaders were able to manage the mission work (at least, from 1922107 till date in the case of EPCG). As a result of the First World War in 1914, the missionaries left the mission field. How- ever, there were enough local church leaders and workers to the extent that the absence of the German missionaries did not interrupt mission work.108 The indigenous leaders were able to manage the affairs of the church. That was a test for autonomy and they 104Cephas N. Omenyo, “Agenda for a Discussion of African Initiatives in Christianity: The West Afri- can/Ghanaian Case” Missiology: An International Review XXXIX, no. 3 (2011), 373 – 387. 105Ibid, 373. 106Ibid. 107Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Year Book (Ho: E.P. Church Publishing Ltd., 2016), 201- 204. 108Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 48-52. 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh stood up to the circumstance. A more vivid example of indigenous leaders taking over from the German missionaries is found in the following report by Ansre, … in June 1916, the situation seemed to have worsened and the missionaries in the Gold Coast were arrested and deported. The two stations of Keta and Peki were immediately affected. Mostly, African leaders were appointed and given responsibility for the congregations and schools. Pastor S.P. Quist and Catechist B.S. Amegashie were asked to take over the schools and teachers in Keta. In Peki, the acting Director of Education was put in charge of the schools and teachers for the time being and Pastor Albert Binder was made responsible for the schools.109 From the above report, one could say that the statement, ‘Christianity in Africa would come to an end after the way out of the European missionaries’ has been defeated. Mis- sion still continues with the indigenous leaders in the absence of the European mission- aries. Since the landing of the first white missionary, Ghanaian missionary workers have played an important part in the activities of the North German Mission Society. Because the NGMS has inadequate financial resources, the society has always been a small one.110 As such, ‘only a few European missionaries at a time were able to work in the African missions of the society’.111 Mission work in Eweland would have been difficult and have no chance of success without the support of the Africans.112 A number of the African key players in the missionary activities of the NGMS are: Rev. Andreas Aku, Rev. Robert Domingo Baëta and Rev. Stephen Kwami.113 John Wright 109Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 50. 110Wilhelm F. Meyer, “Robert Stephen Kwami (1879 to 1945) – An Enquiry to the Africans,” in Eva Schock – Quinteros, and Dieter Lenz, eds., 150 Years of North German Mission: 1836-1986 (Bremen: Roder-Druck, 1989), 12. 111Ibid, 12. 112Ibid. 113Omenyo “Agenda for Discussion,” 381. 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh was also helpful during the period of the Bremen missionaries.114 It has been told that Wright was from Teshie in Accra and was baptized by a Basel Missionary.115 Being a son of a trader, he used to accompany his father on his commercial journeys and it was during one of these journeys that John first came into contact with Lorenz Wolf at Peki and became his interpreter.116 Agbeti’s account on John Wright indicated that: He was officially employed by the Bremen Mission in January 1852 and had been with the missionaries during their dealings with their other Africans and in the work of evangelism itself…He was made a Catechist in 1863 and from that time he had a regular change of congregation. Unfortunately, however, just after two years’ service as a full catechist he died of small pox. In all, he served the church for 13 years.117 The support from the indigenous leaders was very significant not only for the Bremen Missionary but for other Western Missionaries that ever worked on the African land. 2.2.4 Challenges faced by the North German Mission Society Though the NGMS received massive support from the indigenous people, they were not without challenges. The leading challenge was language barrier. Wolf for instance found it extremely difficult to learn the native language (Ewe) and this made it difficult for him to interact with the indigenous people.118 There were some interpreters but ac- cording to Agbeti they were incompetent when it comes to interpretation. For example, it is documented that during one of the Missionary works an ‘interpreter’ translated 114Agbeti, West African Church History, 90. 115Ibid, 90. 116Ibid. 117Ibid, 90-91. For details on the role of the African/Ghanaian worker with regard to the Bremen Mission see Werner Ustorf, Christianized Africa De-Christianized Europe – Missionary Inquiries into the Poly- centric Epouch of Christian History (Soeul: Tyrannous Press, 1999), 33. 118Agbeti, West African Church History, 85. 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Lorenz Wolf’s message to mean that the chief should give one of his wives to the Mis- sionary meanwhile Wolf was talking about polygamy.119 This challenge was reported to the NGMS authorities in Germany by Wolf as follows: During my first months I had an interpreter. But his way of life was so immoral that I had to be ashamed of him. Besides, his interpretation was so bad that it was of very little use. He had once to tell the king: “In my country, there is no polygamy” but instead he interpreted my words to mean that the king was to give me one of his wives.120 Secondly, financial constraint was another major factor that weakened the activities of the missionary work. The Missionaries relied solely on donor fund from their home country to operationalize their activities. Almost everything they needed for the work was from their motherland. Hence, anytime there was a delay in the inflow of funds, the missionaries were handicapped and could not do any effective work. Because of confessional issues (declaration of beliefs and doctrines), a lot of Lutheran societies withdrew their financial support, hence the emergence of financial difficulty.121 Thirdly, the number of Missionaries sent by the Bremen Mission left much to be de- sired. The first Missionaries to arrive were four and were not even supposed to be in Ghana but Gabon.122 Only one of them, Wolf, made his way to the Eweland, the rest succumbed to tropical diseases and died.123 Although he was later joined by other Mis- sionaries, the number was so insignificant that they could hardly do any effective evan- gelization. It is thus not surprising that they could not win any ‘soul’ in Peki before moving to Keta.124 In other words, they had very few missionaries who had either been 119Agbeti, West African Church History,85. 120Ibid. 121Ibid., 86. 122Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 19-20. 123Agbeti, West African Church History, 81, 85. 124Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 24. 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh crippled by ill-health or were dead. Bultman and Flato died in Gabon and Ghana re- spectively before even the actual work begun. This included their wives and children.125 The fourth challenge was war – the First World War126 and the Asante War127. The World War I which started in 1914 greatly affected the activities of the NGMS.128 For example, Quinius and his wife had to return to Germany due to ill health. They left behind Dauble to carry on with the work. “Unfortunately, during the same period, there were rumours of war again between the Pekis and the Akwamus. This made it difficult for the Basel Missionaries in Accra either to send more missionaries to Dauble or com- municate with Dauble at Peki.”129 The emergence of the wars made Dauble consider transferring the mission station from Peki to Keta.130 Finally, the indigenous people strict adherence to their religious beliefs and practices was a challenge. The indigenous people before the arrival of the missionaries generally believed in the lesser gods – though they were aware of the existence of a Supreme Being.131 The indigenous people were very interested in these lesser gods and were committed to worshiping them – to the extent that calamities that befell the community were blamed on the missionaries and their God.132 Agbeti’s record has further shown that: 125Agbeti, West African Church History, 86-88. 126For an elaborated work on the World War I, and its abiding effect on the missionary activities of the NGMS, see Agbeti, West African Church History, 87; and Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 41- 55. 127According to Ansre, the Asante War in Eweland was a campaign undertaken by Asante in 1869 to punish Krepiland for revolting against Akwamu, an Asante ally. The other allies of Asante were Anlo and Adaklu. The war ravaged most of Krepi and brought a lot of havoc. It certainly affected the Mission work throughout the area. For details on the Asante War see Ansre Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 36-37. 128Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 48. 129Agbeti, West African Church History, 87. 130Ibid, 87. 131Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 9-10. 132Agbeti, West African Church History, 85. 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Though the people were co-operative, they were not inclined towards giving up their traditional religion. The traditional priests were powerful and were held in high esteem by the people. After a while, the priests became so aggressive to- wards Lorenz Wolf that they tried to prevent people from attending his little clinic. Even King Tutu was blamed by the priests for accommodating the mis- sionary. Worst of all, when a great drought came they blamed it on the presence of the white man and his God. But Lorenz Wolf endured all these difficulties alone at Peki (…).133 A good summing up of the challenges, as documented by Ansre, is relevant at this point. He records that: Several problems confronted the missionaries. The parents of the pupils de- manded clothes for their children as the practices were in Accra. The building of a new mission house to replace the old which was in ruins was a time con- suming one. The missionaries were constantly ill. Grants from home were inad- equate. Inefficient interpreters made preaching extremely difficult. The mis- sionaries could not adapt themselves to the eating of local food. Accra, where European food could be purchased, was very far from Peki and correspondence with Europe was appalling.134 2.2.5 Achievements of the NGMS One of the most important benefits the people on the Eweland derived from their en- counter with the North German Mission was in the area of education. They provided educational facilities and persuaded parents to send their children to school. The people gradually came to attach value to education and this became evident in the increase in numbers, size, and scope of schools which had emerged at all levels of the educational 133Agbeti, West African Church History, 85-86 134Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 24. 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh set up. The main objectives of the missionary’s educational programme was first, “to train young men to become teachers, catechists, some of whom would eventually be- come ministers”135 and secondly to provide secular and religious education that pre- pared the individual morally and academically for life. They initially provided basic education and as time went on, they added seminaries, teacher training colleges and second cycle institutions. Some of the seminaries established for theological education were located in Keta, Amedzofe, and Abetifi.136 From 1890-1947, the NGMS with support from the indigenous people, established sev- enteen schools, with 17,610 pupils.137 The missionaries also encouraged vocational and technical training for the youth. At the beginning it was informal and was dedicated to the training of young women and girls in home management and this was handled by wives of missionaries. Later on in the late 1800s and early 1900s vocational and tech- nical training was formalized and institutions were established at Keta, Ho and Amedzofe.138 Furthermore, the missionaries did not only have theological education, they also pos- sessed the linguistic and academic capabilities which enabled the development of the Ewe language and literature necessary for effective propagation of the gospel among the people.139 The missionaries in fact helped in the development of terminologies for Ewe literature and culture. This enabled the people to read and understand the gospel in their own language. The indigenous people were able to read and understand the 135Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 154. 136Ibid., 154-156, 167-185. 137Ibid, 176-179. 138Ibid, 183; Agbeti, West African Church History, 92. 139Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 174. 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh gospel for the reason that the missionaries, according to Ansre, “learned Ewe, reduced it to writing and produced materials for use in schools”.140 The missionaries also initiated development projects which were aimed at improving the lives of the people. They constructed living quarters, chapels and dug wells in the communities to provide good drinking water.141 They encouraged people to maintain personal hygiene and environmental sanitation. In most of the missionary centers they created Salem (Christian quarters) which were to serve as model settlements.142 Lastly, it was narrated that Wolf practised healing. Notable among his healing ministry was the alleged cured the ulcer of Chief Tim Klu of Wudome. This made him so popular that he won the confidence of the indigenous people.143 Certainly the NGMS, beside the propagation of the gospel made tremendous achievements – in the areas of theological and secular education; healthcare delivery; water and sanitation; technical and voca- tional training and so on. Starting from 14th November, 1847, it could be seen that the EPCG, came across chal- lenges. But conflicts and its consequent split were not recorded. The only conflict, Ansre pointed out was the one “which erupted periodically between the ethnic groups and disrupted or wiped out work that had been done”144probably by the missionaries. Misunderstandings and splits were first seen in the EPCG in the early 1940’s. The sub- sequent paragraphs discuss the conflicts and divisions that preceded the 1991 schism of the EPCG. 140Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 174. 141Ibid, 205. 142Ibid. 143Agbeti, West African Church History, 85. 144Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 168. 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.3 The Early Schisms of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana: 1945 – 1964 The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, from the early 1940’s to the 1960’s has experienced five different conflicts and divisions. As we will see shortly, four were largely influenced by Pentecostal/Charismatic spirituality in a reformed Protestant church. 2.3.1 The Schism in 1945: Apostle Revelation Society The first ever schism that occurred in EPCG was in 1945. It led to the formation of the Apostle Revelation Society (ARS) with its headquarters at Tadzewu. The formation of the ARS was as a result of a misunderstanding between Mr. Charles Kobla Nutornuti Wovenu145 and EPCG. The confusion emanated, largely, from the establishment of a prayer and healing camp by Wovenu and partially, from a grant he received from the District Commissioner, Mr. T.A. Mead. It all begun when Wovenu, a committed member of the EPCG, started to gather few adults and children to study the word of God on 2nd November, 1939. He would nor- mally prepare congregants for baptism by a pastor of the EPCG. Most of the children who attended the meeting were pupils from the school he established. The regular meet- ing to study the word of God, changed to be a healing and prayer camp in the early 1940’s. Some of the beliefs and practices at Wovenu’s camp included: a) Healing of sicknesses including mental illness by the use of herbs and roots of a tree. b) Performing sacrifices as atonement for the sins of his clients. c) Prohibition of sexual intercourse during fasting and communion services. 145 Wovenu was born in Keta of the Volta Region in December, 1918. His followers normally called him Mawu fe Ame (meaning Man of God). The surname ‘Wovenu’ which means ‘he who has received mercy’ is believed to have been revealed to Wovenu by God in a dream. 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh d) Prohibition of his assistants from food prepared by women in their menstrual period. e) Practising exorcism and observing taboos and many more.146 These beliefs and practices were contrary to the reformed traditions as practiced by the EPCG. It was a quest to practice African traditional customs in a church founded on reformed tradition. The second issue was an 85 pounds grant received from Mr. T.A. Mead.147 Wovenu had earlier established and managed his own school and when the grant was released to the Church, he thought it should be given to him to develop his self-established school. But the leadership of EPCG disagreed and this resulted in a conflict. Consequently, Wovenu and his group broke away from the Ewe Presbyterian Church (now EPCG) in 1945 to establish what is presently known as the Apostle Revelation Society. 2.3.2 The Schism in 1954: Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Buem Krachi In the early part of 1951 the EPCG, then called ‘Ewe Presbyterian Church’ underwent conflicts. This led to the establishment of the Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Buem Krachi (PECBK) in 1954,148 whose headquarters is at Guaman.149 The 1954 schism is very remarkable. Two reasons can be adduced for this. First, it was the only conflict and division not caused by Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal group in the EPCG. Second, it was the only schism in the EPCG where the grievances of mem- bers were amicably addressed and the succeeded groups were re-united. Some of the congregations of the EPCG in the Buem Krachi area involved in the conflict were: Nkonya, Jasikan, Borada and Guaman.150 These congregations, Amoah indicated were 146Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 41. 147Ibid., 42. 148Ibid., 65. 149Ibid., 66. 150Ibid. 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh initially founded by the Basel Mission Society. However, in 1903 they were handed over to the Bremen Mission Society. This is because, there was a colonial demarcation of the Togo land between the German and the British.151 As such there was a change of language, from Twi to Ewe.152 The Buem Krachi conflict was caused, primarily, by the change in language. The Basel Mission workers used Twi while the Bremen Mission on the other hand used Ewe. The Ewe speaking congregations in the Buem Krachi area were pleased with the use of Ewe language during church service and in their schools whereas, the Buem congregations such as Nkonya and Guaman who speak Twi did not like the use of Ewe.153 Furthermore, the Twi speaking congregations were of the view that the name, ‘Ewe Presbyterian Church’ was a discrimination against non-Ewe members of the church. Besides, the Buems and Nkonyas felt that EPCG discriminates against the non-Ewes. A case in point was the appointment of Ewe personnel to head their schools. Accord- ingly, the Twi speaking congregations came together to form their own church where they could use their own mother tongue during church services.154 At last, according to Amoah: In 1954, the Buem Krachi congregations of EP Church, except Worawora Dis- trict declared their autonomy and established a church under the name “Presby- terian Evangelical Church of Buem Krachi” with its headquarters at Guaman. Reverends, Edwin Akoto, W.S. Nyarko and Coleman were accordingly or- dained for the Presbyterian Evangelical Church in 1960.155 151Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 66. 152Ibid. 153Ibid. 154Ibid. 155Ibid. 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The news reached the leadership of both the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast (now Presbyterian Church of Ghana) and Ewe Presbyterian Church (EPCG). Under the co-chairmanship of the then moderators of PCG and EPCG, the two churches met on 2nd December, 1987 and 19th April, 1988 to discuss the grievances of the PECBK.156 To bring back the members of the PECBK, the following decisions were taken at the meeting: a) That the name ‘Ewe Presbyterian Church’ be changed to ‘Evangelical Presby- terian Church’ to give it a universal name. At the EPCG synod at Kpedze, the name was changed accordingly. b) That EPCG should give equal opportunities to all members of the church in matters of education and ordination. c) That EPCG should use Akan alongside Ewe at worship and church functions. d) That EPCG should absorb the agents of the PECBK.157 2.3.3 The Schism in 1960: White Cross Society The third church that seceded from the EPCG was the White Cross Society (WCS). The WCS started at Etodome, near Hlefi in the Volta Region. It was originally known as Etodome Nyanyuie Presbyterian Hame Gbedododa kple Doyofe (The Prayer and Heal- ing Group of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church).158 Just like the ARS, the WCS was started by an individual – Frank Kwadzo Doh, in January, 1957. Doh claimed he had a calling from God to whom he must adhere without any delay.159 Evangelization and healing were Doh’s primary calling.160 Doh started a local EPCG to pray and study the word of God in the house of Bernard Atipoe. During one of their hymn practice on 156Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 68. 157Ibid., 67. 158Kwame Boateng Akuamoah, “A Study of the Pentecostal Church: A Case Study of the White Cross Society” (BA Long Essay, University of Ghana, 1983), 42. 159Ibid, 47. 160Ibid. 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Sunday, Atipoe’s son became seriously ill, and seemed about to die.161 Fortunately, the boy got healed after Doh had prayed and anointed him.162 Having noticed the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in the boy’s life, Doh felt that it was good to establish a place of prayer where individuals could go to commune with their God. Thereafter, he formed a prayer and healing group in 1957.163 The beliefs and practices at Doh’s prayer and healing camp were similar to Wovenu’s group – healing and exorcism, observance of taboos and observance of the Levitical laws.164 Doh would want to be given a space to operate but some leaders and members of the EPCG were not ready to tolerate such practices. At synod in 1959, “a delegation from Hlefi District made a formal complain about the ‘new customs’ being practised by the prayer group at Etodome”.165 A delegation was sent to the camp. The aim of the delegation was to find out those beliefs and practices of Doh’s group which are not acceptable. In 1960, the EPCG circulated a letter that “all those whose practices clashed with the EPC should no longer consider themselves as members”.166 In addition to the declaration, the EPCG ceased to provide pastoral care to the congregation at Etodome because of the practices of the prayer and healing group. This conflict led to the split in 1960.167 2.3.4 The Schism in 1961: Lord’s Pentecostal Church The Lord’s Pentecostal Church (LPC) originally, the Lord’s Church, was established on 29th October, 1961 as a seceded group from the EPCG with the founder being the 161Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 48. 162Ibid. 163Ibid. 164Ibid., 50. 165Ibid., 51. 166Ibid. 167Ibid., 52. 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh late Samuel Yao Amedzro.168 This split occurred barely a year after the formation of the WCS in 1960. The LPC started as a prayer group at Peki-Blengo in 1959.169 The story has it that Amedzro, in October, 1958, fell sick and every attempt made to use western and traditional medicines to heal him proved futile.170 Amedzro was taking to a healing and prayer camp at Tekrom, where Mr. T.K. Bokuma is the leader. It is ap- propriate to put on record that the healing centre at Tekrom (a village near Guaman in the Jasikan District of Volta Region) was a prayer group within the EPCG – Bokuma normally healed the sick by praying and laying of hands on them.171 Amedzro was healed at the Tekrom Healing Centre. By the time he left the healing centre, he had learnt the practices of the centre.172 Similar to Wovenu and Doh, when Amedzro was at Tekrom, he was reported to have received two visions from God. He was given a new name, John, and a calling to go and work for the Lord.173 In 1959, Amedzro returned to Peki Blengo, when he formed a prayer group in his house. The members included his family members and friends. The meeting place was his house. He later acquired a land and developed it into a healing and prayer centre.174 The beliefs and practices of Amedzro’s healing and prayer centre were just the like Tekrom Prayer Centre. Amedzro’s prayer group did not start as a church, as such majority of its members continued to be part of the EPCG, Peki Blengo. He used candles of varied colours, anointed water, perfume and incense for healing and exorcism.175 As a result of the use of these materials, the group came into conflict with 168Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 62. 169Ibid., 53. 170Ibid. 171Ibid., 54. 172Ibid. 173Ibid., 56. 174Ibid. 175Ibid., 57. 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the mother Church at Peki Blengo.176 On 20th April, 1960, Rev. Tawiah called a meeting of all the Peki congregations to find out about the practices of the prayer group. He also met the members of the prayer and healing group.177 At the meeting, Amedzro was requested to declare where his group’s allegiance was – for or against the EPCG.178 Amedzro did not respond directly to the issue at stake, rather, he narrated his Tekrom experience. As may be expected at an EPCG anniversary at Peki Tsame, Rev. Tawiah, read a letter from the headquarters in Ho.179 The content of the letter stated “that any member who continued to belong to the Tekrom prayer group ceased to be a member of the church unless he/she stopped the practices of loud prayer and fasting”.180 Conse- quently, Amedzro and some of his group members organized themselves into an auton- omous group and gave it the name ‘The Lord’s Church’.181 On 29th October, 1961, the prayer group broke away from the EPCG and for the first time baptized one of its mem- bers.182 2.3.5 The Schism in 1964: Christ Evangelical Mission Christ Evangelical Mission (CEM), originally known as the Evangelical Presbyterian Reformed Church, was established at Accra in 1964. The split came as a result of a conflict that came up in the EPCG, Accra New Town congregation between a section of its members and Mr. Emmanuel Ntumi Atiega. This led to the establishment of the Christ Evangelical Mission.183 According to Dovlo, Atiega started CEM, as a house 176Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 59. 177Ibid. 178Ibid. 179Ibid., 61. 180Ibid. 181Ibid. 182Ibid., 62. 183Ibid., 69. 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh group.184 Majority of the members of Atiega’s group were the 1959 batch of confirm- ants, prepared by Mr. John Yao Nutty, a teacher.185 In 1962, Atiega travelled to Britain and in his absence the following events took place: a) In 1963, a religious group called Christian Youth Builders (CYB) was formed in EPCG, Accra New Town to lead a revolt against Atiega. b) EPCG, New Town, secured ownership documents on the New Town EPCG.186 On his return, he made a few changes in the EPCG, Accra New Town regarding wor- ship. For instance, he insisted that everybody should kneel down at all prayers. A rep- resentative of the youth, on Sunday, 24th March, 1963 read an 18-point allegation against Atiega in the following areas: the church, school, organization of the church and finance.187 Following the purported allegations, a committee was formed to inves- tigate. After the findings of the committee were submitted to the leadership of EPCG, Accra New Town, some members resorted to meeting at Atiega’s Accra School of Eco- nomics.188 They met to pray over the problems encountered by the church at EPCG, Accra New Town. The group, on 31st March, 1963 went to the Aburi Botanical Gar- dens.189 After the prayer, Atiega informed the members present that he was going to break away from the EPCG, Accra New Town to form his own church. On the 1st Oc- tober, 1964, the synod clerk sent a letter of excommunicating to Atiega for establishing his own church.190 To sum up, within a period of 19 years, 1945-1964, the EPCG experienced five schisms, though the numbers that broke away were not as huge as the schism in 1991. Apart 184Elom Dovlo, “The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, West of the Volta River” Trinity Journal of Church and Theology VII, No. 2 (1993): 39. 185Amoah, “Schism in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” 73. 186Ibid., 74. 187Ibid., 75. 188Ibid. 189Ibid. 190Ibid. 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh from the 1954 schism all other schisms had been partly, if not largely driven by Pente- costal/Charismatic renewal group in a church that hold on to a reformed tradition. The EPCG, it seems was not ready to compromise its reformed tradition. Over two decades, after the last in 1964, the EPCG did not experience any further division until 1991. A large number of its members broke away to form what is now Global Evangelical Church (GEC). In the subsequent paragraphs, the study seeks to discuss the main ob- jective of the study. That is to identify and examine the causes that led to the schism in 1991. 2.4 The 1991 Schism of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana (198-1991) 2.4.1 Contribution of Renewal Groups in EPCG to 1991 Schism In Ghana’s Christianity, there are the autonomous charismatic churches such as Inter- national Central Gospel Church; the Trans-denominational fellowship such as Full Gos- pel Business Men’s Fellowship International; and the renewal movements in the main- line churches, notably are the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship (BSPF) of EPCG and the Charismatic Renewal Movement of RC.191 The BSPF of the EPCG started in the Amakom congregation in 1978.192 The BSPF, Omenyo observed, is a kind of Pentecostal/charismatic movement in the EPCG that is influenced by another Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal movement that exist in a main- line church. In this instance, Omenyo believes the BSPF of the EPCG was influenced by the Bible Study and Prayer Group (BSPG) of PCG.193 The BSPF of EPCG is a group characterized by Pentecostal/Charismatic trait and this represents the spread of Pentecostalism in the EPCG. The presence of the BSPF brought 191For details on the strands of Christianity in Ghana, refer to chapter one, page 1 – 2. 192Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 1. 193Omenyo, Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism, 97. 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh about conflict between its members and Church Leadership. Gbekor, for example, noted that: At its inception, the BSPF posed a lot of challenges and problems to the church, through its doctrines and practices. This included…intensive prayer, healing and deliverance, all – night vigils and evangelism. Some people thought the doctrines and practices of the group were strange and at variance with the Re- formed Tradition which the church upholds. The group therefore came into con- flict with some pastors, church elders, and others including the church’s Head Office.194 Remarkably, different from the prayer groups started by Wovenu, Doh, Amedzro and Atiega, the BSPF, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, was not attributed to any individual as a founder. It was more of a group comprising the laity. The BSPF, like the early prayer groups, also led to the breakaway of sections of the EPCG members. In 1978 an organization of the laity was formed in Kumasi. It was later called Bible Study and Prayer Group. In course of time it spread all over the church at the instance of the Synod of the Church.195 Fianu related that the group attracted a good number of devoted Christians. Their understanding of prayer was to ask God to do their will usu- ally in a miraculous way, and not as seeking to know and to do God’s will.196 The emphasis of the movement was on the gifts of the Spirit especially speaking in tongues, spiritual healing and Christian perfection. Members of the group often demanded that speaking in tongues is the only evidence that one had been baptized by the Holy Spirit. It was these beliefs and practices that the Church found disturbing. 194Christian F.W. Gbekor, “The Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana” (MPhil Thesis, University of Ghana, 1998), 1. 195As pointed out already, in some cases in the church both the clergy and the laity were involved. In other instances supervision was predominantly under lay leadership. See Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 1. 196Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 1. 46 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Five years later (1978 – 1983), it was noted that the doctrines and practices of the group were inconsistent with the Reformed theology of the EPCG. The group developed Pen- tecostal tendencies such as speaking in tongues, bubbling prayer, and automatic claim by members for empowerment as healers and visionists.197 Followers of the group claimed that they were born again Christians and had control over the Holy Spirit to the extent of sharing it amount its members. They felt proclaimed that they were holier than those outside their cycle.198 In an attempt to curb this, the Church leadership changed the name from Bible Study and Prayer Group to Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship. The rational was that it would afford every member the opportunity to join the group. Pastors and church session would also monitor the activities of the group. By 1986 the change of the name was effected but this brought suspicion among the former members and leadership of the fellowship. This feeling of insecurity was so rife to the point that by 1987/88 the fel- lowship had become a ‘disobedient’ organization, challenging the authority of the Church and its leaders at all levels. This stemmed from the fact that the Pentecostalists form of worship and fundamentalist approach to the reading of the scripture had become non- Presbyterian in very form and shape.199 Efforts by the EPCG to correct the doctrines and practices of the group were interpreted as persecution. Thus in July and August 1988 several memoranda and resolutions passed between the executive of the Church and that of the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship.200 The EPCG then tried to limit and control the activities of the fellowship, especially a national rally which they had planned to hold in Ho. The administration of 197Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 2. 198Gbekor, “Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship,” 68. 199Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 2. 200Ibid. 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the Church directed that the rally should be held by each congregation rather than na- tional level. The fellowship disobediently went ahead and held a national rally at Anloga.201 At the rally in Anloga, there were thirteen pastors who signed memorandum addressed to the moderator, the late Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo requesting him to step down.202 The disrespect shown by the executive of the Bible Study and Prayer Fellow- ship came to a point that at the 49th Synod of the Church held in 1990, after a critical study of the activities of the group the Synod took a decision and banned the fellowship. Realizing the importance of Bible study and prayer, the Synod, after the proscription of the BSPF directed that: Bible Study and prayer shall be organized in the reformed tradition of the E.P. Church meeting on Wednesday evenings and Sunday evenings under the lead- ership of the Pastor, the Catechist and the Session. Teachings at these meetings are to be done in compliance with the “Reformed Presbyterian Tradition.203 Letters were written and sent to all the congregations of the church to that effect. The ban worked at some places while sections of people also rejected the decision. It should be noted that the constitution of the BSPF was suspended. The national executive of the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship was also ex-communicated. This was as conse- quence of their refusal to adhere to the instruction of the Synod Executive.204 The ex- communication of the national leaders in 1988 and the subsequent banning of the BSPF in 1990 resulted into several disturbances in the EPCG. 201Anloga is one of the identified congregations which have been greatly affected by the 1991 schism. Later, its effect will be discussed. 202Fianu , E.P. Church Crisis, 2. 203The 49th Synod Decision on Bible Study and Prayer activities in the E.P. Church, Ghana, and its related institutions. The Synod was held from 22nd to 26th August, 1990 in Ho. 204Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 2. 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In 1988, a group of church members had a meeting with the then Moderator, the late Rev. Prof N.K. Dzobo at Trinity College, Legon to discuss issues of concern.205 The issues ranged between the following: a) Financial issues b) Constitutional issues206 c) Theological issues207 d) Welfare and Scholarships208 It is impossible to outline the details of the discussion at this stage. To sum up, the group was not satisfied with the explanations given by Dzobo on these weighty issues. There- fore, they demanded an in-house and private arbitration. Further, they requested that ‘an independent body be set up to investigate the legality and legitimacy of the consti- tutional changes’.209 The people left the meeting dissatisfied. 205That is after the ex-communication of the national executive of the BSPF and prior to the prohibiting of the entire BSPF. 206The constitutional issues, generally, has to do with the re-election of Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo to the third term of office. Ansre recorded that in January, 1984, the Pastors’ Association disagreed with the clause on the tenure of office promulgated in the 1980 Constitution and resolved that the Moderator and Synod Clerk should hold office for at most two terms, that is, at most, eight years duration. This resolu- tion was to be included on Synod Agenda for discussion but never came up. The burning questions at this point were: should the Moderator and Clerk be nominated and elected by the Church’ clergy only? Is it constitutional for the Moderator and Clerk to stand for office more than two terms? Regardless, of these issues, Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo was declared re-elected in 1988 and was to assume his third term of office in January, 1989. For details on the constitutional issues see Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 134-136; Atakro, The Emergence and Development of the Constitution of the E.P. Church, 52. 207 The theological issue was more related to the “Meleagbe” theology (I am Alive Theology) of Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo. The Melagbe Theology was an attempt to promulgate a theological perspective. It sought to establish that authentic traditional African beliefs and practices were not opposed to the basic tenets of the Christian faith. In the Melagbe Theology the Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo sought to link the Christian gospel to African indigenous ideals. In his theology, Dzobo sets out to explain and show that a true African can also be a true Christian without losing his Africa identity and at the same time keep with the Gospel. For an elaborate work on the Meleagbe Theology, refer to N.K. Dzobo, Meleagbe Theology: A New Perspective in Africa Theology (Ho: E.P. Church Press, 1986), 1-2; Ansre, Evangelical Presby- terian Church,136. 208Details on the issues raised by the Concerned Members can be found in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana, “Facts about the Current Developments in the E.P. Church” (Paper, Publications De- partment of the E.P. Church of Ghana, 1991). 209Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 136; G.S.K. Dzoagbe, Interview granted the researcher, 14th December, 2015. 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Morny210 and Abbey-Mensah211 explained that the agitations for the most part were spearheaded by some members of the BSPF. More vividly, Ansre recounted that: Of the people who were offended by the re-election of Rev. Dzobo to the third term of office, members of the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship (BSPF) ex- pressed their opposition the strongest. In fact, many, if not all, the ‘Concern Members’ were members of the Fellowship…They were more articulate in the matter than any other organized group of the Church.212 The decision of Synod with regard to the BSPF generated, at the same time rejuvenated burning issues. However, if anything at all, these issues, for a fact were the later devel- opments that led to the division in the EPCG in 1991. According to Morny and Abbey- Mensah, the root cause of the conflict and division (mainly from 1988-1991) in the EPCG is the unguided Pentecostal/Charismatic doctrines and practices in a church (EPCG) governed by the reformed protestant tradition which the members of the BSPF were not allowed to continue to practice.213 2.4.2 The Court Case(s) On the 14th August 1988, six people took legal action at the High Court in Accra against the E.P. Church. The people claimed they were taking the action for and on behalf of members of E.P. Church. The Church was represented by the Rt. Rev. Prof. N. K. Dzobo, the Moderator and Rev. G.K. Atimpo, the Synod Clerk.214 The following were the charges: 210W.L.S. Morny, Interview granted the researcher, 2nd December, 2015. Morny is a defender of the reformed protestant tradition of the EPCG. He was also one of the loyalists at EPCG, Amakom where the BSPF originated. Morny represented the Amakom EPCG in court on so many occasions during the time of the crisis. 211Dinah Abbey-Mensah, Interview granted the researcher, 5th December, 2015. Up till now, Dinah Ab- bey-Mensah, retired minister of the EPCG, is a member of the Defenders of the Faith. During the EPCG crisis in 1991, she served on the reconciliation committee under the auspices Christian Council of Ghana. 212Ansre, Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 137. 213Interview with Morny; Interview with Abbey-Mensah. 214Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 138; Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 7. See also the “E.P. Church, Ghana Court Case” (Progress Report), 1-2. 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh a) that the purported amendment of the 1979 Hamedodo was null and void and of no effect. b) that the nomination and election of Rev. Prof. N. K. Dzobo in January, 1988 by the clergy was in breach of the constitution of the church and therefore null and void.215 An injunction was being sought by the ‘Concerned Members’ (CM) to be placed on the Rt. Rev. Professor Dzobo from amending, changing or endorsing the purported amend- ment of the constitution without due compliance with the 1979 constitutional provisions on amendment. The CM wanted Synod to reject the nomination and election of the Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo as moderator. In summary, the main case from the plaintiffs against the Church was that there was a 1979 constitution which governed the E.P. Church, Ghana, and that the 1980 Betania Constitution was a forgery.216 The Church later formed a committee to work towards settling the matter out of court. The chairperson of the committee was Justice (Rtd) Annie Jiagge. The committee came out with its report but the Plaintiffs were not satisfied with the report and the case went back to court.217 The hearing of the case continued at the Ho High Court and on 18th December, 1989, where Justice Isaac Amuah passed a judgment against the Church and the Moderator, Rev. Prof. N. K. Dzobo. Thereafter, an Appeal was filed at the Court of Appeal in Accra by the first and the second Defendants.218 Similar application was also filed at the Ho High Court for stay of Execution of the Judgment of the High Court. 215Isaac J. Amuah, “Ruling” (Suit No. TRS.C/S.1/89), 1-2; Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 138. 216Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 7-8; “Progress Report”, 1. 217Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 138; “Progress Report”, 1. 218“Progress Report”, 1. 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The application relating to the stay of Execution of the Judgment was heard by Justice Acquah. On 12th February, 1990, the application for the stay was refused by Justice Acquah.219 Again an appeal for the stay was filed at the Court of Appeal in Accra. This appeal was heard on 26th and 27th February, 1990, by three Appeal Court Judges. On Wednesday, 14th March, 1990, the stay of Execution of the Judgment of the Ho High Court was granted. Thus, in just about three months, two judgments were given – the court judgments of 18th December, 1989 and 14th March, 1990.220 The mood after the court judgments was not pleasant. 2.4.3 The Events after the Two Court Judgments: 1989 & 1990 The judgment on 18th December, 1989 which was in favour of Mr. James Kwesi Agbeblewu and five others who were championing the course of members of the BSPF were aggrieve and became disobedient to the E.P. Church hierarchy. Early on, before the court case, the synod had sought to advice and caution against developments within the BSPF. However, the caution of the E.P. Church was persis- tently and arrogantly ignored. Thus, after the court case the alien beliefs and practices of the BSPF, which the E.P. Church found insufferable, continued to be observed in public in a rather provocative manner.221 To buttress their unwillingness to accept the administration of the Synod Executive, on 7th may 1990 a group of people of the E.P. Church wrote a letter directed to the Rev. G.K. Atimpo with the heading “Dismissal of Rev. G.K. Atimpo as Synod Clerk” . The disobedient activities of the fellowship came to such a point that the Synod of the E.P. Church was compelled to sanction them. So 219“Progress Report”, 1. 220J.A. Ampiah, K.A Lamptey, & J. Adjabeng, “Ruling” (Civil Motion: No. 27/90), 1-2. The “Progress Report” also has some information on the ruling. 221Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 13. 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh when their behavior became uncontrollable after the court judgments of 18th December, 1989 and that of 14th March, 1990, the 49th synod of the E.P. Church banned the BSPF.222 The next step taken by Mr. James Kwesi Agbeblewu and others was to drag the E.P. Church once again to court. They sought an order of interim injunction against the Church and the Moderator. Agbeblewu and others wanted the court to stop the Church: a) From excommunicating BSPF leaders. b) From banning the BSPF. c) From transferring, suspending or dismissing pastors of the Church especially those who had supported the BSPF. d) From generally interfering in any way with freedom of worshipping God by the members of the fellowship.223 On 19th October, 1990, the High Court, Ho presided over by Mr. Justice George K. Acquah in his ruling granted the interim injunction for the first three request (a.b.c.) and refused to grant that of the fourth (d) request. His refusal to grant the fourth request was based on his statement that to grant it would give license to individual members of the church to embark upon all manners of worshipping God on complete violation of the basic doctrines of the E.P. Church.224 2.5 The Immediate Events leading to the Schism of 8th June, 1991. 2.5.1 The Appeal Court Ruling The judgment upholding the appeal, filed by the Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo at the Court of Appeal in Accra was passed on 23rd May, 1991 and the ruling was as follows: 222Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 13. 223Registrar, “Interlocutory Civil Appeal” (19th October, 1990), 1-3. See also Fianu, E.P. Church, Crisis, 14. 224Fianu, E.P. Church, Crisis,15. 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh a) That there was no 1979 constitution of E.P. Church, Ghana. The only constitu- tion was the 1931 constitution of the E.P. Church Ghana and Eglise Evangelique du Togo which has been subject of amendments over the years. b) That the Moderator, the Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo did not change the constitution in any way so as to enable him stay in office as long as he is capable. c) That the Moderator was not the first Moderator of E.P. Church Ghana to hold office for three terms, e.g., the late Rev. E.K. Galevo, the Moderator and late Rev. E.Y. Forson, Synod Clerk held office for three terms. d) That former Moderator, the very Rev. C.K. Dovlo held office for two terms and actually contested election for a third term but lost to the present Moderator Rt. Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo in January, 1980. e) That all previous judgments and ruling in the matter at the lower and the supe- rior courts were superseded by the Court of Appeal judgment.225 By this judgment, the E.P. Church and Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo had been exonerated from the accusation leveled against them by Mr. James Kwesi Agbeblewu and five others who championed the course of the BSPF. 2.5.2 The Press Conferences During the 4–year (1988-1991) conflict between the EPCG on one hand, the Concerned Members (CM)226 and Revolutionary Guards (RG)227 on the other, there had been three press conferences which were held and these press releases could be said to be the im- mediate events that led to the schism in 1991. Out of the three, two were held by the CM and RG and one by EPCG. It was at the second press conference of the CM and 225Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana Headquarters, “Press Release” (27th May, 1991), 1. The Ap- peal Court ruling on 23rd May, 1991 involving the EPCG, its Moderator, Synod Clerk and six members of the Church under the leadership of James Kwasi Agbeblewu was included in the press release of the Synod Executive of EPCG. 226In June, 1988, some church members of the West Volta Presbytery had a meeting with the Moderator, Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo at Trinity College, Legon. The issues discussed were reported to cover the con- stitution, general and financial administration and doctrinal matters. These church members were later to be known as Concerned Members. Majority were members of the BSPF. 227Following upon the meeting at Trinity, a group of people thought the matters were not resolved satis- factorily. On 29th June, 1988, they issued a statement on certain major issues of the Church. The statement was presented to CE amidst demonstration in Ho. This group were later to be known as Revolutionary Guards. 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh RG on 8th June, 1991 that the foundation of a new church was announced. This marked the beginning of the Schism. On 24th May, 1991, just a day after the Appeal Court ruling the CM and RG (who were chiefly members of the BSPF) held a press conference at the South – La EPCG in Ac- cra.228 In their press statement, they argued, the implication of the Court of Appeal rul- ing is that there was no 1979 constitution. As such, EPCG had been without constitu- tional officers since 1978. So, the group indicated they were not prepared to recognize the Synod Executive. They, therefore, wanted to ratify the situation by adopting the 1979 constitution as the only valid constitution of the Church, and called on congrega- tions in the E.P. Church to consider themselves autonomous within the E.P Church.229 Furthermore, they stated that going by the 1975 constitution, usually referred to as the 1979 constitution, they would in due course and in full consultation with other members of the E.P. Church appoint an interim Synod Executive Committee of the church made up of the Moderator, Synod Clerk, two representative of the laity and the office of the Inter Church Relations Officers until a constitution acceptable to all was agreed upon. The following persons signed the press release: Dr. Victor Kpodo, Presbyter of Ama- kom E.P. Church, Kumasi; Dr. C.S. K. Kporgbe; Mr. Dan Amlalo, member of North Labadi E.P. Church, Accra; Mrs. Comfort Gane, Presbyter, Dzelukofe E.P. Church; and Mrs. Bernice Abba , Presbyter elect, Ho Fiave E.P. Church. The copies of the press release were also sent to the under listed offices: a) the Secretary, Ministry of Interior b) the Chief Justice 228Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 19. 229Ibid., 19-20. 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh c) the Inspector General of Police d) all Regional Police Commissioners e) the Secretary, Christian Council of Ghana f) World Council of Churches g) all Partner Churches of the EPCG h) Eglise Evangelique Presbyterienne du Togo i) all Congregations of E.P. Church, Ghana j) the Press.230 As it has always been the case; the Synod Executive of EPCG, organized a press con- ference, three days after the one by the CM and RG. It was held on 27th May 1991. In the press statement, the Synod Executive of the EPCG went over the ruling of the Court of Appeal. It was stated that the Appellate Court, in its ruling, did not render the EPCG as a Church without a constitution.231 Rather, it emphasized the fact that the 1931 con- stitution of EPCG and Eglise Evangelique Presbyterienne du Togo (EEPT) which had been a subject of amendment by the Joint Synod of EPCG and EEPT is valid.232 In addition, the press statement went on to explain that the joint Synod did not meet in 1979 to promulgate any constitution; neither did it meet in 1978 to promulgate any constitution for the two Churches in Ghana and Togo. So they would like to caution members of the EPCG that there was no 1978 constitution as Mr. Dan Amlalo of the E. P. Church South Labadi and his group claimed.233 Furthermore, the press release stated that the group that met at South Labadi calling themselves ‘Concerned Members’ formed a minority of the EPCG and that members 230Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 20. 231EPCG – Headquarters “Press Release,” 2. 232Ibid. 233Ibid. 56 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh should note that the administration of the EPCG had accepted the judgment of the Ap- pellate Court. Members of the EPCG were then warned, according to the press release, not to be confused by the press conference held by the so called delegate from the seven presbyteries of the EPCG led by Mr. Dan Amlalo, and that the Church’s administration had not been affected in any way by Amlalo’s press conference of Friday, 24th May, 1991. The so called Interim Management Committee (IMC) had, therefore, no validity and should be ignored by the rank and file of the EPCG234 The press conference by the Synod Executive of EPCG aggravated the situation. For a third time, there was another decisive press conference on the 8th of June 1991. It was held by the CM and RG.235 At this press conference, they announced the setting up of a new Church administration under the name the ‘Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana’236 with its headquarters at Tesano, Accra. For the CM, it was regarded as the legitimate continuation of the old Church. After the press conferences on the 24th and 27th May, 1991 respectively by the CM and the Synod Executive, and the last on 8th June, 1991, various actions were taken first by the CM and then by the Synod of the Church. These actions in effect were what con- firmed the split of the EPCG into two. Some of these actions were: the setting up of new administration in Accra by the CM the setting of committee of investigation by the Synod Committee, dismissal and ex- communication of leaders of the CM, and the struggle over church properties. 234EPCG – Headquarters “Press Release,” 2. 235Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 22. 236When it became clear that there would not be any reconciliation between EPCG and breakaway group, the mother church saw the need to ask the breakaway group to adopt a new name. On 14th July, 1994, the case on the change of name went to court. About nine years later, a judgment was given on 14 th January, 2003. Thus by Court Order, the breakaway group known at first as E.P. Church of Ghana changed its name to what is now called Global Evangelical Church. See Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 33- 35 for details. 57 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.6 Conclusion The EPCG during the Western missionary era did not encounter any conflict with con- sequent split. Though there were problems such as ill health, insufficient fund, limited human resources and the like, none of these difficulties was a pointer to division. If anything at all, these difficulties delayed the progress of the missionary works but did not cause a split. Misunderstanding and split was first seen in the EPCG in the early 1940’s. For about 49 years, from 1945-1991, the EPCG recorded six schisms. The discussion in this chapter has shown that five of them were mostly, if not entirely, caused by the emergence of Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal groups in the EPCG. The doctrines and practices of these Pentecostal/Charismatic groups and/or individuals were in conflict with the Reformed Protestant Tradition of the EPCG. Any attempt by the leadership of the EPCG to monitor and control these orthodox doctrines and practices was for all time faced with opposition from the practitioners. It would be recalled that the largest Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal group in the EPCG is the BSPF which started in 1978 in Kumasi most likely to complement the usual EPCG Wednesday and Friday Bible study and prayer. The ex-communication of the national executive of BSPF and the banning of the entire group resulted in several very strong issues – financial, theological, constitutional, welfare and scholarship, court cases, press conferences and the fight over church properties. Finally, the outcome of the conflict between the CM and RG (which are mostly mem- bers of the BSPF) on one hand, and the Synod Executive on the other hand brought about the split on 8th June, 1991. The next chapter discusses the aftermath events of the 58 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 8th June, 1991 schism and focus on their impacts on the growth of EPCG with special emphasis on some of the mostly affected congregations/communities. 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE THE UPSHOT OF THE 8TH JUNE, 1991 EVENT 3.1 Introduction This chapter analyzes the happenings after the split on 8th June, 1991. It discusses the formation and declaration of a new administration; the reaction from the Synod Com- mittee of the EPCG. It further shows how the Christian Council of Ghana, the Bremen Mission of Germany and the Eglise Evangelique du Togo made an attempt to reconcile the two parties. Additionally, the chapter discusses the issues that brought to an end the earlier attempt at reconciliation. The mostly affected congregations, especially those that have pending court cases at the time of the research are also discussed in this chap- ter. The concluding part of the chapter examines the most recent court case between the Defenders of the Faith on one part, EPCG and GEC on the other. 3.2 The New Administration The second press conference was held by the CM and RG on the 8th of June 1991. The CMs and RGs announced the setting up of a new administration for a new church under the name ‘Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana’ with its headquarters in Tesano, Accra. The new Church was regarded as the legitimate continuation of the old Church.237 The press release was signed by fifteen persons on behalf of the CMs and RGs. After the declaration, the group saw the need to appoint officials to the following positions: a) The Moderator b) The Synod Clerk 237Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 22. 60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh c) The Programme and Inter-Church Relations Officer d) Two members representing the laity Accordingly, the following persons were appointed to serve on the Synod Executive Committee of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana: Moderator – Rev. E.K. Amenyedu Synod Clerk – Rev. V.E. Otitiaku Programmes and Inter- Church Relations Officer – Rev. E.K. Gbordzoe Representative of the laity – Mr. N.K. Obiri Representative of the laity – Mrs. Comfort Gane Women’s Desk Officer – Rev. (Miss) F.A.M. Dade.238 On 10th June, 1991, there was radio announcement concerning the setting up of the New Administration.239 3.3 Reaction to the New Administration On the 10th June, 1991240 a group led by the West Volta Presbytery Chairperson had a press conference to condemn the action taken by the CMs and RGs. At the press con- ference the leadership, made up of the Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo as the Moderator and Rev. G.K. Atimpo as Synod Clerk was affirmed. The press release stated clearly that the CMs and RGs had no constitutional right to declare congregations as autono- mous.241 Furthermore, the 1979 Constitution by which the CMs and RGs claimed to be 238Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 22. 239Ibid., 23. 240On the same day there was announcement on the Radio Ghana about the setting up of the new admin- istration. 241Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 24. 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh operating, had no article or clauses authorizing ordinary members of the Church to de- clare congregations as autonomous.242 Besides, the Synod Executive Committee on 14th June, 1991, came out with a statement to all members of the Church and the general public refuting the press release by the CMs and RGs. It stated among others that: a) The call on all congregations to consider themselves independent is without ba- sis and should be ignored. b) The declaration in the statement that the 1979 Constitution had been adopted by small group of people as the Constitution of the Church was entirely contrary to the long established tradition at the joint Synod of Ghana and Togo Churches. c) The purported appointment of Rev. E.K. Amenyedu and other officers of the Church was entirely an unauthorized act and completely invalid and should be ignored by all faithful members of the Church. In addition, the statement called on all faithful members and well-wishers of the EPCG to stand firm in the time of crisis.243 3.4 The Committee of Investigation The next action taken by the Synod Executive Committee was to invite the signatories to the press release for questioning. Other people who gave their support to it were also invited. Hence, at an emergency Synod Committee meeting of the Church on 17th June, 1991 in Ho, a sub – committee was appointed with the Rev. S.K. Mensah as the chair- person. Mrs. Violet S. Dzakpasu, Mrs. Leticia Odum, Mrs. J.R. Dabo, Mr. E.A.K. Glal, Rev. I.D.K. Aflakpui and Rev. S.K. Osei- Bonsu were the members of the committee.244 The committee was mandated to: 242Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 24. 243Ibid., 25. 244Ibid., 24. 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh a) Investigate the conduct of the signatories to the 8th June, 1991 press release. b) Investigate the conduct of pastors and others believed to have given their sup- port to the press release. c) Recommend appropriate sanctions for application.245 In a letter, the Synod Clerk invited those concerned to appear before the committee to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for attending the press conference. Disappointingly, none of the signatories to the press release honored the invitation of the Synod Committee. The Synod Committee considered the act of diso- bedient as being deliberate.246 Accordingly, the sub – committee recommended summary dismissals and derobing of the eleven pastors who turned down the invitation. They included the Reverends: C.F.A. Gbedi, E.A. Atiase, V.E. Otitiaku, W.K. Senya, E.K. Gbordzoe, W. K. Amedeka, G.K. Agamah, G.F.K. Ackuayi, F.F Abotchie, G.N.K. Agbevem and Miss F.A.M. Dade. The sub – committee further recommended that every property of the Church including the certificate of ordination be withdrawn. The laity, namely Dr. Moses Adibo, Mr. Dan Amlalo, Mrs. Comfort Gane and Mrs. Bernice Abba were to be ex-communicated.247 Before the Synod Committee could meet to implement the decision taken by the sub- committee, a letter dated 3rd July, 1991 was addressed to the Synod Clerk of EPCG. It was received on 15th July, 1991. The letter was signed by Rev. C.F.A. Gbedi, and Rev. G.N.K. Agbevem the Acting Chairperson and Secretary of E.P. Church of Ghana Pas- tors Association respectively. Part of the content of the letter stated: 245Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 25. 246Ibid. 247Ibid., 26. 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh This is to inform you that we the under listed pastors of the E.P. Church have been following events in the Church since the constitutional court case. We therefore, want you to know that we are no more under you and your admin- istration. We have whole heartedly believed and endorsed and adopted the 1979 constitution “HAMEDODO”248. We wish to convey to you that we are going with the new interim administration with headquarters in Accra, which is headed by Rev. E.K. Amenyedu as the Acting Moderator.249 The pastors were Reverends E.K. Amenyedu, A.K. Azameti, D.S.K. Dumevi, E.K. Buahini, M.Y. Dogbe, S.K. Setorwu Ofori, R.K. Abenney, K.A.N. Misrowoda and A.D.K. Adzadzi.250 3.5 Ex-Communication of Leaders On 17th July, 1991, dismissal letters from the Synod Committee of the EPCG, signed by the Synod Clerk, the Rev. G.K. Atimpo, were sent to the pastors who supported in the establishment of the new administration. The dismissed pastors were asked to hand- over all church properties, including their ministerial gown and ordination certificates, to the Synod Clerk or his agent without delay.251 Early on, the Synod Committee on 5th July, 1991 wrote to ex- communicate Dr. Moses Adibo, Mrs. Comfort Gane, Mr. Dan Amlalo and Mrs. Beatrice Abba as recommended by the committee of inquiry.252 On 18th July, 1991 a letter was distributed to the various vital institutions and departments in the country. This was to inform the institutions to seize dealing with the pastors as members of the E.P. Church, Ghana.253 In appendix B, 248It means ‘Church Order’. 249Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 27. 250Ibid. 251G.K. Atimpo, “Confirmation of 49th Synod, E.P. Church, Ghana Decision and Implementation” (Let- ter, No. C/CO/1/005-91, 9th July, 1991); Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 27. 252G.K. Atimpo, “Letter of Ex-Communication” (Letter, No. C/CO/1/009-91, 5th July, 1991). 253Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 27. 64 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh details of the letter that has been distributed to the various institutions and departments are outlined. After the two groups had separated, fight over church assets started. 3.6 The Fight Over Church Assets The division came with its ill feeling, allegations and insults as well as violence between the supporters of the breakaway group and the mother church. In congregations where the resident pastors were those dismissed by the Synod of the EPCG, they succeeded in bringing the majority of the members and church properties to their side. Similarly, in congregations where the resident pastors remained loyal to the mother church, they were able to draw the majority of the congregants and church properties to their side.254 A fine example is Rev. V.E. Otitiaku, a pastor in charge of the Anloga congregation at the time of the split. EPCG, Anloga was one of the stronghold stations of the BSPF. It was at Anloga that the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship in 1988 held their National Rally against the wish of EPCG Synod.255 It was at the Anloga rally that thirteen pastors of the EPCG were reported to have signed a letter asking the Moderator, Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo, to resign.256 After the national rally of the BSPF at Anloga, their activities intensified with Rev. V.E. Otitiaku, being their leader. Fianu reported that at the start of the crisis up to 1990, the Rev. V.E. Otitiaku, a staunch member of the BSPF, did not co-operate with the Synod Executive, hence, making the administration of the EPCG, Anloga very difficult. As a way of solving the difficulty posed by Rev. V.E. Otitiaku, he was transferred to the Kete-Krach District but he refused to go.257 After the split, majority of the Anloga con- gregants and Rev. V.E. Otitiaku joined the breakaway group. For example, Rev. D.K. 254Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 28. 255Ibid, 48. 256Ibid. 257Ibid., 49. 65 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Deku, the present resident pastor, EPCG Anloga, noted that the Chapel and two manses which were in use before the split were being occupied by the GEC, Anloga.258 In effect, church members who are either parting or staying in the mother church depended on the pastor’s affiliation to the BSPF at the time of the crises and the same apply to church properties. Some of the church properties – church buildings such as chapels and pastor’s manse; church cemeteries; church bells; schools; health facilities; lands and farms in some con- gregations are still in contention. Out of this, the main properties under contention in- cluded chapels, pastors’ residence and church lands.259 The fight over property at some places generated into violent clashes and caused injuries to a number of people. An example is EPCG Amakom in Kumasi.260 Another typical example of such violent clashes between the two parties was that of EPCG, Dzelukope.261 Instances where the supporters of the mother church had the upper hand in the struggle, the breakaway group left to erect their own shade and later built chapels for worship. Contrary to this, where the breakaway group succeeded in taking the church properties, the supporters of the mother church normally instituted court actions against them.262 For the past 24 years, some members of the mostly affected congregations of EPCG had been going to court over the sharing of church properties between the breakaway and the mother church. According to Mr. Gobah Tengey Seddoh, the Dzelukofe, 258D.K. Deku, Interview granted the researcher, 10th December, 2015. 259Melvin Tarlue, “E.P. Church Sued,” Daily Guide, August 22, 2015, 7; L.J.K Dzakpasu, “Agitation for Continuation of E.P. Church Court Cases on Determination of Ownership of Property – Mission Lands, Chapels, Church Bells, etc, etc” (Letter, No. C/CO/2/01-94, 11th January, 1994). 260For information on the fight over EPCG, Amakom properties, see W.L.S Morny, “Further Dangerous Development in the Misuse of E.P. Church Mission House, Amakom” (Letter, 20th November, 1992). 261Further information on the experiences of EPCG, Dzelukofe during and after the 1991 schism can be found in Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary Celebration,” (December 1, 2013), 47 – 51; Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 28-28. 262Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 29. 66 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Anloga, Dabala and Obuasi congregations of EPCG are those still in court over prop- erties issues.263 The Defenders of the Faith (DoF)264 believe the yet to come judgment will be in favour of the affected EPCG congregations since EPCG South La in Accra, Amakom in Ku- masi and Agbozume265 in Anlo won their respective court cases on the subject of church properties.266 3.7 The Earlier Attempt at Reconciliation The earlier attempt to reunite the two factions – EPCG and GEC was started by the Christian Council of Ghana, the Bremen Mission of Germany and Eglise Evangelique du Togo. It was initiated in conjunction with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (now World Communion of Reformed Churches).267 A joint committee was appointed to work on the process of the reconciliation, constituted by representatives from three parties – the Christian Council of Ghana, GEC and EPCG.268 The full list of the com- mittee members present is shown in appendix C. After several meetings a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two rival groups on 16th April 1993. Each party undertook: 263Salomey Appiah, “Group against the sharing of E.P. Church’s Properties” Daily Graphic, 19th August, 2015, 18. 264 In the wake of the schism in the E.P. Church – some backing the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship and other backing the Synod Executive, there emerged a group called the Defenders of the Faith. It was made up of some selected clergy and some selected laity of the church. Their aim was to defend the reformed protested tradition on which the Evangelical Presbyterian Church was founded. They fully sup- ported the decision of the 49th Synod of the church which proscribed the Bible Study and Prayer Fellow- ship and in total agreement with the ruling of the High Court on 19th October, 1990 which did not allow the fellowship to worship contrary to the reformed protestant tradition. For details, see Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 15. 265For the judgment on the Agbozume case, refer to Arnold Kwami Agama & Samuel Kwami Agbema- biase vs. The District Pastor of GEC Agbozume & ORS, No. C.S. 13/1994. 266Appiah, “E.P. Church’s Properties,” 18. 267G.K. Atimpo, “Reconciliation,” (Letter, No. C/CO/2/0011-91, 5th December, 1991; D.K. Amanieh & Others, “Protest Against Developments on the E.P. Church Negotiations,” (Letter, 18th June, 1992). 268Seth Quao, “Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Doctrinal and Other Matters,” (Letter, 3rd July, 1992). 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1) To urge its followers to desist from any act that would lead to the closure of Church buildings or disruption of church service. 2) To work together towards getting all chapels which were then closed to open for church service. 3) To work together towards a common use of other church properties and to edu- cate their respective members on Christian living in peace and harmony.269 A sub-committee including members of the Christian Council of Ghana and of the two groups was appointed to monitor the undertaking. Moreover, with the co-operation from the Chief Justice, both parties were asked to advise their lawyers to delay the various cases pending before the courts, while more cordial alternative solutions were sought.270 Besides, the EPCG took several decisions towards reconciliation. At the 51st Synod at Ho in August, 1992, the EPCG decided that “under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the enabling power, the Church continue to pursue the reconciliation process currently tak- ing place under the auspices of the Christian Council of Ghana”.271 Furthermore, EPCG decided that: The 50th Synod decision derobing 17 pastors and ex-communicating them to- gether with 13 lay-members of the church be revoked unconditionally. This is an affirmation of the 51st Synod decision to keep the policy of open door to enhance the process of reconciliation.272 269Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 31. 270Ibid, 31. 271The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, “Synod and General Assembly Major Decisions of the Church 1990-2013” 6-7. 272“Major Decisions 1990-2013,” 7-8. 68 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Individual members – D.D. Amegbletor, Vicent Nyarku and Edem Asima added their voice to the call for unity among the two parties.273 However, the mother church274, in response to the move to reconcile with the breakaway group laid down the following conditions which ought to be satisfied. They indicated that: a) The breakaway group must accept that the constitutional issue had been re- solved by the 23rd May, 1991 appellate court decisions. b) The breakaway group should publicly accept the court’s decision as they pub- licly denounced it. c) The breakaway group should accept that ‘reconciliation’ is not ‘reorganization’ or dissolution. d) The breakaway group should accept that the problems at hand were:  Doctrinal.  Liturgical.  Fundamentalist Pentecostalism.  Power struggle for leadership. The mother church insisted that the breakaway group should be made to understand and accept the issues involved, and be ready to practice the reformed tradition. This, ac- cording to the mother church, should smoothen the progress of the reconciliation pro- cess. 3.8 The Failure of the Reconciliation Process The earlier attempt at reconciliation was unsuccessful because both groups took an ex- treme position concerning mode of worship. The breakaway group (E.P. Church of 273D.D. Amegbletor & Others, “Call for Unity, Peace, Love, Harmony and Spiritual Development of the E.P. Church” (Letter, 17th June, 1991). 274The mother Church in question is the EPCG which has been represented by the Defenders of the Faith. In an interview with Dinah Abbey-Mensah (a member of the Defenders of the Faith), she pointed out that the Defenders of the Faith gave these conditions. 69 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ghana)275 wanted re-organization, but, the mother church (E.P. Church, Ghana) wanted to retain its Presbyterianism. In other words, neither the breakaway group was prepared to forego its Pentecostalism, nor the mother church prepared to forego its Presbyterian- ism.276 The stands of the two parties were confirmed at different fora. According to Fianu, the former Moderator of E.P. Church of Ghana, the Very Rev. F.H. Gbewonyo, on 1st May, 1998, spoke at a convention of the E.P. Church of Ghana, West Volta Women’s Min- istry at Nsawam. He indicated that before the split in the E.P. Church, Ghana: …there were the Orthodox and the Pentecostal factions within the Church, but the constitution of the church, did not forbid any of them. And now the two groups had separated and enjoying freedom of worship and expression. He then asked the question: what was the point in calling for organizational unity? What should be pursued according to him: was the call for “co-existence rather than unity” with the E.P. Church, Ghana.277 Similarly, the DoF pointed out: We members of the E.P. Church, Ghana Defenders of the Faith appreciate the willingness of the Christian Council of Ghana to resolve the problem between E.P. Church, Ghana and some of her members… Since the breakaway group has publicly declared themselves as a Church with Executive members like, the Moderator, Synod Clerk and Programme and Inter-Church Relations Secretary and with a different form of worship, what exactly does the Christian Council of Ghana want to achieve through her ministry of reconciliation? Does the Christian Council of Ghana want to reconcile and unite two separate Churches? Doe Christian Council of Ghana wants to establish a partnership relationship between the two separate Churches? The Fundamentalism and Pentecostalism 275Prior to the change of name, the breakaway group and the mother church were referred to as ‘E.P. Church of Ghana’, and ‘E.P. Church, Ghana’ respectively with the difference in the use of ‘of’ and ‘,’. 276Fianu, E.P. Church, Crisis, 31-32. 277Ibid., 32. 70 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh must be resolved. Since E.P. Church, Ghana does not subscribe to Fundamen- talism and Pentecostalism, these will not be allowed to interfere with our Re- formed and Presbyterian Traditions.278 In recent times, the stand of the mother Church had been re-affirmed at a press confer- ence in Accra on 17th August, 2015. When asked why the two Churches cannot recon- cile, the vice president of the Defenders of the Faith, Mr. Eddie Ashiagbor notes: “It is patently obvious that the two are like chalk and cheese – no convergence whatsoever in the modes of worship.”279 The EPCG is Presbyterian by doctrine while the GEC has a Pentecostal form of worship. Though doctrinal differences can be cited as the failure of the reconciliation, the ap- proach and slow pace at which the CCG was facilitating the process was also a factor. This was denounced vehemently by the Rev. J.Y. Ledo280 in a letter to the chairperson of the CCG on 1st October, 1993. He raised a few pertinent issues and/or questions and some deserve to be referred to. In the letter, the former Moderator wanted to know: a) Whether the parties involved were sincere towards the reconciliation process for the unity within the EPCG. b) Whether the parties involved were not only surface dressing the reconciliation and thus throwing dust into the eyes of the general public. c) Whether the parties involved were not only wasting the tax payer’s money of the Bremen Mission Board for far too much on this reconciliation. d) Whether the E.P. Church of Ghana had not been feet dragging at the reconcili- ation table to make time to enhance its position and developed, and only in the end be established as a Church. 278Defenders of the Faith, (Working Document) 1-2. 279Appiah, “Church Properties,” 18. 280The Very Rev. J.Y. Ledo was a former and first moderator of EPCG after the split in 1991. 71 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh e) Whether the E.P. Church of Ghana’s hands were not being tied behind to enable E.P. Church of Ghana to throw deadly blows to its head.281 According to the former Moderator, these issues were raised because of some state- ments and developments in the life of the E.P. Church of Ghana. For instance, the Mod- erator, the Rt. Rev. E.K. Amenyedu of the E.P. Church of Ghana is reported to have said in his keynote address delivered at the 52nd Synod that: This reconciliation does not necessarily include putting our administration un- der one roof… We are grateful to God for the progress made by the many dis- placed members for the provision of temporal structures for worship and other activities. However, we feel the time has come to encourage you to build or upgrade your places of worship and start new structures for schools and other needs of the congregation (…).282 The former Moderator, Rev. Ledo, noted that the above quotations were enough evi- dence to prove that the E.P. Church of Ghana was heading towards establishing itself as a separate church. For this reason, Rev. Ledo saw no reason why one should continue wasting resources on the reconciliation. The concluding words of his letter were that: … to this end, I am saying as the head of the E.P. Church, Ghana, the Christian Council of Ghana should come out with a realistic statement on the reconcilia- tion. The Council should be frank in saying the reconciliation cannot succeed. We want to come together as one Church but I have every indication to believe that they do not want any reconciliation and I want you NOT to take this for a 281J.Y. Ledo, “Reconciliation Between E.P. Church, Ghana and E.P. Church of Ghana” (Letter, No. M/CCG/13/93, 1st October, 1993). 282Ledo, “Reconciliation”. 72 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh joke. You should know that “Enough” is “Enough”. Once again we should stop spending the hard Bremen grants in fighting a losing battle.283 It is evident, the dream for reconciliation between the breakaway group and the mother Church was not a reality and consequently it failed. However, the leadership of the two Churches, till date continue to work towards reconciliation and/or peaceful co-existence as we will see at the end of the chapter. 3.9 The Change of Name When it became apparent that the reconciliation was not possible, the mother church saw the need to ask the breakaway group to adopt a new name. The case on the change of name went to court on 14th July, 1994 and judgment was given on 14th January, 2003 in favour of the mother church.284 The arguments made by the mother church were that before the split the EPCG was variously known as E.P Church, Ghana, E.P. Church of Ghana, E.P. Church – Ghana and E.P. Church. To support this point, there was evidence to show that there were foreign accounts that the mother church opened with the fol- lowing names: E.P. Church Ghana in New York, US; and Midland Bank of London in the name of E.P Church of Ghana. Thus the use of E.P. Church of Ghana by the break- away group had been causing confusion in the minds of the general public.285 Furthermore, at Woe in the Volta Region, as a result of the similarity in the name adopted by the breakaway group, the money of the mother church was wrongly credited to the account of the breakaway group’s church. Due to that a pastor of the mother church was issued a cheque, he could not cash because the mother church had no money to meet the payment.286 Also, by the use of the E.P. Church of Ghana, a letter which 283Ledo, “Reconciliation”. 284Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 33. 285Ibid. 286Ibid., 34. 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh was meant for the breakaway group found its way to the Headquarters of the mother Church at Ho instead of Tesano, Accra, the Headquarters and administrative setup of the breakaway group.287 The court ruling, among other things stated that the name ‘E.P. Church, Ghana’ meant and referred to the same thing. It was the Ghana branch of the EPCG which traced its origin to the church founded in 1847 – which until the division of the German Colony of Togoland into English and French mandates existed as one church in what are now the Republic of Togo and the Volta Region of Ghana. It again pointed out that the main purpose of using the word ‘Ghana’ was to distinguish the Church that existed and op- erated mainly in Ghana from its sister church, Eglise Evangelique Presbyterienne du Togo which exists and operates in Togo.288 The judgment further stated that churches work not to make profit but to win souls for Christ and provide facilities for worship and fellowshipping of members. To do this they may need or desire to be clearly identified and differentiated from other churches from whom they differ in doctrine, theology, mode of worship. They need fund to pay priests, build and maintain church premises, run schools, hospitals, and so on. Above all, they need a good reputation and goodwill without which they may not get the mem- bers and resources or assistance they wanted for their work.289 There was an exhibit tended in evidence by the defense counsel showing that some churches in United States of America had identical names, In responding to that the judgment explained: it is possible because in a country like United States of America they are in two different states separated by hundreds of miles or even more than a 287Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 33. 288Ibid., 35. 289Ibid. 74 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh thousand miles. However, in Ghana, only in this case two churches in conflict nation- wide are using an identical name. The judgment concluded that the E.P. Church, Ghana had established a case for an order to restrain the breakaway group from using the names ‘Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana’ or any combination of that name and it is ordered accordingly. Thus by Court Order on 14th January, 2003, the breakaway group known at first as ‘E.P Church of Ghana’ changed its name to Global Evangelical Church. 3.10 The Recent Attempt at Reconciliation The most recent attempt at reconciliation was initiated by the General Assembly Stand- ing Committee (GASC) of EPCG and was approved by the General Assembly. This was done to affirm the church’s commitment to a reconciliation process aimed at arriv- ing at a lasting peaceful coexistence and harmonious relationship with the GEC. Tarlue recorded that: As part of the reconciliation process, the Moderator and other General Assem- bly members of the E.P. Church reportedly constituted a reconciliation commit- tee made up of Rev. Dr. Cyril Fayose, Rev. L.J.K. Dzakpasu and Rev. Dr. E.A. Amey, to oversee the sharing of the properties of the E.P. Church with the Global Evangelical Church.290 The Moderator of the EPCG, the Rt. Rev. Seth Senyo Agidi, confirmed this in an inter- view with the Daily Graphic. But he maintained that the committee was formed by General Assembly to work towards peaceful coexistence and that the church had not withdrawn any of the pending cases from court.291 He explains: “the church’s decision 290Melvin Tarlue, “Bloodbath Looms in E.P. Church,” Daily Guide, 18th August, 2015, 6. 291Seth J. Bokpe, “Moves to Share Properties between EP, Global Evangelical: Generates Controversy,” Daily Graphic, 28th July, 2015, 55. 75 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh to establish a reconciliation committee was not taken by an individual but rather the General Assembly…”292 This was in a response to a question whether the said commit- tee was formed with the knowledge of the General Assembly (GA), the highest decision making body of EPCG or not. What is key to our discussion is that a reconciliation committee is constituted and this generates fresh happenings. This time between the DoF on one hand, the EPCG and GEC on the other hand. Upon hearing the new development, the first happening was an emergency meeting by the DoF on 11th July, 2015 at the Trade Fair Site, Accra. The rationale for the meeting was to plan to stop the reconciliation process initiated by GASC of EPCG. In his wel- come address, the president of the DoF, Mr. F.K. Gobah Tengey – Seddoh, noted that: … another monster has started rearing its ugly head within the church, espe- cially in the SOUTH to ANNEX the E.P. Church for the Global. It is more dan- gerous than the first one. We need your usual support, co-operation and prayers to stop the greedy pastors of a sort who are parading among us talking of ‘Rec- onciliation’, a tricky word to deceive the unsuspecting members of the flock. It is a grand design which deserves our earliest attention and intervention… Let us get on to serious business to strategize to thwart the fruitless efforts of the Leadership in this shady deal they call Reconciliation.293 A few of the 13-Point Resolutions at the meeting, submitted by the DoF to the GASC at the Church’s headquarters in Ho for consideration and action are as follows: a) That the alleged sharing process had never been approved by the entire mem- bership of the GA of the EPCG. 292Bokpe, “Moves to Share Properties,”, 55. 293F.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh, “Words of Welcome at the Meeting of the Defenders of the Faith,” (Man- uscript Collection, 11th July, 2015). 76 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh b) That the DoF wanted to know the relationship between the Reconciliation Com- mittee vis-à-vis the court cases which are pending in court. c) That the affected congregations were neither involved nor consulted in the al- leged sharing of the Church properties. d) That for the sharing of the church properties to be seen to be genuine, authentic and not a ruse or hypocrisy, the sharing should start at the EPCG Headquarters in Ho. e) That the idea of Reconciliation should cease immediately. Explaining that the GEC members are brothers and sisters who left the EPCG to form a new Church to propagate their new faith and doctrine. f) That if nothing was done immediately to stop the sharing process, there might be another bloody clash between the two splinter groups – EPCG and GEC.294 Abbey-Mensah, a member of the DoF, indicated that several attempts to meet the Church Executive (CE) to discuss the aforementioned issues prove futile and this re- sulted into two further events – a press conference on 17th August, 2015 and a court case against EPCG and GEC.295 The DoF has indicated in the press briefing that “it was highly contemptuous for the General Assembly to engage in any reconciliation process when the case is still pending before a court of law”.296 Also, the DoF alleged that “the Moderator of E.P. Church and others pushing for the sharing of the properties might have been bribed by the leader- ship of the GEC for which reason they were taking decisions which were not in the best 294Eddie Ashiagbor, “Moves to Share Properties of Evangelical Presbyterian Church Ghana (EPCG) and Global Evangelical Church (GEC) – A Recipe for Mayhem,” (Manuscript Collection, 17th September, 2015). See also Tarlue, “Bloodbath Looms in E.P. Church,” 6. 295D.A. Abbey-Mensah, Interview granted the Researcher, 5th December, 2015. 296Tarlue, “Bloodbath Looms in E.P. Church,” 6. 77 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh interest of the E.P. Church”.297 The DoF has therefore vowed to embark on a protest march against the reconciliation committee if the reconciliation move was not halted. Generally speaking, the DoF were calling for a stop to the reconciliation process which involves the alleged sharing of church properties between EPCG and GEC. In putting forward their stand, on 19th August, 2015 the DoF filed a Writ of Summons and State- ment of Claim in the High Court of Justice, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana. The suit was filed by the lawyer of the plaintiff, Anthony Anani Kojo Desewu of Desewu Law Consult. The lawyer cited the Moderator, the Clerk and the Presbyter Ex- ecutive of EPCG, Ho as well as the Registered Trustees of the Global Evangelical Church, Accra as the defendants while the plaintiffs were Pr. Emmanuel Danku, EPCG Teshie; Edward Ashiagbor, EPCG Mamprobi; Pr. Simon Tetteh, EPCG, Accra New Town; Pr. Kumassanu, EPCG, Dzelukofe; Pr. Innocent Papa Gobah, EPCG, Dze- lukofe.298 In their Writ of Summons, the Plaintiffs maintained that from all indications the Defendants are determined to unlawfully dispossess the EPCG of its bona fide prop- erties at the mostly affected congregations such as Dzelukofe, Keta, Anloga, Teshie- Nungua, Dabala and Obuasi unless restrained by the court. The Plaintiffs therefore claim against the Defendants the following judicial reliefs: a) An order declaring any purported sharing and disposal of any of the proper- ties of EPCG to the Global Evangelical Church at the instance of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants illegal, null and void. b) An order for the recovery of possession of all properties belonging to the EPCG which have been unlawfully given by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants and their agents to the Global Evangelical Church particularly the chapel 297Tarlue, “Bloodbath Looms in E.P. Church,” 6. 298Presbyter Emmanuel Danku & ORS vs. The Moderator of the EPCG & ORS, No. E1/03/2016 (19th August, 2015); Melvin Tarlue, ‘E.P. Church Sued’ Daily Guide, 22nd August, 2015, 7. 78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and manse at Dzelukofe, Keta, Anloga, Teshie-Nungua, Dabala, Akatsi and Obuasi. c) Perpetual Injunction to restrain the Defendants herein, their and each of their servants, agents, privies and assigns from dealing with the properties of EPCG in any manner whatsoever leading to the giving away of any of the properties of EPCG to the Global Evangelical Church. d) An order of Perpetual Injunction restraining the 4th Defendants, to wit Global Evangelical Church, their and each of their servants, agents, privies and assigns from dealing with the properties of EPCG, to wit the chapels and the manses at Dzelukofe, Keta, Anloga, Teshie-Nungua, Dabala, Akatsi and Obuasi, in any manner whatsoever and from disturbing the quite enjoy- ment of same by the EPCG congregations thereat.299 Akin to the earlier one, the recent reconciliation process is again slowed down, not by a list of conditions but a Writ of Summons. As at the time of the research, the case was still pending before court. 3.11 Conclusion After the declaration of the establishment of a new church by the breakaway group on 8th June, 1991, a number of events unfolded. These events, particularly the ex-commu- nication of leaders and the failure of the earlier reconciliation process from researcher’s perspective confirm the split. It could be recalled that ex-communication letters, signed by the Synod Clerk, the Rev. G.K. Atimpo of EPCG, were sent to the pastors who supported in the establishment of the new administration. The dismissed pastors were asked to handover all church prop- erties to the Synod Clerk or his agent without delay. Following this action, the fight 299Danku vs. Moderator, E1/03/2016. 79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh over church properties such as chapel and pastor’s manse; church cemeteries; church bells; schools; health facilities; lands and farms started. Having noticed the clash between the mother and the breakaway Churches (EPCG and GEC), the Christian Council of Ghana, the Bremen Mission of Germany and Eglise Evangelique du Togo in conjunction with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches formed a joint reconciliation committee. This was meant to re-unite the two factions. However, the reconciliation process failed on the basis of doctrinal differences. The EPCG is Presbyterian by doctrine while the GEC has a Pentecostal form of worship. There was no point of convergence at all in the modes of worship. Having identified and examined the aftermath events of the 8th June, 1991events, the next chapter deals with the effects of the Schism on EPCG. 80 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR THE EFFECTS OF THE 1991 SCHISM 4.1 Introduction This chapter seeks to assess the effects of the Schism on the EPCG. Several undesirable challenges are evident. They include: violent attacks; loss of human resources; decrease in numerical growth and loss of church property. Others are finances; demoralized spir- itual life; search for place of worship and separation of families and communities. In spite of the fact that negative effects were so visible, one could as well trace some op- portunities. It comprises of religious revival; improved financial administration; proper planning and supervision of the Church’s development projects and economic awaken- ing. 4.2 Challenges 4.2.1 Violent Attacks The Schism involved aggressive attacks. This resulted in bloodletting, police arrest or destruction of church property. Some of the violent attacks meted out included: poison- ing; spraying with pepper solution; beating people with logs; and distraction of burial and church services. EPCG Dzelukofe, Saviefe300 Agorkpo and Adafienu episodes are worthy of mention. The series of violent attacks started in EPCG, Dzelukofe in 1990 through to 2008. There was an internal struggle among members of the same congregation when the late Pres- byter, L.Y. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh, read a letter from the EPCG Headquarters to the 300Saviefe District, located in the Ho-West Presbytery of the EPCG has three congregations, namely, Saviefe Agorkpo, Saviefe Gbogame and Saviefe Deme. It has Saviefe Agorkpo as the district headquar- ters. Majority of the districts and/or congregations which were mostly affected by the Schism were lo- cated in the southern sector of Volta Region, Ghana. But Saviefe is one of the mostly affected districts located outside the southern zone. See EPCG Year Book, 2015, pg. 80 for details on Saviefe District. 81 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh congregants on one Sunday. In the said letter, the then BSPF members were restricted from undertaking some of their activities.301 Following this, Fianu reported that some BSPF members attacked, the presbyter, L.Y. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh. This resulted into a scuffle in the chapel which lasted about 45 minutes and finally the late Presbyter was escorted by his brothers and some elders of the church out of the chapel.302 The following Sunday, the District Pastor, the Rev. Toppah and the Catechist of EPCG, Dzelukofe were again prevented from conducting church service in the chapel. The Rev. Amedeka, an ex-communicated minister of the EPCG, was led into the chapel by some of the BSPF members to preach. The situation ended up in total chaos. As a con- sequence, the District Secretary, the late Hope Ocloo, ordered for the closure of the chapel.303 An attempt by some elders of the EPCG, Dzelukofe to bring together the two factions was not fruitful, it rather provoked more severe attacks. This misunderstanding led the presbyters; L.Y. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh, W.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh, F.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh and the choirmaster C.K. Kudjordzi to be poisoned by unknown person (s). Presbyters; L.Y Gobah Tengey-Seddoh and W.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh died. Messrs. F.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh and C.K. Kudjordzi were still alive at the time of the research.304 In a related development, the vehicle of the delegates from the EPCG, Headquarters was smashed with stones. However, they escaped unhurt. This was because, the Divi- sional Commander, Mr. Gray-Mensah instructed some security personnel to rescue the delegates. The mission of the delegates who were attacked was in threefold – to assess 301Dzelukofe “125th Anniversary,” 47. 302Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 36-37. 303Ibid, 37. 304F.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh, “Telephone Interview”, 10th December, 2015; Dzelukofe, “125th Anni- versary,” 49. 82 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the EPCG, Dzelukofe conflict; offer any immediate help; and report to the EPCG Synod Committee in Ho.305 After this attack, there was a misunderstanding that arose in 1992 which led to police arrest. It was about the burial of the late presbyter L.Y. Gobah Tengey – Seddoh. Some of the chiefs in Dzelukofe would not allow the burial of the late presbyter to take place in the town. It was reported that in the midst of the misunderstanding, the Roman Cath- olic Church (RCC) at Dzelukofe offered its support for the burial. Mr. Edward Dartey and Mr. Besa Ahedor were the leaders of the RCC Choir. On their return from the wake keeping of the deceased presbyter, the two leaders were arrested by the police for play- ing a key role in the funeral and burial rite which was not supposed to have taken place at Dzelukofe. The two were later released.306 Furthermore, the Catechist of EPCG, Dzelukofe, R.D. K. Kpodo was knocked down by a car in 1994 and he died as a result of the attack. Ledo believed that the attack was influenced by some members of the BSPF at Dzelukofe.307 The attack took place at the entrance to Mr. Hope Ocloo’s residence at Dzelukofe. It occurred when the Catechist was going to meet Rev. F.C.K. Tettevi, EPCG Dzelukofe pastor, to arrange for Sunday church service. The driver of the car escaped. 308 On 1st October, 1995, there was another violent attack. The Rev. F.C.K. Tettevi initiated a reconciliation process by arranging for a joint communion service between the then mother church and the breakaway church. Although the idea of the joint service was received with mix feeling, especially by the members of the mother church, there was 305Dinah Abbey-Mensah, Interview granted the researcher, 5th December, 2015. See also Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 36-41. 306Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 36-41. 307J.Y. Ledo, Interview granted the researcher, 25th January, 2016; Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary,” 47 - 49; and Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 38. 308Ibid. 83 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh no option than to accept it. Unfortunately, the service turned into bloodletting. People who were believed to be hired by members of the breakaway group attacked members of the mother church with truncheons and pepper solutions in a container.309 The people who were left in a pool of blood after sustaining various degrees of injuries in the chapel were: 1) Rev. F.C.K. Tettevi 2) Pr. F.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh 3) Pr. W.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh 4) Mr. Dickson Sapey-Adabla 5) Mr. Lawrence Kumasenu 6) Mr. Shine Katsekpor 7) Pr. Albert Fiawornu 8) Mr. Mawunyo Dzikunu 9) Mr. S. X. T. Tetekpli Attipoe 10) Mr. George Ashiagbor 11) Mad. Victoria Hormenu 12) Pr. Grace Vanderpuye-Gobah 13) Mad. Agnes Dzikunu 14) Mad. Charity Dosavi310 309Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 38-39. 310Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary,” 48; Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 39. 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh They were conveyed to the Keta Government Hospital, for treatment, treated and dis- charged.311 These are some of the sad events that took place particularly in EPCG, Dze- lukofe. In Saviefe Agorkpo, the attack was between the breakaway group on one side, the mother Church and EPCG Headquarters delegates on the other. The Rev. S.D.K. Dumevi was the resident pastor at Saviefe Agorkpo during the conflict. At a revival in Saviefe Deme, he publicly announced that EPCG Saviefe District was now under the new administration with the headquarters in Accra. The announcement created mix reactions. Some church elders, who were not in favour of the announcement reported to the EPCG Headquarters in Ho to intervene. It was when the headquarters delegates from Ho arrived in Saviefe Agorkpo that they were attacked by the breakaway group. Fortunately, there were no casualties.312 In the same form, some members of the mother Church mounted an attack to prevent Rev. Buama from entering the pastor’s manse with his belongings. Rev. Buama was posted to Saviefe Agorkpo in 1995 by then E.P. Church of Ghana to replace Rev. S.D.K. Dumevi. It was reported that some members of the seceded Church returned the attack using cutlasses and logs.313 In the process, a number of windows of the mission house were removed and destroyed. But with police intervention, this unpleasant incident was halted and Rev. Buama was finally allowed into the pastor’s manse. 311Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary,” 48 312Suzy Agbo, Interview granted the researcher, 7th January, 2016. 313Ibid. 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The under listed members of the mother Church were arrested and sent to the Anyirawase Police Station. They were released the same day after they had given their statement. They were: 1) Suzy Agbo 2) Nelson Dzansi 3) Nathaniel Adom 4) Grace Ketse (deceased) 5) Seth Anyomi (deceased catechist) 6) Jonathan Tsakpoe 7) Daniel Dzansi 8) Senyo Adedze 9) Japhet Dandzo314 Additionally, at Adafienu, on 7th July 1991, a Southern Presbytery Rally of the Christian Youth Builders (CYB) of the breakaway church was conducted amidst misunderstand- ing and it led to abrupt closure of the rally. It all started when the Rev. E.K. Amenyedu was invited to deliver the sermon at the rally. However, a team of pastors led by Rev. L.J.K. Dzakpasu arrived from Ho to prevent Rev. E.K. Amenyedu from officiating. This made the youth at the rally very aggressive and they attacked the team members. It took the police hard work and warming shots to save the team from further violent attacks.315 314Suzy Agbo, Interview granted the researcher, 7th January, 2016. 315Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana, “Facts About the Current Developments,” 3. 86 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Apart from the EPCG Dzelukofe, Saviefe Agorkpo and Adafienu incidents, similar vi- olent attacks occurred in EPCG congregations at Keta316, Anloga317, Woe318, Anyako319 and Amakom.320 4.2.2 Family and Community Life The violent attacks did not only have negative effects on human lives and property. Family and community lives were also affected. Families and communities got divided and hostility had become entrenched in some people.321 For example, in Saviefe Agorkpo, two biological brothers separated and did not talk to one another till their demise. They were the late Jonathan Dandzo and Siegward Dan- dzo. Jonathan was with the breakaway Church whereas Siegward with the mother Church. The division came as a result of the Schism related fight where Jonathan at- tacked his brother with a log. Siegward’s wrist was dislocated during the incident.322 Again, Agbo indicated that the Saviefe Agorkpo community had a divided front be- cause of the two splinter groups. The followers of one group would not take instructions from the other. This affected the communal spirit and development in general.323 4.2.3 Human Resources Like any other human institutions, EPCG before the split had the requisite personnel to spear- head its affairs. At the 47th Synod in 1988, the Synod Committee and Internal 316Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Keta, “150th + 8 Anniversary Celebrations”, 19 – 22; Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 41. 317Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Anloga, “A Centenary History: 1906 – 2006,” 43; Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 48. 318Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 45. 319Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Anyako, “150th Anniversary Celebration: 1857 – 2007,” 23-27; Fi- anu, E.P. Church Crisis, 53. 320Fianu, E.P. Church Crisis, 55; Crisis in Amakom E.P. Church, 15 – 18. 321Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 147. 322Suzy Agbo, Interview granted the researcher, 7th January, 2016. 323Ibid. 87 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Audit Unit of EPCG believed that EPCG was blessed with man-power resource and recommended that these persons ought to be equipped so as to take charge of the various departments of the church.324 Unfortunately, this recommendation was not fully imple- mented before the split in 1991. It could be recalled that the Schism led to the loss of human lives and ex-communica- tion of some members (mostly pastors) of the mother church. Besides, some members voluntarily left the EPCG to join the new church. Consequently, the human resource of the mother church had been negatively affected since church agents were also part of the seceded group. Obviously, this would bring about decrease in ‘man-power re- sources’ of EPCG. Next, is an example to show how the Schism had negatively affected the man-power resources of the church. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, the number of EPCG ministers in active service was one hundred and ten (110).325 It was indicated that after the split, twenty (20) of these min- isters left and joined the then E.P. Church of Ghana, representing 18% decrease in the total number of pastors in the EPCG. The ministers were made up of the seventeen (17) who were dismissed from membership of the church326; and the remaining three (3) were among the signatories to the 8th June, 1991 press release.327 To add to the challenges of the Schism, Morny observed, the split was not only evident in the ‘number’ of church agents that left the EPCG. Also, the absence of majority of the proactive members; and the potential leaders was felt after the early years of the 324Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, “47th Synod: Agenda and Report”, 1988, A7-A25, 147. 325Evangelical Presbyterian Church, “38th Synod: Agenda and Reports”, 1979, 134. 326G.K. Atimpo, “To All Who it May Concern”, (Letter, 18th July, 1991, 2-3). 327Refer to Chapter three subtitles: 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 for details. See also Fianu, E.P. Church, Crisis, 22-29. Record was not easy to get to tell the number of ministers in active service at the particular time of the split (i.e. 1988 – 1991). 88 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh split. He explained that the BSPF members in EPCG Amakom, for example, were fre- quently given the opportunity to play active roles – reading of scripture lessons; leading of Bible Studies; conducting church services; preaching the word of God and so on. For this reason, majority of its members became very active, dominated church activities, and occupied several positions. The absence of such members, according to Morny, greatly affected the Amakom church.328 Despite the loss of human resource, the EPCG is steadily gaining grounds. There is effective recruitment drive in this regard.329 Morny’s claim could be true taking into consideration the statistics of ministers in active service after the Schism. For example, within a ten-year period (1996-2006), twenty- four (24) new ministers have been recruited.330 From 2007 to 2015, the church has trained one hundred and twenty-one (121) more ministers, hence a total of three hun- dred and eight (308) ministers as at 2015.331 But it could be seen that in the 90’s EPCG did not recruit more pastors, possibly because the Schism related issues were still very rife. Even though the Schism had adverse effects on the church’s man-power resources; it continues to record a rise in the recruitment of personnel. This includes pastors and other church agents such as Catechists and church musicians. For this reason, more vacant positions created by the succession of personnel are now being occupied. 4.2.4 Numerical Growth This section of the study aims to describe how the Schism has negatively affected the quantitative growth of the identified congregations of the EPCG. 328Interview with Morny. 329Ibid. 330Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, “Church Calendar, Lectionary & Records,” 1996, 90-96; Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, “Church Calendar, Lectionary & Records”, 2006, 65-70. 331Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Year Book, 2015, 109-135. 89 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh To start with, the Schism had an effect on EPCG, Dzelukofe congregation in terms of membership. With over one thousand (1000) members332 before the split, the congre- gation as at 2015 had a total membership of two hundred and eighty-seven (287) com- prising adults, youth and children.333 EPCG congregations in Anloga, Keta and Saviefe Gbogame have also recorded decrease in membership. At Anloga, the resident pastor, Rev. V.E. Otitiaku, was one of the leaders for the splinted group and, as a result he “compulsorily led almost all the members of the church to his side…”334 Nonetheless, there were few members who stood firm and re- mained in the EPCG. They were led by the Presbyters G.S.S. Tamakloe and C.M. Manyo.335 During the research, the membership of EPCG, Anloga was one hundred and seventeen (117) including adults and children as against over three thousand (3000) membership before the Schism.336 Rev. D.K. Deku, the District Minister at the time of the study explained that out of the one hundred and seventeen (117), sixty-five (65) were adult membership. The Rev. E.K. Amenyedu was the Parish Pastor of EPCG, Keta at the time of the Schism and the leader of the breakaway group. For this reason, majority of members remained resolute under his leadership.337 The Keta congregation which started with 332Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary,” 50. The present membership of the Dzelukofe congregation has been the effort of the few twenty-two (22) who started afresh after the split. They were: Mad. Gladys Tay, Pr. Alice Amevuvor, Pr. Innocent Gobah, Mr. Leaonard Gobah, Mr. Freeman Gobah, Pr. Magrette Dzo- dzobu, Pr. Dickson Sapey-Adabla, Mrs. Perfect Gobah, The late Pr. L.Y. Gobah, Pr. F.K. Gobah Tengey, Mr. Timothy Gobah , Pr. W.K. Gobah – the late, Mr. George Ashiagbor, Mr. Mawunyo Dzikunu, Mr. Dumeda Edward – the late, Mad. Doisavi Charity- the late, Mr. Katsekpor Shine, Mad. Helen Sappey- Adobla, Mr. Xorlali Gobah, Rev. F. Tettevi, Cat. R.D. K Kpodo, Cat. Joyce Kpormego. 333Year Book, 2015, 60. 334J.N.K. Fianu, Interview granted the researcher, 10th December, 2015; See also EPCG Anloga, Cen- tenary History, 43. 335EPCG Anloga, Centenary History, 43. 336Interview with Deku; Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, “Church Calendar, Lectionary & Rec- ords”, 1997, 60; 337E.P. Church, Keta, “150+8 Anniversary Celebrations”, 2011, 21-22. 90 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh seven (7) Christians in May, 1853 rose to seven thousand (7000) members in the 80’s.338 But after the split, only nine (9) members remained in the mother Church.339 However, the membership is steadily increasing. The Keta congregation currently has a member- ship of one hundred and eighty-nine (189) adults and ninety-one (91) children.340 EPCG, Amakom in Kumasi suffered similar decrease in membership. On 24th May, 1991, a meeting was held at South Labadi in Accra. At the meeting a press release was issued splitting up the EPCG into independent congregations. According to the loyal- ists341 of the delegates whose names appeared on the press release, as many as 40% were Presbyters from EPCG, Amakom Session.342 A similar meeting was held on 8th June, 1991 followed by a release. Amongst the signatories were the same Amakom Session member delegates. This implies that 40% of the leaders alone in Amakom left the Church. Also, of the eight (8) National Leaders of the BSPF who had been ex- communicated, six (6) were the top hierarchies of the EPCG, Amakom congregation.343 The eight (8) ex-communicated National Leaders of the BSPF were: a) Dr. N.D. Sodzi b) Mr. O.K. Atubra c) Mrs. Christine Doe d) Dr. E.K. Kpordze e) Mr. Edem Tettey f) Dr. V.K. Kpodo 338E.P. Church, Keta, “150+8 Anniversary Celebrations”, 22. 339Ibid., 21. 340Year Book, 2015, 61. 341It is a five-member group in EPCG, Amakom in Kumasi. They were the people who wanted to protect the Reformed Tradition of EPCG particularly in Amakom. They always uphold the stand of EPCG’S Synod Committee. 342W.L.S. Morny & Others, “Amakom Evangelical Presbyterian Church Affairs,” (Letter, 18th June, 1991). 343W.L.S. Morny & Others, “Amakom E.P. Church Session Rumpus,” (Letter, 24th September, 1990). 91 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh g) Mr. R.K. Adosrako h) Mr. Doe-Kpordzikoklo.344 Furthermore, on 9th July, 1992, barely a year after the Schism, one hundred and one (101) youth of the EPCG in Ho jointly signed a letter – declaring their association with E.P. Church of Ghana. They also registered a protest against the renewed agreement by the Bremen Mission Board to support EPCG.345 They were associated with four (4) congregations of the breakaway Church. They included: a) E.P. Church of Ghana, Kabakaba Hill Chapel, Ho b) E.P. Church of Ghana, Ebenezer Chapel, Ho c) E.P. Church of Ghana, Fiave Chapel, Ho d) E.P. Church of Ghana, Mawuli Estate Chapel, Ho346 4.2.5 Church Property The EPCG lost some of its properties – church buildings, such as pastor’s residences; church cemeteries; church bells; schools; health facilities; lands and farms. The main properties affected included chapels, pastors’ residence and church lands. These prop- erties were either destroyed during violent attacks or occupied by the breakaway group or there was a court injunction restricting its use. In some cases, it was taken over by the breakaway church. Anyako, Dzelukofe, Amakom, and Saviefe Gbogame congrega- tions were for the most part affected in this regard. In Anyako, the pastor’s residence was occupied for close to six (6) years after the split as a result of the misunderstanding between the two factions. The Rev. F.A.K. Mamattah, the first Parish Pastor of the EPCG after the Schism was posted to Anyako 344Atimpo, “Decision and Implementation,” 1991. 345Divine K. Amanieh & Others, “Letter of Protest,” (Letter, 9th July, 1992). 346Ibid. 92 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh on 1st May, 1997.347 His personal properties were placed in the vestry of the chapel for four days. This was because the pastor’s manse was occupied by the pastor of the break- away church.348 With regard to the EPCG Anyako chapel, the breakaway church filed a writ for an interim injunction restricting the mother church from using it. However, this was over ruled and the mother church continued to worship in the chapel. At EPCG Dzelukofe, it was a judicial fight between the two factions on the establishment of the true ownership of the chapel. At that time, the chapel was occupied by the E.P. Church of Ghana. As a result of the struggle in court in 1996, a judgment was passed stopping both parties from using the chapel temporally. The judgment was passed by then Justice Abada of Denu High Court in the Volta Region.349 The aim of the interim injunction was to put a stop to the fight over the chapel while the law court continues to establish the true owner. The case is still pending before court. The same can be said about EPCG, Amakom. The Ashanti Regional Security Council (RESEC) directed that EPCG Chapel in Amakom be locked. There was also a ban on the use of the two storey mission house and two vehicles – Datsun 120Y Salon Car with registration number VR 2829 and a 70 – Seater Neoplan Bus.350 The breakaway Church disregarded the directive. The Interim Management Committee (IMC) of EPCG Ama- kom wrote a letter to the RESEC Chairperson. Part of the content of the letter can be outlined as follows: Following the closure of the E.P. Church chapel at Amakom, you clearly stated that: 347Anyako, “125th Anniversary,” 25-27. 348Ibid, 25. 349Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary,” 48-49. 350J.K. Djokoto, “The Aftermath of the Closure of the Amakom E.P. Church Chapel – Kumasi,” ( Letter, 22nd July, 1991). 93 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The resident Pastor and the Catechist should remain in the apartments they oc- cupied before the closure. That all other apartments and offices should not be used by any faction, the breakaway group led by the Catechist has disregarded your directive. He, the catechist, has not only moved from his basement apart- ment to one of the prohibited apartments but also has brought one Mr. Francis Agboda to occupy the basement he moved from. These acts and other provoca- tive acts committed by the breakaway group since the closure was communi- cated to you for redress vide our letters dated 12th September, 1991 and 25th November, 1991. Unfortunately however, no action has been taken by RESEC so far. This “inaction” of RESEC appears to have given the breakaway group, the license to further commit acts in total disregard of your directive.351 The closure of the Amakom chapel, according to Djokoto, had resulted in rapid deteri- oration of properties in the building. For this reason, on 5th December, 1992, a request was sent to the Divisional Commander of Police, Zongo Police Station, Kumasi, to do a clean-up in the chapel under his supervision. This request was sent by a cross section of the breakaway group but they could not confirm if the request was granted or not.352 What is important to this part of the discussion is that Church members were prevented from using their own properties because of the Schism. For more information on the aftermath of the closure of the EPCG, Amakom chapel, see appendices D and E. It could be seen from the discussion so far that EPCG properties, especially chapels, had either been closed by court order or occupied by the breakaway group and some of the mostly affected congregations are still without chapel. Some of these groups have resorted to worshiping in classrooms while others in the homes of individual. For ex- 351Secretary, Interim Management Committee, “Further Dangerous Development in the Misuse of E.P. Church Mission House Amakom,” (Letter, 20th November, 1992). 352J.K. Djokoto, “Cleaning of Chapel,” (Letter, 5th December, 1992). 94 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ample, EPCG congregations in Anyako, Dzelukofe, Anloga, Keta and Saviefe Gbo- game suffered the consequence of the actions of the breakaway group and some con- tinue to search for a place of worship.353 In Dzelukofe, for example, …the Church after the incident had it very tough to secure a place for worship as the entire E.P. Church premises including the school compound had been occupied by the breakaway faction unlawfully. The Church during these periods had moved through places like Gobah Tengey Seddoh family house, Keta Senior High Tech- nical School Dining hall, Keta E.P. old site and the Magazine- Educhorgbo. Be- tween 1991 and 2008 the church has just been relocating from one place to the other in search for a place of worship.354 EPCG Saviefe Gbogame and Anloga worship in the classroom as at 2015. Ironically, the chapels were being occupied by the now GEC. Saviefe Gbogame is building a new chapel355 while Anloga is still in court fighting for its chapel.356 Once chapels had been closed; or occupied by the seceded group, obviously, church activities of the mother Church either came to a halt or were interrupted. This inevitably demoralized congre- gants. Some members have even backslid. A case in point is Dzelukofe where the Rev. O.K. Pida had to win back some of these backsliders to the mother Church.357 4.2.6 Financial Resources In relation to revenue, Bremen Mission’s withdrawal of its financial support had ad- versely affected the EPCG. At the start of the EPCG conflict (i.e.1988), grants from overseas form over 70% of the Church’s annual income. In 1989, for instance, the total 353Anyako, “125th Anniversary,” 24; Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary,” 47-49; Keta, “150+8 Anniversary,” 21; Anloga, “Centenary History,” 43. 354Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary,” 47. 355Interview with Agbo. 356Interview with Deku. 357Dzelukofe, “125th Anniversary,” 50. 95 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh annual income received from both presbyteries and oversea partners was ¢106,841,004 (GH¢10,684.10). Out of the total income, ¢27,024,341 (GH¢ 2,702.43) was received from the presbyteries representing 25.3% whilst ¢79,816,663 (GH¢7, 981.67) was re- ceived from overseas representing 74.7% of the annual income. Taking into consideration only the oversea grants received in 1989, Bremen Mission’s support to EPCG amounted to ¢74, 700, 00 (GH¢ 7, 4470.00) which represented 93.6% of the annual income.358 Now, Bremen Mission’s decision could mean that EPCG, after the Schism recorded over 90% decrease in overseas grants. This forms a very huge reduction in income. Perhaps, this explains why the Youth Groups in the EPCG were not happy of the economic sanction against the Church.359 In a letter addressed to the Synod Committee of EPCG, the National Leaders of the Youth Groups mentioned that: We are more surprised by the fact that the first move by our partners towards reconciliation was to apply economic sanction against the Mother Church. That, however, is not for us to comment on. One thing that we the Youth have stood for and will ever defend is that WE ARE PRESBYTERIANS and must remain Presbyterian. When our Ghanaian forefathers received the faith from the Ger- man forefathers it was not based on condition that the German gave them mon- etary grant. Therefore, German money is not to decide for us whether we should remain Presbyterian or turn Pentecostal.360 It is interesting to note that by June, 1992, the Bremen Mission had agreed to continue to extend its financial support to the EPCG. But, this agreement was protested against by the youth of the breakaway group.361 The latter believed that: 358Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, “49th Synod Minutes”, (22nd – 26th August, 1990), 61. 359C.F.K Kakotse, “Reconciliation with the Breakaway Members of the E.P. Church”, (Paper, 22nd No- vember, 1991) 360Kakotse, “Reconciliation”. 361Amanieh & Others, “A Letter of Protest”. 96 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The E.P. Church, Ghana had been using money received from the Bremen Mis- sion to harass the adherents of the truth. Such harassments came to an abrupt halt with the receipt of a letter…from the Bremen Mission suspending all finan- cial means to them. The renewed agreement by the Bremen Mission Board to release an amount DM 51.237,77 to the E.P. Church, Ghana vide letter dated 26th June, 1992, to us, is intended to strengthen their hands again against the E.P. Church of Ghana. We are surprised by this action as it has revealed a ten- dency of inconsistency on the part of the Bremen Mission Board.362 Although Bremen Mission did not pay attention to the protest by the youth, its reaffir- mation of financial partnership came with difficulty on the part of EPCG. This was because, for the effective management of the grants, Bremen Mission resorted to send- ing the money either via Eglise Evangelical Presbyterienne du Togo (EEPT) or Chris- tian Council of Ghana (CCG). The decision was reached with the aim that these churches/institutions could supervise the disbursement of the grant. This arrangement continued till the time confidence and trust was restored in the EPCG. Hence, payments were made directly to the EPCG.363 Likewise, the Church of Scotland took a decision to reduce its financial support to the EPCG by 50%. With this, the remaining percentage was directed to the then E.P. Church of Ghana. In his term of office as Moderator of EPCG, Ledo noted, for example, that in 1993, 500 Euros was supposed to be given to EPCG. But it was later shared equally among the two churches – EPCG and GEC.364 There were other negative financial issues in Anloga and Dzelukofe. Before the Schism, EPCG Dzelukofe was noted for its regular monetary support to the Head Office in terms of payment of assessment. But after the Schism the situation changed. It had to appeal 362Amanieh & Others, “A Letter of Protest”. 363J.Y. Ledo, Interview granted the researcher, 25th January, 2016. 364Interview with Ledo. 97 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh for funds from individuals, session members and church unions to run its activities. According to EPCG Dzelukofe anniversary brochure, the Church at the time of the cri- sis: …made passionate appeal to HQ, Pr. F. K. Gobah Tengey Seddoh, Session members and the church Welfare Union for financial assistance…The HQ has donated so far GH¢200.00; Pr. F.K. Gobah Tengey Seddoh has given the church a soft loan of GH¢4,200.00 the Church Welfare Union donated GH¢3,120.00. All session members were levied to donate GH¢200.00 each. The church is most grateful to these donors.365 With the EPCG, Anloga, Deku explained; out of the sixty-five (65) adult membership, majority are still pensioners and this was affecting the financial stand of the congrega- tion. 4.3 Opportunities It is an undeniable fact that the 1991 Schism had recorded enormous adverse effect on the EPCG. Nevertheless, one could still trace some positive effects. In the first place, a number of EPCG congregations in the post-Schism era had intensified Bible Studies and discussions. The EPCG, now, organizes retreats, fasting, healing, deliverance and prayer meeting regularly for spiritual growth of its members. This time, both the clergy and laity are involved in these spiritual activities. The Church, to some extent, had de- veloped the attitude of tolerance towards Pentecostal/charismatic related groups and/or activities without compromising its biblical basis and truth. These Pentecostal renewal groups are being controlled and monitored.366 365Dzelukofe, “125 Anniversary,” 27. 366Interview with Morny. 98 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Furthermore, “to overhaul the Church’s administration”367 in general and finances in particular, an evaluation exercise was done in the late 1993 and early 1994 by a con- sultant from Sierra Leone. In collaboration with the local experts, the consultant con- ducted an evaluation of the Church and reported to the Synod Committee.368 The status of the accounting department of the church had been upgraded to that of a Chief Accountant with a qualified staff.369 These steps had helped in the restructuring of the church headquarters in Ho and made the financial administration of the church more effective and cost-effective. The withdrawal of Bremen Mission financial support had also led to self sustainability. The first step taken was to establish ‘Foundation Fund’ for the EPCG.370 At the 51st Synod, held at Ho on 19th – 23rd, August, 1992, the church resolved: That the E.P. Church should establish a Foundation Fund to be known as “The Evangelical Presbyterian, Ghana Foundation Fund… That other economic ven- tures geared towards making the Church financially independent be embarked upon.371 In compliance of the Synod decision, EPCG congregations at Gbi Wegbe, Dzalele, Peki Blengo and Kadjebi embarked upon kente weaving, cassava processing, palm oil and soap making, and gari processing respectively.372 Presently, the Church has two invest- ment funds – Moderator’s Investment fund and Congregational Sustainable Investment fund. To some extent, the Bremen Mission’s financial withdrawal had become an eye- opener EPCG to rely on its own resources. 367Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 147-148. 368Interview with Ledo. 369Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, “5th Synod Report”, (22nd – 27th August), 1995. 370Interview with Ledo. 371“Major Decisions”, 6. 372Atakro, “The Emergence and Development of the Constitution,” 165. 99 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Furthermore, the Schism had motivated some members of the mother Church to support development projects, especially chapels. It is on record that over fifty (50) chapels which were under construction before the split were completed during an 8-year period (1992-2000). The current EPCG Ho-Kpodzi Chapel is an example. It was completed and roofed during the period of the crisis. EPCG Klefe, Sokode Gborgame, Bolga, Wa, Saviefe Agorkpo and Tamale were some of the places where chapel projects were com- pleted at the time of the Schism.373 For example, in Saviefe Agorkpo, Dzidula Masiku374 solely financed the construction of the present chapel being occupied by the mother Church.375 In relation to the development projects, in the early 1990s, “a partner-coordinator was invited from the Bremen Mission to collaborate with Ghanaian counterparts in planning and supervision of the Church’s development projects.”376 This was to make sure that development projects of the Church were well planned, supervised and properly regis- tered. Lastly, according to Ansre, the Church had “jolted out of its complacency.”377 In the past, and even now, “there are indications that the church’s administrators, both con- gregational and synodical, are heeding more the ordinary member’s point of view” than it used to be378 4.4 Conclusion Indeed, the Schism in 1991 – it’s preceding and aftermath events had wreaked havoc and disaffection in the EPCG. Due to the violent attacks human lives were lost, some 373Interview with Ledo. 374He is now a Reverend Minister of the EPCG. 375Interview with Agbo 376Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 148. 377Ibid. 378Ibid., 147. 100 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh committed members were injured; church properties were destroyed. More so, some families and communities had been separated. Unfriendliness became rooted in some people. We have also noticed that there was ex-communication of some members of the mother Church while others voluntarily left the EPCG to join the new Church. As a result, the human resource of the mother Church had been negatively affected. Despite the fact that the schism had adverse effects on the Church’s human resources; it was stated that the Church continues to record a rise in the recruitment of personnel. This recruitment drive was not for pastors only, other church agents such as Catechists, Evangelists and Church musicians were recruited. This made it possible for the Church to fill the vacant positions created by the secession of personnel. The breaking off of a large section of the mother Church has also led to decrease in membership. Quite a lot of church properties – especially pastor’s residence; chapels; and vehicles were either destroyed during violent attacks; occupied by the breakaway group; or an injunction from the court restricting the use of the properties. In some cases, it was taken over by the breakaway Church. The withdrawal of the Bremen Mission’s finan- cial support had also affected the national Church. The mostly affected congregations suffered similar financial difficulty. However, a number of positive effects were also identified. Bible Study, fasting, prayer, healing, deliverance sections were intensified. Both the clergy and the laity were in- volved in these spiritual activities. The schism with its associated monetary constraints led to the establishment of the ‘foundation fund’ for EPCG. It helped the Church to restructure its administrative set up both at national and local levels. 101 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Summary In the mid-forties through to the early nineties, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) had experienced six (6) conflicts and divisions. Among them, the schism in 1991 is considered the greatest and the effects seem to be still present. The study therefore investigated the effects of the 1991 Schism on the EPCG from 1992 – 2015. The Schism was selected for the study based on the fact that it was the greatest of all the schisms that occurred in the EPCG (1942 – 1991) for the number of members involved and its effects. The study had adopted the historical approach to recount, analyze and interpret the events surrounding the 1991 Schism of the EPCG. It explored the historical antecedents that led to the 8th June, 1991 Schism. The past events were evaluated to arrive at the effects of the Schism on EPCG. In order to give an account of how Pentecostal/Charis- matic spiritualities contributed to the Schism; and to show the effects of the Schism, the historical method made use of the primary and secondary sources. Information was gathered from documents such as church records, court records and/or judgments, ex- communication letters or papers, manuscripts, anniversary brochures, newspapers, and synod reports/minutes. Published books, theses, long essays, journal articles were also reviewed. For the purpose of verifying the information collected from archive docu- ments, a few people were interviewed. Chapter two discussed the historical development of EPCG from its establishment to the 1991 Schism. EPCG is as a result of the missionary efforts of the North German 102 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Mission Society (NGMS) founded in Germany on 11th April, 1836. During their mis- sionary activities, the NGMS was supported by some indigenous people. This explained why missionary activity continued with the indigenous leaders when the Bremen mis- sionaries left. Some notable indigenous leaders were Rev. Andreas Aku, Rev. Robert Domingo Baëta and Rev. Stephen Kwami. The study explained that since its establishment, EPCG experienced six (6) different conflicts and divisions. The year of the splits and the seceded churches are shown in the table as follows: Table 2: The conflicts and divisions in the EPCG. S/N YEAR OF SPLIT SECEDED CHURCH 1 1945 Apostle Revelation Society 2 1954 Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Buem Krachi 3 1960 White Cross Society 4 1961 the Lord’s Pentecostal Church 5 1964 Christ Evangelical Mission 6 1991 Global Evangelical Church It has been indicated that the schisms in 1945, 1954, 1960, 1961 and 1964 either in- volved only one or few congregations in a given locality. But the 1991 schism affected many congregations nationwide. Furthermore, the chapter analyzed the events that pro- voked the 1991 schism. The misunderstanding between church leadership and BSPF members as noted originated from the Pentecostal/Charismatic Renewal group repre- sented by the BSPF of EPCG. This misunderstanding brought about three main issues 103 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh – financial, constitutional and theological. But, the Appeal Court ruling on 23rd May, 1991 and the three press conferences were identified as the immediate happenings that led to the split in 1991. The third chapter focused on the outcome of the 8th June, 1991 event – the constitution of a new Church, the formation of the committee of investigation, the fight over church properties, attempts at reconciliation, failure of the reconciliation process and change of name. Following the announcement of the installation a new church, EPCG leader- ship, in a press conference, noted that the CM and RG have no constitutional right to declare congregations autonomous. Also, the call by the CM and RG that all congrega- tions should consider themselves independent was without basis and should be avoided. The chapter evaluated the contribution of the committee of investigation constituted by the Synod Committee of EPCG. The committee investigated the conduct of the signa- tories to the 8th June, 1991 press release. The recommendations submitted by the com- mittee among others, included the dismissal of pastors who were either signatories to the press release or who had supported it. Consequently, on 17th July, 1991, dismissal letters were sent to the affected persons. The legal fight over church assets between EPCG and GEC was also discussed in the third chapter. In many cases, congregations where the resident pastors were those dis- missed, took possession of all (or majority) church properties and vice versa. The main properties under contention were church buildings – chapel, pastors’ manse; church cemeteries; church bells; lands and farms. There were several reconciliation attempts by the Christian Council of Ghana, Bremen Mission of Germany, Eglise Evangelique Presbyterienne du Togo and Ghana Catholic Bishop’s Conference (GCBC). It had been explained that these Christian organizations 104 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and/or churches, except the GCBC, made the reconciliation attempt in conjunction with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (now WCRC). Later, the Volta Regional House of Chiefs added its voice to the call for reconciliation between the mother and the breakaway Churches. However, when it became obvious that reconciliation was not possible the mother Church saw the need to ask the breakaway group to adopt a new name. Before the split on 8th June, 1991, the mother Church was variously known as: ‘E.P. Church’, ‘E.P. Church of Ghana’, ‘E.P. Church, Ghana’ and ‘E.P. Church – Ghana’. Therefore, the continuous use of these names by the seceded group would still refer to the mother Church. As a result, the change of name issue went to court on 14th July, 2003 and judgment was given on 14th January, 2003. Hence, the new name Global Evangelical Church (GEC) was adopted by the breakaway group. Finally, the chapter analyzed the most recent attempt at reconciliation started by the GASC of EPCG. The aim was not necessarily to reunite the splinter groups but rather, to arrive at a lasting peaceful coexistence and harmonious relationship. Unfortunately, the process generated controversy between EPCG and GEC on one hand and DoF on the other. On 19th August, 2015, the DoF filed a writ of summons in the High Court of Justice, Ho. To a large extent, the DoF wanted the court to stop the reconciliation pro- cess. Chapter four evaluated the consequences of the Schism from the EPCG perspective, enlightening both the challenges and the potentialities. There were series of violent at- tacks on people. The attacks included poisoning; spraying with pepper solution; beating people with logs; and distraction of burial and church services. These series of attacks led to the loss of human lives, separation of families, and search of place of worship. 105 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh For example, some personalities who were poisoned were the presbyters; L.Y Gobah Tengey-Seddoh and W.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh who died. The presbyters F.K. Gobah Tengey-Seddoh and C.K. Kudjordzi survived the attack. Again, at Saviefe Agorkpo, two biological brothers (Jonathan Dandzo and Siegward Dandzo) separated and did not talk to one another till both of them died. The Anyako, Dzelukofe, Amakom, and Saviefe Gbogame EPCG congregations for the most part lost their church properties. Due to this, there was a search for a place of worship by some of these congregations. Some of them resorted to worshiping in class- rooms while others in the homes of individuals. The EPCG congregations in Saviefe Gbogame and Anloga worshiped in the classroom while the chapels were been occu- pied by the GEC. The chapter further explored the withdrawal of Bremen Mission financial support and its negative impact on the financial resources of the EPCG. Similarly, the Church of Scotland took a decision to reduce its financial support to EPCG by 50%. It implied that the remaining percentage was directed to the then E.P. Church of Ghana. Some local congregations of EPCG, especially, Anloga and Dzelukofe were affected financially, and had to appeal for financial support from individuals, session members and church unions so as to meet their financial obligations. The study pointed out that the decrease in human resource and numerical growth of the EPCG were a result of the Schism. The division, among others had brought about three adverse occurrences: loss of human lives; ex-communication of pastors; and a section of members who voluntarily left to join the breakaway church. These occurrences, ad- versely affected the man-power resources and the quantitative growth of the EPCG. 106 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A final aspect highlighted in the fourth chapter of the study was the opportunities gen- erated by the Schism. There was religious revival and/or an awakening in several EPCG congregations. Bible studies, retreats and revival programmes have been inten- sified. It was noted that fasting and prayer is now organized regularly. The Schism brought some innovations in relation to the finances of EPCG. In reacting to the withdrawal of the overseas financial support, the EPCG leadership has taken steps to generate funds to take care of its administrative expenses and the payment of wages. There was the establishment of ‘Foundation Fund’; and the church has embarked on economic ventures to generate resources. In recent times, the church had also created the ‘Moderator’s Investment Fund (MIF)’ and ‘Congregational Sus- tainable Investment Fund (CSIF)’. In effect, the church is working out a comprehensive financial independence programme. Furthermore, the EPCG conducted an evaluation exercise. Mr. Kenneth Kawa, a Sierra Leonean was invited for the evaluation. This exercise helped in restructuring of the administrative set up of the national church. In addition, the financial administration of the church also became cost-effective as a result of the exercise. The women desk has been created at the headquarters to cater for all women in the church. As a result of the Schism, individual members were motivated to made financial donations to support development projects. To some extent, the Schism could be said to be an eye-opener for EPCG. 5.2 Conclusion The study aimed at investigating the 1991 Schism of the EPCG. The study looked at the effects of the Schism from the EPCG perspective. The findings of the study are obvious. 107 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In the first place, the study has revealed that the 1991 Schism was as a result of a mis- understanding between EPCG leadership and BSPF members. The BSPF started in EPCG, Kumasi-Amakom as a Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal movement in 1978. The beliefs and practices of the BSPF were seen by EPCG leadership as a deviation from the presbyterian and reformed tradition of the EPCG. So, church leadership wanted to protect its tradition but the BSPF members would not allow it because they consider these beliefs and practices as being biblical. The attitude and stand of the BSPF vis-a- vis that of the leadership of the church resurfaced three main issues: financial misman- agement; constitutional (i.e. re-election of the late Dzobo to the third of office); and theological (i.e. the Meleagbe Theology of Dzobo).379 Besides, sixteen (16) EPCG congregations380 have been identified as those that were mostly affected by the Schism. Out of the total number, the study showed that ten (10) congregations (representing 62.5%) are located in the same area. Geographically, the communities/congregations are found in the southern part of the Volta Region, Ghana.381 This was attributed to the fact that majority of the members of the BSPF hailed from the southern sector of the Volta Region, Ghana, as such, the BSPF was very vibrant in the south. Appendix G shows the mostly affected communities on a map of Ghana in three categories – communities in the South of Volta Region; other parts of Volta Region and other parts of Ghana. In addition, the study found out that the split could have been avoided but for two main happenings – the Appeal Court ruling and the subsequent press conferences. It could be 379Refer to chapter two (2.4) for details on the three main issues. 380The mostly affected congregations identified were EPCG at Anyako, Adafienu, Dabala, Keta, Woe, Dzelukofe, Akatsi, Adidome, Anloga, Agbozume, Obuasi, Teshie Nungua, Ho-Fiave, Saviefe Gbogame, Saviefe Agorkpo, and Amakom. 381In the organizational structure of the EPCG, the ten congregations are situated in the ‘Southern’ and ‘South-Volta’ Presbyteries 108 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh recalled that on 23rd May, 1991, there was a judgment upholding an appeal filed by the late Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo at the Court of Appeal in Accra. By this judgment, EPCG and Dzobo had been vindicated from the accusation leveled against them by BSPF members under the leadership of Mr. James Kwesi Agbeblewu.382 Following the ruling came three press conferences which could be said to be the immediate cause of the split. There were two press conferences by the CM and RG of the BSPF and one by EPCG leadership. It was at the second press conference of the CM and RG on 8th June, 1991 that the formation of the new church administration was announced.383 More so, after the split, several reconciliation attempts were initiated by the Christian churches and/or institutions as well as Volta Regional House of Chiefs. However, these reconciliation processes were a wild goose chase. Above all, doctrinal difference is cited as the failure of the reconciliation process, the study has established. This is be- cause the breakaway church wanted re-organization of the mode of worship while the mother church wanted to maintain its presbyterian and reformed traditions. In view of this, the study indicated that the two churches saw no need in calling for an organiza- tional structure. If anything at all, then, it should be a call for peaceful co-existence rather than reconciliation. Besides, the study revealed that the approach and slow pace at which the CCG was facilitating the process is another factor that contributed to the failure of the reconciliation. The study again observed that the 1991 Schism was different from all the schisms which had ever occurred in the EPCG since its establishment. For instance, the earlier schisms either involved one or few congregations in a particular district but for the 1991 schism, 382Refer to Chapter two (2.5.1) for details on the Appeal Court Ruling. 383Refer to Chapter two (2.5.2) for details on the three press conferences. 109 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh it manifested nationally. To a larger extent it was the schism that emanated from a re- newal group rather than an individual. Also, the study underscored that the schism in 1991 was the only one that involved constitutional issues. 5.3 Recommendations From the foregoing discussion, the following pastoral and academic recommendations are made: a) That a study on the effects of the 1991 Schism on GEC would unearth the Church’s version of the occurrences. This is because this study illustrates only the perspective of EPCG, thus giving a partial reading of the events. b) That a comparative study of the effects of the 1991 Schism on both EPCG and GEC would largely contribute to the ongoing academic discourse. This study has also brought to the fore some pertinent issues that the EPCG may need to address in order to prevent, or at least, minimize future conflicts and divisions that are prevalent in the Church. It for this reason that the following pastoral recommenda- tions are made: It has been made clear in chapter two and re-echoed in the conclusion that the conflict leading to the 1991 schism originated from Pentecostal/Charismatic renewal movement in the EPCG represented by the BSPF. Although EPCG is presbyterian in practice, the researcher recommends that the church should create space for individuals or group of people who show signs of Pentecostal/Charismatic characteristics. What EPCG ought to do is to accept, monitor and control individuals or groups which exhibit these Pente- costal/Charismatic traits. 110 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In the monitoring and controlling process, the biblical truth and the church’s presbyter- ian and reform traditions must not be compromised. The researcher, therefore, agrees with Ansre when he stated that the church, “… should respect what is Christ-like in our African tradition but should not glorify all and everything of it. At the same time, it must not be flooded by the excessive demonology which has become the hallmark of today’s Pop-African Christianity”.384 Additionally, it was noted that for the past 24 years, some members of the mostly af- fected congregations of the EPCG had been going to court over the true ownership of church properties between the breakaway and the mother church. At the time of the research, Dzelukofe, Anloga, Dabala and Obuasi congregations were some of those cases. For over two decades, the chapel at Dzelukofe, for example, is locked under court order. Some of the church properties in the chapel have almost deteriorated. The EPCG and GEC, are still fighting for the ownership of the said properties in the affected congre- gations. A ruling in favour of one party is likely to generate conflict. For the reason that the loser may not also easily let go the properties under contention. In this regard, the researcher recommends: a) That possible step should be taken to withdraw all property issues pending be- fore court. Leadership of both Churches should work towards an out of court arbitration. By so doing, it would speed up the arbitration process. It would also prevent any further deterioration of church properties in locked chapels. b) A possible sharing of the church properties in contention. This is because, be- fore the split both churches had jointly acquired it. For instance, at Anloga, the 384Ansre, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 148. 111 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh GEC at the time of the research worships in the chapel which both churches had built. It could be true that the GEC might have added more of its resources by way of renovating the chapel. Now, is it possible for the GEC to easily let go the property? Perhaps, no. c) That the leadership of both Churches must visit their respective mostly affected congregations. The congregants must be made to understand that it is long over- due and there is a need to smoke the peace pipe. The fight over church property must be a thing of the past for Christians to unite in pursuance of the Church’s mission. 112 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh BIBLIOGRAPHY Agbeti, J. Kofi. West African Church History: Christian Missions and Church Foun- dations: 1482-1919. Leiden: E.J. 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Which of the following do you think is the main cause of the Schism?  The issue of the Bible Study and Prayer Fellowship.  The issue of financial administration of the EPCG.  The constitutional matters of the EPCG.  The Melagbe Theology of the late Very Rev. Prof. N.K. Dzobo. 2. Can you please give reason (s) for your choice? 3. Apart from the aforementioned causes, do you know of any other causes of the Schism? 4. Will you say that Pentecostal/Charismatic spiritualities represented in the BSPF contributed to the Schism? 5. Can you please give reason (s) for your answer? Effects of the Schism 1. Do you think the Schism have an effect on the lives of individual members and the EPCG at large? 2. If yes, what are the effects on the following:  Human Resource  Financial Resource  Land as a Resource 118 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh  Any other Physical Resource  Individual members  Social Services (Education, Healthcare Delivery, Agricultural Ventures)  Numerical Growth 3. Do you know of any other area of effect? 4. Do you know of any positive effect of the Schism on EPCG? General Comment (s) Do you have any general comment relevant for the study? 119 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Appendix B: Notification about the Dismissal of some Pastors of the EPCG. 120 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 121 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Appendix C: The list of Members of the Reconciliation Committee Constituted by CCG. 122 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 123 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Appendix D: The Aftermath of the Closure of the EPCG, Amakom Chapel 124 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Appendix E: The Cleaning of the EPCG, Amakom Chapel 125 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Appendix F: Location of the mostly Affected Communities/Congregations. 126