contributed enormously to the community’s development through

the roles played by its alumni in society. Besides this, the study has
also recommended some other pertinent areas for further study and
research. William Wadé Harris
Full-text available: http://hdl.handle.net/10500/20035

Prophet-Evangelist of West Africa

An Original Biography from the Dictionary of African

Journal of African Christian Biography

32
The Journal of African Christian Biography was launched in 2016 The Contribution and Influence of the Seventh-Day Adventist
to complement and make stories from the on-line Dictionary of Church in the Development of Post-secondary Education in
African Christian Biography (www.DACB.org) more readily accessible South Nyanza, 1971-2000. by Eric Nyankanga Maangi.
and immediately useful in African congregations and classrooms. University of South Africa (UNISA), 2014.
Abstract: This study discusses the contribution and influence
Published in monthly installments with an annual cumulative of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church to the development of
volume available on line, the JACB is intended to promote the post- secondary education in South Nyanza, Kenya. This has been
research, publication, and use of African Christian biography within done by focusing on the establishment and development of
Africa by serving as an academically credible but publically Kamagambo and Nyanchwa Adventist colleges whose history from
accessible source of information on Christianity across the continent. 1971 to 2000 has been documented. This is a historical study which
has utilized both the primary and secondary source of data.
All editorial correspondence should be directed to: [email protected] For better and clear insights into this topic, the study starts
and [email protected]. by discussing the coming of Christian missionaries to Africa. The
missionaries who came to Africa introduced western education. The
Editor: Jonathan Bonk origin of the SDA church to Africa has also been documented. The
Associate Editors: Dana Robert, Lamin Sanneh SDA church was formed as a result of the Christian evangelical
Managing Editor: Michele Sigg revivals in Europe. This called for the Christians to base their faith
Book Notes Editor: Beth Restrick on the Bible. As people read various prophecies in the Bible, they
thought that what they read was to be fulfilled in their lifetime.
Contributing Editors: From the 1830s to the 1840s preachers and lay people from widely
Gabriel Leonard Allen different denominations United States of America around William
James N. Amanze Miller (1782-1849). This led to the establishment of the SDA
Deji Isaac Ayegboyin Church in 1844.
Priscille Djomhoue The study focuses on the coming of the SDA Missionaries to
Edison Muhindo Kalengyo South-Nyanza. The efforts of the SDA missionaries to introduce
Jean-Claude Loba Mkole Western education in the said area, an endeavor which started at
Madipoane Masenya Gendia in 1906 has been discussed. From Gendia they established
Jesse Mugambi Wire mission and Kenyadoto mission in 1909. In 1912 Kamagambo
Philomena Njeri Mwaura and Nyanchwa, the subject of this study became mission and
Paul Nchoji Nkwi educational centers. As was the case with other missionaries who
Thomas Oduro evangelized South Nyanza, the SDA mission took the education of
Evangelos E. M. Thiani Africans as one of the most important goals for the process of
African evangelization. The Adventist message penetrated the
people of South Nyanza through their educational work. The first
conversions can be ascribed to the desire for the education which
accompanied the new religion.
Kamagambo Adventist College became the first college in
South Nyanza. Equally, Nyanchwa became the first college in the
Gusii part of South Nyanza. The two colleges exercised a great
influence on the local community especially in the socio-economic
and educational fields. At the same time the colleges have also
2 31
the present. Challenging conventional, colonial divisions of Africa, A William Wadé Harris, Prophet-Evangelist of West Africa:
New History of African Christian Thought demonstrates that important His Life, Message, Praxis, Heritage, and Legacy
continuities exist across the continent. Chapters written by
specialists in African Christian thought reflect the issues―both Dictionary of African Christian Biography (www.DACB.org)
ancient and modern―in which Christian Africa has impacted the Journal of African Christian Biography
shape of Christian belief from the beginning of the movement up to Volume 1, Number 5 (Oct. 2016)
the present day." (Barnes & Noble)
This issue of the Journal of African Christian Biography focuses on
Noll, Mark A. and Carolyn Nystrom. Clouds of witnesses: William Wadé Harris (c. 1860 to 1929), a tireless evangelist who
Christian voices from Africa and Asia. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP walked barefoot and preached Jesus Christ in the streets, churches,
Books, 2011. $18.75 ISBN-13: 978-0830838349 and sacred groves of numerous littoral settlements in Liberia, Côte
"In seventeen narratives Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom d’Ivoire, the Gold Coast (now Ghana), and Sierra Leone.
introduce Christian leaders in Africa and Asia who had tenacious Accompanied by female choral singers—Helen Valentine and Mary
faith in the midst of deprivation, suffering and conflict. Spanning a Pioka, initially, and later Grace Tani (Thannie) and others—Harris
century, from the 1880s to the 1980s, their stories demonstrate the declared the kerygma or the proclamation of the message of Jesus
vitality of the Christian faith in a diversity of contexts..." (Amazon) Christ to nonbelievers throughout West Africa, reaching perhaps as
many as 200,000 people. The extraordinary success of his successive
Doctoral Theses evangelization journeys can at least partially be explained by his
locally-contextualized methods (using song, rhythm, and dance,
healing, exorcism, and demonstrations of power) and his message,
Francophone Churches in the Cities of Johannesburg and which boiled down the gospel to a few simple elements that were
Pretoria (Tshwane): A Missiological Perspective. By Athas easy to remember, to teach, and to practice. He sealed and marked
Cibangu Mpinga. University of South Africa (UNISA), 2014. thousands with Trinitarian baptism. Harris considered the voice of
Abstract: This thesis is a missiological study of the the Angel Gabriel his constant companion for guidance and a
francophone churches in the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. personification of the Holy Spirit.
Francophone churches may be classified as African Initiated On Sunday, July 27, 1913, Harris embarked on an inaugural
Churches (AIC) that have been planted by migrants from the French evangelical missionary journey that took him from Liberia to Ghana.
speaking countries of central Africa. They are characterized by the If we were to trace his route on a modern map of Africa, his journey
use of French and English as languages of worship and would have led him, on foot, through the present southern
communication. The planting and the presence of these churches coastlands of the administrative regions of Côte d’Ivoire: Bas
have become a more visible and remarkable mission phenomenon Sassandra, Sud Bandama, Lagunes, Agneby and Sud Comoe, and the
drawing scientific attention and is worthy of studying. western region of Ghana. Three more evangelical missionary
The main issue of this study is the missionality of the journeys followed (1917-1918, 1919, and 1921) taking him from
Francophone churches. The investigation concerns the ways in Liberia to Sierra Leone and back. Within Harris’ operational zone,
which Francophone churches understand the mission of God, known defined as the 1,000-km littoral corridor of the four nations
as missio Dei, and the ways in which they express it in the mentioned above, he planted Christian communities everywhere—
community. In practice, the exploration of the missionality of the more densely located in Côte d’Ivoire and the Gold Coast, and
Francophone churches discloses their nature, raison d’être, and their sparsely distributed within Sierra Leone and his home country of
purpose, as well as their ministries, and allows us to determine the Liberia.
relevancy of these churches in the community. Harris preached his message and non-conventional praxis in
Available full-text: http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18901 a pluralistic religious context composed of dominant manifestations
30 3
of African Traditional Religions (ATR), peaceful folk Islam and Augustine of Hippo (354-430), African leaders who continue to
occasionally displaced by sometimes violent reformist Islam, and a be celebrated and remembered today.” (Amazon)
sparse but significant mix of competitive denominational
Christianity. Levine, Roger S. A Living Man from Africa: Jan Tzatzoe, Xhosa
By the start of World War I (1914 to 1918), Harris had Chief and Missionary, and the Making of Nineteenth-century
made his reputation and was pulling in huge crowds day and night. South Africa. [Series: New Directions in Narrative History].
ATR priests and priestesses were being defeated in spiritual contests New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press, 2011. $30.00 ISBN-
held within their home shrines. Roman Catholic priests and 13: 978-0300198294
Wesleyan Methodist ministers were expressing foreboding. More “Born into a Xhosa royal family around 1792 in South
ominously, the French colonial authorities were plotting and Africa, Jan Tzatzoe was destined to live in an era of profound change
nervously following his every move. Lieutenant Governor Gabriel - one that witnessed the arrival and entrenchment of European
Angoulvant of the colony of Côte d’Ivoire, under the direct authority colonialism. This title reclaims Tzatzoe's lost story and analyzes his
of the overall administrator of French West Africa, William Ponty of contributions to, and experiences with, the turbulent colonial world.”
Sénégal, agreed to stop Harris. Between December 1914 and July (Amazon)
1915, the authorities pounced: Harris and his women singers were
arrested in Côte d’Ivoire, imprisoned, and severely beaten before Mwenda, Ntarangwi. The Street Is My Pulpit Hip Hop and
being expelled to Liberia. Christianity in Kenya. Urbana; Chicago; Springfield: University
In 1926, a decade after Harris’ expulsion, in an International of Illinois Press, 2016. $25.00. ISBN-13: 978-0252081552
Missionary Council that met in Le Zoute, Belgium, Edwin Smith
“To some, Christianity and hip hop seem antithetical. Not so
recognized Harris as “Africa’s most successful evangelist.” This
in Kenya. There, the music of Julius Owino, aka Juliani, blends faith
acknowledgment heightened global interest in the importance and
and beats into a potent hip hop gospel aimed at a youth culture
impact of this new movement. It was soon discovered that there was
hungry for answers spiritual, material, and otherwise. Mwenda
none other like it. In the absence of external monetary assistance,
Ntarangwi explores the Kenyan hip hop scene through the lens of
evangelism had flourished in West Africa. In their report titled
Juliani's life and career. A born-again Christian, Juliani produces
Religion and Civilization in West Africa: A Missionary Survey of French,
work highlighting the tensions between hip hop's forceful self-
Spanish and Portuguese West Africa and Liberia (1931), authors J. J. expression and a pious approach to public life, even while contesting
Cooksey and Alexander McLeish, two of the earliest foreign the basic presumptions of both. In The Street Is My Pulpit, Ntarangwi
researchers on the scene, affirmed that Harris’ mission was indeed forges an uncommon collaboration with his subject that offers
“different from the conventional work of Christian missions,” and insights into Juliani's art and goals even as Ntarangwi explores his
that the man Harris “stood before the people, not as one sent by any own religious experience and subjective identity as an ethnographer.
society or backed by European prestige, but as ‘a man sent from What emerges is an original contribution to the scholarship on hip
God’ with a message for his people; and his people listened and
hop's global impact and a passionate study of the music's role in
obeyed” (p.65). It also became evident to many that Harris had
shaping new ways of being Christian in Africa." (Amazon)
broadcast a universal and ecumenical brand of Christianity which
encouraged his converts to join any nearby Traditional Western
Mission Church (TWMC). His generosity resulted in a huge Ngong, David (editor). A New History of African Christian
windfall of catechumens in Roman Catholic churches, Methodist Thought: From Cape to Cairo. New York, NY: Routledge.
churches, Anglican churches, and many other Protestant churches. (Forthcoming 2017) ISBN-13: 9780415857567
Those who were unwilling to join these TWMCs, or who were "David Ngong offers a comprehensive view of African
perhaps refused access to them, flocked to Harrist churches, Twelve Christian thought that includes North Africa in antiquity as well as
Apostles Churches, and their several self-propagated daughter Sub-Saharan Africa from the period of colonial missionary activity to
4 29
 Recent Print and Digital Resources Related to churches. The edifices of the Harris movement were do-it-yourself
mud-blocks with thatched-roofed abatons (local huts). Gradually,
Christianity in Africa these were continually upgraded into modern structures through
member-led community projects. Invariably, the edifices were
Catron, John W., Embracing Protestantism: Black Identities in located within domestic compounds and built purposely for
the Atlantic World. University Press of Florida, 2016. $74.95. community worship and catechesis. A vast number of churches
ISBN-13: 978-0813061634 resulted. Church leadership was ensured by a locally-appointed body
“In Embracing Protestantism, John Catron argues that people of twelve apostles and one preacher for the Sunday service.
of African descent in America who adopted Protestant Christianity The success of the Harris movement to operate and self-
during the eighteenth century did not become African Americans propagate, independently and with amazing efficacy, attracted envy
but instead assumed more fluid Atlantic-African identities. America in some quarters. Soon, an unholy alliance developed between the
was then the land of slavery and white supremacy, where citizenship French authorities and TWMCs, all bent on frustrating the progress
and economic mobility were off-limits to most people of color. In of the Harris movement. Many abaton communities were subjected
contrast, the Atlantic World offered access to the growing to persecution, dismemberment, and TWMC “grabbing” activities.
abolitionist movement in Europe. Some abatons were indeed pulled down completely while others were
Catron examines how the wider Atlantic World allowed burned to the ground. In his book, Harris et la Chrétienté en Côte
membership in transatlantic evangelical churches that gave people of d’Ivoire (1989), E. Amos Djoro, has provided sample data about the
color unprecedented power in their local congregations and contact situation among the Ebrie ethnic group around Abidjan in 1925. Out
with black Christians in West and Central Africa. It also channeled of 19 Harrist congregations, eleven (55%) became Methodist, seven
inspiration from the large black churches then developing in the (35%) turned Roman Catholic, and only two (10%) remained Harrist
Caribbean and from black missionaries. Unlike deracinated creoles (p.55). Cooksey and McLeish reported that by 1931, at least 160
who attempted to merge with white culture, people of color who Harrist churches in Côte d’Ivoire and the Gold Coast alone had
became Protestants were “Atlantic Africans,” who used multiple opted to or were forced to join the Wesleyan Mission (p. 66).
religious traditions to restore cultural and ethnic connections. And Nevertheless, it is impossible to comprehend the full scale of the
this religious heterogeneity was a critically important way black Harris movement in those early years, we can only speculate.
Anglophone Christians resisted slavery.” (Amazon) The following biography is based on a 2007-2008 research
project that sought to retrace the footsteps of Harris and his
Decret, François. Early Christianity in North Africa. Cambridge ministry team, taking note of what he said and did (Life, Message
James Clarke & Co., 2014. $7.36. ISBN-13: 978-0227173565 and Praxis). The work has attempted to identify relics of his mission
“Martyrs, exegetes, catechumens, and councils enlarge this (Heritage and Legacy) in the form of liturgy, preaching, symbols,
study of North African Christianity, a region often reduced to its sacraments, and testimonies of deliverance and healing. The study
dominant patristic personalities. Smither provides English readers a also proposes to construct a systematic Harrist theology from its
quality translation of an important book that captures the unique findings.
spirit of an invaluable chapter of church history. Along with the Some Harrist communities mark July 27 as an annual Feast
churches located in large Greek cities of the East, the church of Day – la Fête du Déluge (Feast of the Flood). It was just over a
Carthage was particularly significant in the early centuries of century ago, on Sunday July 27, 1913, that Harris set out on that
Christian history. Initially, the Carthaginian church became known epic inaugural evangelical missionary journey (1913-1915). It was a
for its martyrs. Later, the North African church became further definitive response to the three-year-old “trance-visitation
established and unified through the regular councils of its bishops. experience” of May-June 1910 in a cell at Grafton Prison, Liberia. In
Finally, the church gained a reputation for its outstanding leaders, that jail, Harris experienced a call, a conversion, an anointing, a
Tertullian of Carthage (c. 140-220), Cyprian of Carthage (195-258), commissioning, and a personalized imperative lek-leka (“you go”) to
28 5
preach Jesus Christ and to baptize anywhere the Angel Gabriel led Churches of Ghana. Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum Publishing
him. God gave Harris a rich harvest of abundant lives in Jesus House, 2006.
Christ. It is this celebration of new life in Jesus Christ, and not the • Parrinder, Geoffery. West African Religion: A Study of the
death of Harris, which is celebrated on July 27 each year. Someday, Beliefs and Practices of Akan, Ewe, Yoruba, Ibo and Kindred
perhaps, July 27 will be included in the festivals of the depositum fidei Peoples. London: Epworth Press, 1978.
in the calendar of world Christianity. This would be an appropriate • Sanneh, Lamin. West African Christianity: The Religious
global Christian response in recognition of the works of this Impact. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1983.
enigmatic man of God who has been called the Black Elijah, Prophet
• Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church: Christianus sum:
Harris, Apostle Harris, and even Saint Harris!
Christiani nihil alienum puto. Vol. III Part 2: Nicene and Post-
Nicene Christianity: From Constantine the Great to Gregory the
Gabriel Leonard Allen
Great AD311-600. Grand Rapids: WM B Eerdmans Pub.
Banjul, the Gambia
Cp., 1953.
• Schlosser, Katesa. “Propheten in Africa.” Cited in Christian
G. Baeta, Prophetism in Ghana: A Study of Some ‘Spiritual
Churches.’ Achimota: African Christian Press, 1962.
• Shank, David A., abridged by Jocelyn Murray. Prophet
Harris, the “Black Elijah” of West Africa. Leiden: Brill, 1994.
• Smith, Edwin W. S. “The Christian Mission in Africa.”
London and New York: International Missionary Council,
1926, 42
• Wesley, J. “Sermons.” Vol. 5, 106-7. Cited in Exploring
Methodism: The Making of Methodism. Barrie Tabraham, 32.
Peterborough: Epworth Press, 2000.
• World Council of Churches. Baptism Eucharist and Ministry
(BEM) Document. Faith and Order Paper No. 111. Geneva:
World Council of Churches, 1982.

6 27
 • Muslim (27.4%); William Wadé Harris
• Animist (15.3%); c. 1860 to 1929
• Other Religions (2.0%); Harrist Churches / Twelve Apostle Churches / African
Independent Churches
• Atheists (20.7%) and
Côte d’Ivoire / Ghana / Liberia / Sierra Leone
• (Not Declared) (0.7%).
Source: Esso Badou, “RGPH 98, Tome 1: Etat et Structure William Wadé Harris [1], also known as the Black Elijah, Prophet
de la population, INS. 2001: Table 3.5: Répartition (en Harris, or simply the Prophet, was a trailblazer and a new kind of
pourcentage) de la population résidente par région religious personage on the African scene, the first independent
administrative selon la nationalité,” in Joachim Kigbafory- African Christian prophet.
Silue, Côte d’Ivoire, Nation Chrysalide (Abidjan: PUCI, 2005), Harris was born around 1860 in the village of Half-Graway
157. or Glogbale, in the Glebo Territory of Maryland County of the then-
Commonwealth of Liberia. He was born into an interfaith family. His
Select Bibliography: mother, Youde Sie, was a Methodist and his father, Poede Wadé, a
follower of the African Traditional Religion (ATR) of the Glebo
• Allen, Gabriel Leonard. “William Wade Harris (c. 1860- ethnic group. As a child, Harris was introduced early into his father’s
1929): A Life, Message, Praxis and Heritage.” B.D. diss., religion and culture. When civil war threatened between the G’debo
Trinity Theological Seminary, 2008. United Kingdom and the colonist settlers, in Maryland County in
• Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena. African Charismatics: Current 1873, Harris’ maternal uncle and Methodist minister, the Reverend
Developments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in John C. Lowrie, took Harris and his elder brother away to Nimo
Ghana. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, 2005. Country of the Sinoe District where they were rigorously groomed
• Bediako, Kwame. Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of Non- and transformed at home, school, and church. They were taught to
Western Religion. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, read and write in both English and G’debo, taught Christian faith
1995. doctrines, and grounded in the catechetical formations of Methodist
• Cooksey J. J., and Alexander McLeish. Religion and life and practice. Harris also trained to become a stone mason.
Civilization in West Africa: A Missionary Survey of French, Upon returning to the Cape Palmas area, however, Poede
Spanish and Portuguese West Africa and Liberia. London: Wadé withdrew Harris from this Christian setting and re-introduced
World Dominion Press, 1931. him into Glebo ATR practice and culture, including the tradition of
• Djoro, E. Amos. Harris et la Chrétienté en Côte D’Ivoire. going to sea. Harris reported that he went to sea as a common
Abidjan: Les Nouvelles Editions Africaines C.I., 1989. laborer on four occasions. Upon his final return in 1882, Harris
received a call to preach on the occasion of a sermon by the
• McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction. Reverend E. W. Thompson of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. (MEC) at Cape Palmas. Harris admitted that it was the first time he
• Methodist Church Great Britain. The Methodist Service Book. converted. Shortly thereafter, he was lured by brighter financial
London: Methodist Publishing House, 1975. prospects at a neighboring Protestant Episcopal Church (PEC)
• Mission Biblique Harriste No.1 Côte D’Ivoire. MBH1CI under settler Bishop Samuel Ferguson (1885-1912). There Harris
Association Cultuelle: Statuts et Règlement Intérieur. Abidjan: received the sacrament of confirmation and became a full member.
MBH1CI, 2005. Three years later (c.1885 to 1886) he married Rose Bedo Wlede Farr
• Omenyo, Cephas N. Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism: A Study in a church solemnized matrimony.
of the Development of Charismatic Renewal in the Mainline As a young man, Harris sought new religious identities.
First, he studied Russelite or Jehovah’s Witness tracts which
26 7
emphasized millennialism and Christian eschatology. Second, Harris e. If the preacher is either the Prédicateur Suprême or the
was attracted to the anti-colonialist position of his Glebo family Prédicateur Supérieur, the individual concerned holds his
member, the Reverend S. W. Seton. He was a Russelite ordained cross of cane.
minister of the PEC, who became a politician, an education f. If the preacher is either the Prédicateur Chef or the
commissioner, and a judge. Seton founded an Independent African Prédicateur or the Prédicateur Auxiliaire, the individual
Church called The African Evangelical Church of Christ (AECC) concerned holds his kaftan.
which allowed polygamy. Third, Harris was interested in a West- g. The Preacher, with the Bible in the one hand and the cup
Indian born Presbyterian minister, writer, and academic by the name of water in the other, responds with a Baptismal Prayer
of Rev. Dr. Edward Blyden. Blyden became a politician and a
diplomat who advocated that African Christianity show respect for Dieu, Nous te demandons de laver ton serviteur
the polygamous family and felt that faith ought to be preached based comme ton fils Jésus a été baptisé par Jean Baptiste dans
le Jourdain.
on the model of Islam with African culture serving as a background. Que ton esprit saint demeure en lui et chasse tout ce qui ne
Trained by the PEC to be a schoolmaster, a catechist, an l’honore pas en lui
evangelist, and an ecclesiastical “knight in armor,” Harris fought afin qu’il soit véritablement ton fils/ fille.
several battles for both tribe and church, including that of the (Gracious God. We are asking you to wash your
decisive Battle of Cavalla (1893 to 1896). By the end of 1907, Harris servant
was at the zenith of a golden period. He was, simultaneously, the as your Son Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist
in the Jordan.
master of the boarding school, a PEC appointed lay reader, a Glebo May your Holy Spirit dwell in him /her and drive
court interpreter, and the secretary of the Glebo peoples. He earned away all which does not honor you
at least $400 per year. However, he was implicated in the 1908 Until he truly becomes your son/ daughter) (My
Translation)
national unrest, and by June 1908, he had lost his two lucrative jobs
as schoolmaster and court interpreter. Immediately afterwards, his
h. The Preacher pours water on the head of the baptized,
license as a lay reader was also revoked.
three times.
Fuming, Harris replaced a Liberian flag with a Union Jack
i. The Preacher traces the sign of the cross with his finger
flag on a flagpole at Puduke Beach on February 13, 1909, causing
on the forehead of the baptized.
him to be accused of taking part in an abortive coup d’état. Harris was j. The Preacher taps the Bible, three times, on the head of
then arrested and tried for treason. Being found guilty, he received a the Baptized
two-year suspended sentence with fines. When civil war broke out k. The Choir rounds up with a hymn.
again in the Cape Palmas area in January 1910 between the l. The Preacher empties the rest of the water in the cup on
Nyomowe–Glebo and the American-Liberian settlers, Harris was re- the ground, reverently, during one continuous pour.
arrested and imprisoned at Graton Prison. Here, in May and June of Source: Liturgie du Baptême (Liturgy of Baptism), cited in
1910, he had a supernatural spiritual experience in the form of an
Allen, Appendix iv, 1 of 1
almost indescribable “trance-visitation.” It had a powerful effect on
6. In data released in 2001 on all who were resident in Côte
Harris. He broke-free, irrevocably, from Glebo ATR demon worship.
d’Ivoire, the religious demography was:
A Christian interpretation of this “trance-visitation” is that Harris
received the spiritual light of prevenient grace; he was divinely • Catholic (20.7%);
operated upon and this gave him the experience of feeling right with • Protestant (8.2%);
God by receiving justifying grace. He was anointed, commissioned, • Harriste (1.6%)
and tasked with the cooperative sanctifying grace to spread the • Other Christian (3.4%)
message of salvation in Jesus Christ through the preventive act of • Total Christian (33.9%);
baptism.
8 25
 1.0 CALL TO WORSHIP On a Sunday July 27, 1913, three years after the “trance-
An Invocation: visitation” experience, Harris embarked on his first evangelical
We begin this service in the name of the Father, the Son missionary journey (1913-1915). Leaving Cape Palmas on foot,
and the Holy Spirit . accompanied by two women chorus singers, Helen Valentine and
2.0 THE LORD’S PRAYER Mary Pioka, he walked eastwards to the littoral lands of the
3.0 OPENING PRAYER – by a Prophet or Prophetess Lagoons, through the Zana Kingdom up to the Ankobra River in
4.0 OPENING SONG –singing, praying and dancing Appolonia. At Assinie in the Zana Kingdom, former Tano priestess
Kru Songs/ Hausa Songs/ Akan songs with Calabash and converted Grace Tanie or Thannie joined the choral group. This
accompaniment mission had a powerful impact on the lives of some 200,000 people
5.0 HEALING SESSION –held in a special Room for who converted. A new vibrant faith sprang up that created bonds of
Counselling unity among people of different tribes and across colonial borders.
(Clients bring : packet of candles; 1 yard calico; 1 gallon By August 1914, Harris and his expanded team retraced
water; Incense) their steps to Côte d’Ivoire. At some point between January and
Water Divination - viewing 15-20 gallon water April 1915, French colonial authorities resolved that as a
drums precautionary measure they would arrest and deport Harris. They
Spirit Descends quietly escorted him back to his native Liberia, nearly three hundred
Invitation for Consultation miles (approximately five hundred kilometers) away, traveling over
Each worshipper arrives with containers of water land and on river. He was forbidden to return to French soil. Within
Raise the water up and told the future seventeen months, from 1913 to 1915, hundreds of Christian
Drink some of the water communities sprang up. Groups of men and women seeking God
Spiritual Messages received earnestly asked for Christian instruction. His principal effect was
Sick persons healed among the Kwa group of peoples in West Africa. [2] This
Options: A Goat or Sheep is sacrificed inaugurated Harris’ public international ministry (c. 1913 to 1921).
Source: Liturgy: Ordinary Service at Twelve Apostles Church – Three other international missionary journeys followed (1916, 1917,
Upper Axim, Western Ghana, cited in Allen, 53-54. and 1921). However, the first of these journeys will suffice to give
5. Sacrament of Baptism: insight into Harris’ unique message, praxis, heritage, and legacy.
a. An Elder of the church must be told about the intention.
b. The Elder shall inform either the Prédicateur Suprême Harris’ Message: Torahic, Analogical and Christo-
(Supreme Head of the Harrist Church), the Prédicateur Eschatological
Supérieur (Superintendent Preacher of District
equivalent) , the Prédicateur Chef (Senior Preacher of the Torahic
Church equivalent), a Prédicateur (Preacher of the
Church equivalent) or a Prédicateur Auxiliaire (Assistant A torahic message refers to matters pertaining to the Hebrew Torah
Preacher of the Church equivalent). either directly to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) or
c. The Baptismal ceremony could take place before, or indirectly to the six-hundred-plus Jewish Laws found within the
after, any worship service. Torah, or loosely to the whole Jewish Scriptures, a near-equivalent of
d. The parent or guardian bearing the child to be baptized the Christian Old Testament (OT). One Roman Catholic priest, the
in his/her arms, or the individual to be baptized, Reverend Fr. Joseph Gorju of Bingerville and missionary reporters
approaches the Preacher and kneels down. Cooksey and McLeish have reported that Harris called for the
abandonment of fetishes and idols (Exodus 20:3) and for belief in one
unique God (Exodus 20:4).
24 9
 Within Harris’ operational zone, recent research has
unearthed some additional teachings. Mathieu Sedji, a 20th to 21st
century history teacher and choirmaster from Breffedon, relayed by Endnotes:
memory an oral pronouncement which Harris first proclaimed at
Louzoua around August-October of 1913: 1. This biography is an abridged and adapted version of the
author’s B.D. Honors dissertation: Allen, Gabriel Leonard.
Brûlez les fétiches; “William Wade Harris (c. 1860-1929): A Life, Message,
Chassez les démoniennes, les sorceries et les génies;
Allez à l’eglise les dimanches et ne partir pas aux champs! Praxis and Heritage.” B.D. diss., Trinity Theological
Seminary, 2008.
(Burn the fetishes; 2. The Kwa comprises the Kru dialects of Sierra Leone, Liberia
Drive out from your midst demons, sorceries and genies; & La Cote d’Ivoire; the Lagoon Languages of La Cote
Go to church on Sundays and do not go to (your) farms!)
d’Ivoire; and the Akan languages of the Western Gold Coast.
In this torahic oral declaration, Harris urges the spiritual Cooksey and McLeish, 244.
purification of the community and obedience to Sunday Sabbath- 3. The order of service of l’Eglise du Christ-Mission Harrist of
keeping for worship, learning Scriptures, hymns, songs, and prayers. Yaou:
Converts were to emulate and honor the Creator God who “blessed 1) BENEDICTION (The Most Senior Preacher rings the
the Seventh Day (Sabbath) and made it holy” (Genesis 2:3). Bell to commence the service)
2) OPENING PRAYER
Analogical An Invocation:
i. Eternal,
ii. We give you grace and say thank you
Harris’ message was also said to be analogous (άναλογος) or for this moment that you allow.
“analogical in faith” (analogia fidei) to that of 9th c. B.C. prophet iii. You have said in your word that where
two or three meet in your name,
Elijah. These claims were tested in two real-life encounters. Marc iv. You are in their midst.
Nga was an eyewitness of the Harris campaign through the Yaou- v. Come and guide this moment in the
Bonoua Forest of the Aboures in December 1913. Harris challenged name of Jesus Christ.
the priests and priestesses of the twin shrines, of the Gbamanin du 3) OPENING HYMN
Yaou (The Dwarf of Yaou Forest) and Le Serpent à Bonoua qui vomit 4) PRAYER OF INTERCESSION (All on their knees.
l’argent (The Serpent in Bonoua which vomits money). Nga reported Ends with an Amen Song)
that Harris defeated the priests and priestesses on their own home- 5) THE LORD’S PRAYER
turfs, convincing many that Harris’ God was greater. Another eye- 6) SERMON HYMN
witness to these events was Jean Ekra de Bonoua, who with Marc 7) THE GOSPEL
Nga, were both baptized by Harris and became his disciples. Harris’ 8) THE SERMON (Preaching interspersed with shouts)
9) AN ANTHEM - by the Choir
preaching in the forests was analogous (άναλογος) to the Prophet
10) ANNOUNCEMENTS BY AN ELDER (Collection on
Elijah’s challenge posed to the 450 priests of Baal, the 400
Sundays only)
priestesses of Asherah and the crowds: “How long will you waver
11) CLOSING PRAYER
between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is
12) RECESSIONAL HYMN
God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Harris also invited decision-
Source: Liturgy: Ordinary Service at L’Egilse du Christ –
making at the shrines. Just as God gave victory to Elijah, so he did
Mission Harriste du Yaou, District of Grand Bassam, cited in
to Harris over the priests and priestesses of the twin shrines (1
Allen, 52 & Appendix iii.
Kings 18:46).
4. The liturgy of Twelve Apostles Church-Upper Axim:
10 23
resolutions was a crucial decision to encourage the “widespread use Abaka Ernest Foli narrated a modern variant of an
of the vernacular in the Mass instead of Latin.” It will be recalled established Harris tradition concerning the burning of a ship at the
that Harris, at his evangelical capital of Kraffy, had exhorted his port of Grand Bassam on a Sunday when people ignored his
audiences to pray in their own languages. Kraffy is located in the warnings. According to Abaka:
Lagoons. The Harris mother-tongue liturgy and hermeneutics
influence had already penetrated the Roman Catholic Churches and Le deuxième miracle de Grand Bassam:
Un dimanche, les blancs travaillaient les noirs au bateau à (Grand)
other TWMCs well before the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) Bassam.
publicly and officially acknowledged it as most appropriate mode of Il n’était pas d’accord.
propagating the Gospel. Il a prié sur le bateau,
Le bateau a brûlé.
Conclusion (The second miracle in Grand Bassam:
One Sunday, the whites recruited blacks to work a ship in
(Grand) Bassam.
Harris’ message and praxis have been implanted, incubated, He (Harris) did not agree.
fertilized, and cross-fertilized through the hundreds of house He prayed on the ship,
churches or abatons, which were founded and which eventually The ship caught fire).
metamorphosed into Harrist churches, Twelve Apostles Churches,
Disobedience led Harris to rain fire on the ship. In a case which was
Christ Church Beyin, and many others. In addition, the catechumens
“analogical in faith” (analogia fidei). Prophet Elijah had ordered that
sent to the Traditional Western Mission Churches (TWMCs)
fire to rain, twice, on the King Ahaziah’s attacking troops (1 Kings
introduced African songs, shouts, dances, and pneumatological
1:9-12) following a reprimand from Elijah.
experientialism into an otherwise rigid TWMC life and liturgy. The
Harris heritage remains strong within the ambit of the Kwa group of
Christo-eschatological
peoples distributed in Côte d’Ivoire, the Gold Coast (Ghana), Liberia,
Sierra Leone, and beyond. Indirectly, Harris’ legacy in its fluid
African worship patterns is global. The worship expressions of This is some evidence that, from time to time, Harris did broadcast a
Christo-eschatological message. In October and November of 1914,
several charismatic and Pentecostal churches betray traces of the
Harris style. Harris’ message and praxis have permeated large after Harris’ return from the Gold Coast, he settled at Kraffy,
swaths of Christianity. making it his headquarters. Thousands flocked to Kraffy from all
Some Harris churches of Côte d’Ivoire recognize July 27 as directions, quietly, for fear of the colonial authorities. The traditional
the Feast of the Flood (Fête du Déluge) to mark the beginning of that elders of Kraffy were stunned by Harris’ charisma and therefore
enquired: “Are you the great spirit of whom they speak?” To which
epic first evangelical missionary journey (1913-15). Besides the few
Harris pointedly responded in the negative, and then responded with
women chorus singers and the interpreters/ translators who actively
clarity, “I am the man coming in the name of God, and I am going to
participated in his ministry, William Wadé Harris received little or
baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and you
nothing from churches, governments, societies or bankers. Harris
will be a people of God.” Harris repeated the universal baptismal
pursued a missio dei which bore abundant fruit of eternal life in
formula (Matthew 28:18-20), where the “Son” refers to Christ
Christ Jesus. He planted Christian communities where previous
himself.
governments, armies and churches had failed. Perhaps someday, the
A distinguished African Christian scholar, J. Kwabena
Christian calendar will reflect this amazing grace of God wrought
Asamoah-Gyadu, has recently submitted that wherever
through a man of God called the Black Elijah, Prophet Harris,
Pentecostalism emerges the message of the parousia is preached.
Apostle Harris, and Saint Harris!
Asamoah-Gyadu further substantiated that Harris “promised
deliverance, from a future judgment of fire and a time of peace,
Gabriel Leonard Allen
22 11
concord, brotherhood and well-being which was to come with the War I (1914 to 1918) the Roman Catholic Mission then had 23
impending return of Jesus Christ to establish his kingdom.” Several missionaries, and had registered barely 1,100 full members and 400
other Christo-eschatological messages have been reported during catechumens in the whole of Côte d’Ivoire. However, the writer
Harris’ travels which affirmed the supremacy of Christ and conveyed noted that by 1917, the population of Roman Catholic catechumens
apocalyptic warnings against disobedience. had increased to 800; and five years later in 1922, catechumens had
risen, exponentially, to almost 20,000. In Apollonia, in the Western
Harris’ Praxis: Evangelical, Situational–Dispensational, and Gold Coast, it was equally dramatic: “There were only already in
Ecumenical-Participatory 1920, 3,240 members and 15,400 catechumens where there had been
no baptized Catholics in 1914.” It will be recalled that Harris
Harris’ first evangelical missionary journey (1913-1915) enabled launched his first evangelical missionary journey in 1913-1915
three distinct and contingent components of his praxis to be through the same areas where the centers of evangelization had been
systematized: the evangelical, the situational-dispensational, and the established in Côte d’Ivoire and in Apollonia. Only one rational
ecumenical-participatory. Shank’s brilliant scenic narrative is an eye- reason could explain these spiked numerical increases in membership
opener to these habits: over the 1914 to 1922 period – a definite attribute of Harris’ legacy.
Since the end of Harris’ first evangelical missionary journey
They would enter a village playing their calabash rattles and (1913-15), the smaller TWMCs at the time have now become the
singing, dressed in white, and would go to the chief of the greater and the Harris communities that were greater are now the
village to explain their intent. Harris would then preach to
the whole village, usually through an interpreter. He would smaller. In Côte d’Ivoire alone, 11.6% (0.2 million) of the population
invite them to abandon their “idols” and “fetishes”, and was registered within the Harris movement out of a total population
worship the one true God who had brought salvation estimate of 1.6 million in 1926. By the year 2001, however, there
through his Son Jesus Christ. To those who destroyed their
“fetishes” and were baptized, he promised deliverance from were major reversals. The Harris movement accounted for barely
future judgment of fire and a time of peace, concord, 1.6% (0.2 million) of the 11.4 million classified Ivoirians. [6] Besides
brotherhood and well-being which has to come with the bearing the brunt of injustice, the internecine and extended
impending return of Jesus Christ to establish his kingdom.
He taught the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament litigations since the 1930s, between the leaderships of Mission
and the “Our Father” which Christ taught his disciples. He Biblique Harriste No.1 Côte d’Ivoire headquartered at Grand Lahou
instructed them about keeping the Sabbath for worship, not Kpanda and those of l’Eglise du Christ- Mission Harriste whose seat
work, and encouraged them to pray in their own tongues, to
praise God with their own music, changing the words. He is at Bingerville, have further complicated the situation and
often chose leaders, sometimes naming “twelve apostles”, undermined growth of the Harris Movement. It would seem that the
who were to supervise the building of “chapels” from local leaders of Harris churches need to regain the ecumenical and
materials. Sometimes they were told to await white men who
would come with the Bible to teach them more. If there were reconciling spirit of their founder.
missions in the area the people were told to go to those In a second thesis legacy, one asks: How did Harris’
churches, whether Catholic or Protestant. initiatives in mother-tongue liturgy and hermeneutics penetrate
Roman Catholic and other TWMCs? It was standard practice that
Evangelical Praxis up to the early 1960s, worship services in Roman Catholic churches,
globally, were held strictly according to the rites and rubrics of the
Upon entering a village, the chief was greeted first. The team’s mode Latin Gregorian Mass. This was also the case of the Catholic
of greeting was evangelical (gospel-related) in that Jesus Christ churches of the Lagoons, the Zana Kingdom and Apollonia. When
enjoins us to this habit as clearly spelled out in the Matthean text: the Catholic Church convened in Rome the Second Vatican Council
“Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person (1962-65), this was its 21st International Ecumenical Council which
there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, belatedly addressed relationships between the Roman Catholic
give it your greeting” (Matthew 10:11-12; NIV). Church and the modern world. Among its several reconciliation
12 21
 This service is held on Good-Friday only. This sacrament is Harris’ team expressed Christo-African greetings which
meant to symbolize the significance of the passion, death, endeared them to their hosts. Together with female choristers and
and living sacrifice of Jesus Christ. the locally recruited male interpreter(s), they accompanied his
preaching with singing, dancing, and the playing of calabashes.
The Sacrament of Baptism, the Sacrament of Agape Meal at Harris declared the kerygma (κηρυγµα) in the mother-tongue of their
Incarnation, and the Sacrament of Sacrifice are viewed as dominical hosts and never accepted any form of payment except for their
sacred rites by the Harris movement. That of the Sacrament of hospitality. Harris always preceded his evangelism with moments of
Agape Meal at the Fête du Déluge is an ecclesiastical feast dedicated deliverance and healing. Local healers who became converted
to the works of the founder. through Harris were taught to acknowledge Christ as the true
source and giver of their medicinal, psychological, and
Harris’ Legacy pneumatological charismata (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8). His evangelical
style included en masse village repentance and baptisms, and
In the Methodist Church evangelical conversions of priests and priestesses at their respective
shrines. Harris’ evangelical praxis encouraged self-propagation.
Just over a century ago, hundreds of Harris communities were Many converts were allowed freedom to found new congregations or
founded within Harris’ operational zone. It has been documented independent churches, as did Grace Tani of Assinie of Twelve
that some of the Harris communities in the Yaou-Bonoua forests Apostles Churches; and John Swatson of Aboisso of Christ Church
became part of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. One of these is the Beyin churches.
distinguished Temple de St. Espirit de Bonoua of l’Eglise
Méthodiste Unie Côte d’Ivoire (EMUCI) (Methodist Church of Côte Situational-Dispensational Praxis
d’Ivoire) which was rebuilt into a huge cathedral, almost of basilica
proportions, and consecrated in 2005. Written high on the front wall Attire and marriage were situational-dispensational praxis items to
of the sanctuary, embossed in bold red letters, is an apocalyptic Harris. The Harris team was always clad in white. White was, and is,
message: “Je Regardai, et Voici, Une Porte Etait Ouverte Dans le the color of the cassock of Christian priests. White was, and is, the
Ciel’ (Apoc. 4:1) (“I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door” -- color of the Mahomedan or Islamic sheikh. White was, and is, also
Revelation 4:1, RSV). This text-sign falls within the typical Christo- the color of the African Traditional Deyabo priest in Greboland. And
eschatological genre of Harris’ message. The text sign represents the white was, and is, the color of the Adjokuru priests and priestesses of
echo of a dominant Harris preaching. the Tano shrine of the Lagoons.
Marriage is the second component of interest. Harris
In Catholic Churches and other Protestant Churches entered into a monogamous solemnized matrimony with Rose
Bodede Farr at the Protestant Episcopal Church (1885) in Liberia.
Harris’ legacy was measured through his impact on numerical This union produced six children and was only separated by death in
membership of Christians and the influence of his mother-tongue May-June of 1910.
initiatives. From 1893 on, the residing French Protestant Governor During his first evangelical missionary journey, he was
Louis Gustav Binger of the colony of Côte d’Ivoire sent special accompanied by female choristers. Rumor had it that Harris had
invitations to many Christian missions, with assurances of financial several wives. In an interview in 1926, Harris admitted that at Axim,
support and collaboration to establish schools, clinics and churches he had six wives. Harris supported his polygamous situation with
within at least six identified growth centers: (Grand) Bassam, Scripture (Isaiah 4:1). His polygamy began with Helen Valentine and
Moossou, Dabou, Memni, Bonoua, and Assinie and later extended to Mary Pioka; next there was Madame Harris Grace Thannie; third,
Jacqueville (1898), Bingerville (1904), Abidjan (1905), and Abiosso there were three more unidentified wives at Apollonia; and finally,
(1905). E. Amos Djoro observes that just before the start of World there was Letitia Williams of Freetown whom he married in about
20 13
1921. Harris viewed polygamy as an imperfect marriage dispensation The second symbol of worship, the Bible, was normally held
which attracts neither a binding legalism nor an illegalism in opened throughout worship and healing ministry. It is either read to
Christianity (cf. Romans 2:1). On his return journey to Grand Lahou the audience or tapped on the head of baptismal candidates. It is a
Kpanda, Abaka Ernest Foli reported that Harris released a marriage revered source of power. The very utterance of the words of the
maxim there: “Soyez juste, soyez equitable” (“Be just. Be fair”). That is Bible provided healing to the sick and to hearers.
to say, with respect to either a monogamous or polygamous The third liturgical symbol is the Calabash. Apostle Kaku
marriage, one should be guided by ethical righteousness. says that he still uses the Calabash in the Harris tradition, which is
mainly to exorcise evil spirits.
Ecumenical-Participatory Praxis Fourthly, there is the imposing Cane Cross. This symbol has
dual functions at Twelve Apostles Church–Half-Assini. While it may
One Sunday morning at Jacqueville in about December 1913, Harris be gazed upon by believers for inspiration and strength, it could also
attended Mass at a Roman Catholic Church. It was the Reverend be thrust upon agents of the devil or Satan in order to rebuke evil
Father Moly, the celebrant, who told his story: “I saw him at spirits.
Jacqueville where he attended the parish mass with all his wives,
accompanied by almost all the population. It is useless to say that the Sacraments
church was too small. Also at the end of the mass, he came to see me
accompanied by the elders of the village, in order to decide to Mission Biblique Harriste No.1 Côte d’Ivoire de Grand Lahou
construct a more spacious church.” Kpanda recognizes three ordinances, not sacraments, in its published
Harris had acquired proven skills as a master-builder. He constitution. These are the sacred rites of baptism, Eucharist, and
built his own single-story family house at Spring Hill Station in marriage whose rubrics are, respectively, quite similar to that of the
Liberia in c. 1890 and the Wolfe Memorial Chapel at Half-Graway in Methodist Service Book of the Methodist Church Great Britain.
1897. At Jacqueville, Harris invited an ecumenical family of Relatively new and unique sacred rites of the Harrist
worshippers to build a center of worship. Members of the Harrist Movement have been described elsewhere.
movement volunteered to help construct or to enlarge church
buildings. • Sacrament of Baptism: [5]
Citing a spiritual habit, Adolphe Yotio Ndrin reported that This is a dominical sacred rite. There were deficiencies with
at Kraffy, Harris ordered the implementation of mother-tongue respect to the original Harris tradition where cleansing,
liturgy and hermeneutics. Harris exhorted the crowds: “Priez dans penance and washing (by water and spirit) were emphasized.
votre langue et chantez dans votre langue. Dieu va comprendre” (“Pray in In the current rites, neither is exorcisms practiced, nor is
your language and sing in your language. God will understand.”). repentance insisted upon.
Harris reduced the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and • Sacrament of Agape Meal at Incarnation:
some basic liturgy into the local dialect. The liturgy utilized The Incarnation or Christmas is recalled on the nominal
indigenous tunes arranged to “castagnette” rhythm accompaniment birthday of Jesus Christ on December 25 at 2 pm. A grand
and were made simple but “rich in prayer and interspersed with meal is consumed using the Eucharistic rubrics (Matthew
impromptu lyrics in their native tongue or in pidgin English 26:26-28).
(Creole/Krio/Aku) – the language in which they heard Harris • Sacrament of Agape Meal on July 27th - la Fête du Déluge:
preach and sing” according to Cooksey and McLeish. The start of Harris’ first evangelical missionary journey
Educational practices were reported by Cooksey and (1913-1915) is commemorated at 2 pm. A grand meal is
McLeish. As the little bamboo “do-it-yourself” churches (abatons) consumed using the Eucharistic rubrics (Matthew 26:26-28).
sprang up in the villages, Harris taught the new converts to choose
• Sacrament of Sacrifice:
twelve “apostles” to serve as leaders and manage the church affairs
14 19
Iyisakrom “garden,” the leading healer and prophetess Hagar and a thirteen preacher who would lead worship services. Having
Yarlley was questioned about the source of her medicinal power. She choristers and a formidable network of selected translator-
declared that with “the help of Jesus Christ and by prayer, I am a interpreters / clerks, they spread Harris’ message each in their own
healer of barren women, of impotent men, of the paralyzed and of way. Since most were illiterate anyway, Harris advised that,
psychiatric patients.” Prophetess Hagar Yarlley was trained by her wherever possible, they should be enrolled in the few schools around
grandmother, Prophetess Hagar Efuah Ntsimah (Antwi) of Upper being set up by the Traditional Western Mission Churches
Axim. The latter was ordained by Grace Tani in Ankobra on March (TWMCs) and the colonial authorities. At Jacqueville in Alladian
6, 1949. As she conducted healing, Hagar Yarlley said that she territory, around December 1913, Harris released a popular
received “visions which reveal, through the Spirit, the herbs which educational maxim which Abaka Ernest Foli recollected by heart:
are to be selected in the treatment of my patients.” It will be recalled
that Harris gave a similar response to the healers at Louzoua in Mettez vos enfants à l’ecole!.Ils viendront. Ils vous diront la vérité.
October-November 1913. (…)
Je vous dirai la vérité qui est dans la Bible pour que
At the Twelve Apostles Church–Half-Assini, the leader and l’homme blanc et l’homme noir mangent à une même assiette, égal à
healer in charge, Apostle Abraham Kaku, declared that he specialized égal
in “psychiatric and mental cases, including the curing of drug (Send your children to school! They will come. They will tell
addiction.” Apostle Kaku, like Harris, attributes his healing power to you the truth. (….)
Christ Jesus. I tell you the truth which is contained in the Bible so that
At the Harriste Biblique No.1 Côte d’Ivoire (HBCI) of Grand the black man and the white man will eat in the same plate, as
equals…)
Lahou Kpanda, Adolphe Yotio Ndrin declared that the use of the big
calabash at routine church services was forbidden. Adophe Yotio Harris prepared the minds of his followers to welcome Christian
explained that the uses of “both the ‘big calabash’ and the ‘castagnette’ missionaries, whatever their denominations, as teachers in their
(small calabash gourd with net of beads) have no place at Temple de midst. Followers must learn to self-discover, and test the veracity of
Gethsemane.” Exorcism, according to Adolphe Yotio, was a holy rite his claims in the Bible. Harris firmly believed that education would
that should not be routinely abused. For him, in particular, the bring about equality between the white and black races.
castagnette, invokes sad memories of a once demon-filled community
which have since been cleansed by Harris and his assistants. Harris’ Heritage
Symbolism Liturgy
Four dominant liturgical symbols are associated with the Harris At the Temple de Gethsemane de la Mission Biblique Harriste No.1
ministry: the Cup, the Bible, the Calabash and the Cane Cross. These Côte d’Ivoire de Grand Lahou Kpanda (hereafter referred to as the
symbols have assumed varying significance within the Harris Temple de Gethsemane), the service liturgy represented an
churches studied. ecumenical composite of a rich ecclesiastical traditions compiled by
At Twelve Apostles Church–Half-Assini, all four sacred Harris. The liturgist demonstrated Episcopalian precision in
symbols have pride of place. With regards to the Cup, Apostle Kaku catechetical rubrics and order while the preaching had a Wesleyan
asserted that as their prophet, he would gaze on the water. In so vibrancy. There was a single lesson and a biblical exposition
doing, he meditated and invoked mediation for the person or the followed immediately thereafter. The choir emphasized the lessons
assembly, as the case may be. The water in the Cup assumed a state learned through informal punctuations during the preaching. Hymns
of sanctification. The sanctified water was normally sprinkled on and the anthem were sung from memory in the home dialect of
worshippers or consumed by select persons. Avikam and under disciplined choirmaster control. The Psalm

18 15
(Canticle) was sung in French. During the offertory, the elders, the hours being typical. The liturgy of Twelve Apostles Church-Upper
choir and the congregation, in that order, recessed and processed Axim is available. [4] Notwithstanding the expressed variances, it is
with Avikam songs of thanksgiving, accompanied with called a typical Inkabomsom (get-together) Service. This service has
choreographed dances. At the Temple de Gethsemane, one observed retained the habits of worship of its founder, Grace Tani, a Harris
that the Harris’ legacies of catechism, charismatic prayer, and disciple. A number of points deserve attention. First, although three
singing habits have been retained. prayer registrations have been listed (1), (2) and (3), yet they tended
At l’Eglise du Christ-Mission Harriste du Yaou (hereafter to merge into each other. The opening prayer (3) never actually ends
referred to as l’Eglise du Christ-Yaou), close to worship time, metal until the conclusion of the service. Second, the opening song (4) also
gongs were struck to call the faithful to worship. The choir, the continues up to the end of the service. Third, the healing session (5)
congregation, and the “apostles” were all clad in white. The ladies occurs concurrently with the opening prayer (3) and opening song
wore white head gear as well. The prédicateur-chef (senior-preacher) (4). An Inkabomsom is a spiritual journey which could last up to three
and prédicateur-auxiliaire (assistant preacher) were each robed in a hours or more.
white kaftan-cassock with a low cross chain. Both were adorned
with: “carlotte blanche, britelle noire et voile noire” (white turban, black Preaching
stole and black cross bands). Their attire replicated that for which
Harris was renowned. The service liturgy was rich in prayer, Preaching was always reduced to the language of the hearers, into
catechetical affirmations, and hymn–singing, with menu change, Avikam in Grand Lahou Kpanda and into Aboure in Yaou.
punctuated by the ringing of the hand bell. Traditional songs were Preaching at these Harris churches was found to be Scripture-
rendered by the choir and congregation throughout the service. centered. The choir led the congregation in acknowledged parts of
Song and dance was accompanied by the infectious rhythm of the the message with groans and voiced responses.
castagnette. Here, the charismatic chorale tradition of Helen In the Twelve Apostles churches, worship was shared
Valentine, Mary Pioka and Grace Tani is alive and flourishing! between preachers and healers. The highpoint of Twelve Apostles
Worship at both the Temple de Gethsemane and at l’Eglise liturgy is the healing session which is normally officiated by healers.
du Christ-Yaou were relatively brief, ranging from thirty minutes to Preaching, healing, and divination seem to happen simultaneously.
about an hour. Both services were orderly, but not identical in form. The service stops only when the participants are exhausted. For
Worship at the Temple de Gethsemane was found to be evangelical both Harrist churches and Twelve Apostles churches, the common
in emphasis while that of l’Eglise du Christ-Yaou could be described response to preaching is normally dramatized in acts of singing and
as neo-Pentecostal / charismatic. Despite their contrasting worship dancing, recessing from and processing towards the sanctuary, and
expressions, both had an almost identical order of service. The order always in their home dialect. Each worshipper responds to preaching
of service of l’Eglise du Christ- Yaou is available. [3] In this typical as he or she presents his or her physical gift offering at the
order of service, four prayer registrations were noted: benediction sanctuary. The song or dance rises to a crescendo at presentation.
(1), intercessory (4), the Lord’s Prayer (5) and a closing prayer (11),
in that order. There were also four types of songs: an opening Deliverance and Healing
(adoration) hymn (2), a sermon hymn (6), an anthem (9) and a
recessional hymn (12). The reading of Scripture by the prédicateur In his interaction with the men of Trefedji, one crucial point made
(preacher) always preceded the sermon. about his exorcism is that Harris always led and directed the
Unlike the regular liturgy of the two Harris churches deliverance and healing process.
mentioned above, the order of service within the three sister Twelve In most Twelve Apostles churches (“gardens”), deliverance
Apostles churches in Western Ghana varied significantly. Worship and healing were the dominant activities of worship. However, as far
patterns differed from one church to the other. Generally, however, as countering fetishism was concerned, the calabash was required at
worship services were longer in the latter with between three to four both spiritual and water healing. At the Twelve Apostles Church-
16 17