. We communicate directly with God, not through Jesus, Mohammed, gods- Chief priest
…says ‘we only cite Bible, Koran as mere reference’
To the uninterested, the 500-year-old Holy Aruosa Cathedral is just like any other church. But to the curious, its character and essence remains largely nondescript, confounding and confusing. This peculiar church is many things rolled into one. It simultaneously appears eclectic, polytheistic and syncretic in its mode of worship! Yet, it claims not to believe in praying to God through the name of Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed (SAW) or any other deity or intermediary! Its members only pray directly to God.
Neither the Holy Bible nor the Koran is used in worship at the Holy Aruosa. Rather, the church draws spiritual and moral inspiration from its own book of worship known as the “Book of the Holy Aruosa” written by “wise men with the dictate, teachings and sayings of the ancient Benin kingdom.”
This special Cathedral sits quietly on Akpakpava Road in the heart of Benin City, the Edo State capital. Its peculiar architectural design tells its story. It does not advertise itself like other churches in the country; yet it has a large following. The revered Oba of Benin is its spiritual head.
The Holy Aruosa Cathedral is to the Bini people what the Church of England is to the English; no wonder it is referred to as the Church of Benin.
Welcome to the Holy Aruosa (the Eye of God) Cathedral.
Members of the Holy Aruosa Cathedral are different from the flocks of other religious bodies: they are seldom seen sharing pamphlets to convert members or invite people to the church. The church leaders do not hold crusades or revival services to convert ‘souls’; neither do they invite people to experience miracles.
Our correspondent gathered that the Cathedral is located at its current site because it was the spot the Bini people had direct contact with Osanobua (God), long before the coming of the European explorers and missionaries.
According to folklores and legends, a powerful spiritual leader known as Okhuaihe was said to have offered to personally take the peoples’ plea and supplications to God following a drought and outbreak of pestilence in the land. But during one of such spiritual journeys and prayer sessions, he was said to have lost his life. He was expected to return and bring succour to the people.
As the story goes, the people continued their prayers waiting for Okhuaihe’s return. But rather than his return in his physical body, a huge fireball fell from the sky. At the point where the ball of fire dropped, a huge black stone was found and a place of worship was subsequently built at the spot.
Unfortunately, during the 1897 British invasion of the ancient Benin Kingdom, the church was destroyed and the black stone was carted away along with other artifacts. The British invaders were said to have come with their own God and mode of worship, forbidding the people from worshipping Osanobua at the Holy Aruosa.
It was Oba Akenzua II (grandfather of the current monarch) who later rebuilt the Cathedral and established branches in Onitsha, Umuahia and other places.
Another account, however, has it that the Holy Aruosa Cathedral, said to be the oldest church in Africa, was established by the Portuguese before the coming of the Roman Catholic and other Protestant churches.
The Oba of Benin is the spiritual head (general overseer) of the church. His deputy is the Benin Crown Prince (his first male child). The presiding head of the church is known as ‘Ohen Osa’ (God’s servant or chief priest). A special seat is reserved for the Oba in the church. The priests dress like the Roman Catholic priests and usually wear red caps.
Service at the church is conducted in Bini language. Curiously, the Holy Bible is not used in the church and much of the preaching and sermons revolve around reminding the congregation that the Oba is God’s representative on earth and emphasising why everyone should strive to do good deeds while on earth. Baptism of new converts is done with the white chalk (Orhue) in what is regarded as ‘Igborhe.’
Does miracle happen in the church? The Ohen Osa (Chief Priest), Harrison Okao, says people receive miracles and blessings directly from God without any intermediary.
“Those who seek God come here. We don’t beg people to come. If you attend and discover that your contact with God is cordial, you will remain. If you beg God for promotion and you come here and you got it, you will remain here,” he says.
Harrison says the church was founded during the reign of Oba Esigie to worship God without praying through any intermediary.
He says, “We use our local language to communicate with our God. We are aware of other diverse ways of reaching God. If you are a good Muslim, God will accept you. If you are a good Christian, God will accept you.
“We don’t use the Bible here. We have our own book. We use the book of Holy Aruosa, according to the sayings of the ancient belief written by the wise men. The church is still in existence till today, it is an entity that will last forever. Nothing can stop it.
“A professional doctor does not need sign board. Oba is a special human being. He is God’s representative on earth. The seat reserved for the Omon N’ Oba, nobody can sit on it. That seat is exclusively reserved for him.”
The church’s services are conducted in Bini language. But over the years, the prominence, growth and expansion of Holy Aruosa, whose geographical spread once cut across Edo State, Cross River, Western parts of Nigeria and indeed parts of Dahomey (present day Republic of Benin), have been adversely affected by western civilisation and the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 to 1970.
Besides, the gross impact of the British expedition of 1897 (which prompted the eventual banishing of Oba Ovorawmen N’Ogbaisi to Calabar, the present day Cross River State capital) also had multiple negative effects on the Holy Aruosa. However, it was subsequently rebuilt by Oba Akenzua, when he ascended the throne in 1933.
As earlier stated, the reigning Oba of Benin is the head of the church, the Crown Prince (heir apparent) is the next in command, while the Ohen Osa (the priest) is the number three, in the hierarchical order of prominence in the church. These are the only permanent positions in the church.
The selection of the priest is done by God (it’s spiritual) and the Oba must approve of the person before he can take office. Aruosa is a place where the Oba and his palace chiefs as well as their family members worship.
Today, it is common to see tourists from America and Europe visiting the church, partly out of curiosity. Their visits, no doubt, are usually to see the first church in Nigeria, which, according to them, is unique in many ways and has been expanding over the years.
According to the Chief Priest of the church, who has been a member since 1991 and rose in 2005 to his current position as the presiding priest, the Cathedral was founded as a place to worship God directly without passing through any intermediary.
“We don’t pray through Jesus Christ, not because we are against Jesus; we don’t pray through Mohammed, not because we are against Mohammed and we don’t also pray through the deities like Olokun, Ogun, Sango and all others, not because we are against them, but because we believe that God existed before their existence. Therefore, if you want anything from your father, you ask him directly, rather than going through an intermediary,” he says.
He explains that Holy Aruosa is a place where anybody can come to freely worship, irrespective of tribe or religion. “If you are a Christian, you can come here and worship; if you are a Muslim, you can come here to worship and if you are a traditional worshipper, you are also free to worship at the church. The only difference is that most of the religions pray through an intermediary, but in Holy Aruosa, we pray directly to God.”
On how the church conducts its services, the chief priest says, “We start the day’s service with purification, opening song otherwise known as “Ohenosa muegbugie. After that, we say the opening prayers before we pray for the Oba of Benin; pray for the heir apparent to the throne, who is the Omo N’ Oba’s first son; we pray for the Oba’s other children, both at home and abroad; pray for the palace, the chiefs, the government of the day, starting from the President, the governors, local government chairmen, councillors and others in positions of authority.”
Okao adds that they also pray for good things to happen in the Benin Kingdom and the state, while concerning members present and individuals, “we ask God for whatever we want from Him.”
Another wonderful feature of the Holy Aruosa Cathedral is its unique choir, which is made up of elderly people, otherwise known as the ‘Edion Ni kao nomadode,’ meaning the elders that will never go astray.
One difference between the Holy Aruosa and the Orthodox Churches is the mode of worship and belief.
According to the chief priest, “If you are talking about the fear of God, the Holy Aruosa members have the fear of God and we have it in our Creed that if you sin against mankind, you must go and beg that man and if you don’t go and beg that person, you will receive punishment on earth and after death, you will receive the punishment. That is why we don’t commit sin.
“For instance, if you leave anything here and you come back in three days, nobody will take it because we believe that if you take what does not belong to you, it means you have sinned already and you will not enter the kingdom of God. Sinners will not enter the kingdom of God.
“However, if we discover that any member goes against the rules and regulations of worshipping God, such a person will be cautioned or punished. The degree of the punishment depends on the level of offence committed.”
Another amazing thing about the church is that it has its own book of worship known as the “Book of Holy Aruosa” written by the “wise men with the dictate, teachings and sayings of the ancient Benin kingdom.” It is made up of the dos and don’ts that our fore fathers bequeathed to the present generation. Okao explains further that the book is just like “the Old Testament in the Bible and if we have anything or any area that we want to refer to in the Bible, we do so. We also refer to the Koran for things to move on properly.”
On the selection and ordination of the presiding priest, Okao notes that every activity carried out is a spiritual exercise, although it is done in the church after the confirmation by the Omo N’ Oba, being the head of the church.
On how the church goes about evangelism, the priest says, “An experienced doctor does not need awareness to get patients. If you are doing well in your field, people will automatically gravitate towards you. Membership is open to everyone.”
Speaking on who should be blamed for the social vices experienced in our society today, the Holy Aruosa Cathedral’s chief priest says, “We are all liable for what is happening in our society. I’m blaming the parents, the clergy, the judiciary, the police and the public at large. If parents are playing their roles, we will not have cases of indecent dressing, increase in crime and more.
“On the case of the police, when people know that when an offence is committed, the police officer will not take money from them and grant them freedom, they will tread with caution. The same thing goes for the Judiciary. When you know what no matter the amount of money you offer the judge, justice will not be perverted, you will run from crime.
“The clergy are also not left out. As religious leaders, you are supposed to preach the gospel the way it should be. Your message can ignite positively or negatively.”
He enjoins religious leaders to do the right thing at all times.
“The idea of promoting prosperity, instead of salvation, should be discouraged among our religious leaders. Also, the Bible teaches that we should not share in God’s glory. But what we see with most religious leaders today is that they share in God’s glory. In the olden days, what we see in churches was the open Bible and the mark of the crucifix. But what is the order of the day, is religious leaders adorning the churches with their pictures and that of their wives,” he says.
The chief priest charges everyone, irrespective of their religious affiliations, to do the right thing at all times and do everything possible to stand for the truth always, irrespective of who and what is involved. “Above all, we should love others as we love ourselves. This is because by so doing evil will be far from us,” he says.
Investigations revealed that the Benin monarch attends worship at the traditional Owa’ugamwen (church) on the last Sunday in each year, which marks the end of the Igue festival for thanksgiving and that enables him to usher in a new year.
At the Holy Aruosa Cathedral, temple services hold each Sunday and has an “unadulterated Bible” for its members. The rituals of service have the semblance of what obtains in the orthodox churches while the traditional white chalk is used to conduct baptism of new converts and little children. There is also traditional sprinkling of the holy water during services for blessings and casting away of evil spirits.
