The Eucharist as Orikonso : A Study in Eucharistic Ecclesiology From an Igbo Perspective

In this book the author, relying on the research he carried out in Igboland, Nigeria, leads us to see the action of God’s grace already active in the Igbo religious culture called Omenala Ndigbo before the coming of Christian missionaries and how these cultural values have prepared the people to receive the Gospel. But, as he points out, these cultural values on which the Christian message ought to have been built from the beginning were grossly misunderstood and neglected. The Igbo people are now mainly Christians. But because the Gospel has not yet become their culture, some of them have double allegiance to the doctrines of the Church and to the practices of Omenala Ndigbo. The author opines that to build the Catholic Church in Igboland on a solid foundation, the Eucharist must take the central place – since the Eucharist makes the Church and is the source and summit of the life of the Church. Thus the work, which uses the analytical and hermeneutical method known as inculturation, is on Eucharistic Ecclesiology from an Igbo perspective and will be useful for the Church, both at the local and universal levels for self-understanding and renewal, ecumenism, dialogue and mission.

In this book the author, relying on the research he carried out in Igboland, Nigeria, leads us to see the action of God’s grace already active in the Igbo religious culture called Omenala Ndigbo before the coming of Christian missionaries and how these cultural values have prepared the people to receive the Gospel. But, as he points out, these cultural values on which the Christian message ought to have been built from the beginning were grossly misunderstood and neglected. The Igbo people are now mainly Christians. But because the Gospel has not yet become their culture, some of them have double allegiance to the doctrines of the Church and to the practices of Omenala Ndigbo. The author opines that to build the Catholic Church in Igboland on a solid foundation, the Eucharist must take the central place – since the Eucharist makes the Church and is the source and summit of the life of the Church. Thus the work, which uses the analytical and hermeneutical method known as inculturation, is on Eucharistic Ecclesiology from an Igbo perspective and will be useful for the Church, both at the local and universal levels for self-understanding and renewal, ecumenism, dialogue and mission.