As we celebrate the 17th anniversary of the council of Nicaea, we do well to remember those who did all that they could to contend for the faith that was once for all given to the saints. One of those men was a well-respected African theologian and Church father, Athanasius 1 of Alexandria. As a secretary to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, one of the key principals at the council, Athanasius played a key role in the formulation of the Nicene creed in the face of opposition from the followers of Arius. His contributions to our understanding of christology is so immense that it earned him titles such as “pillar of the Church” and “father of orthodoxy”.
Seventeen hundred years later, there seems to be little evidence that the African continent was once a center of theological orthodoxy. While the Church is growing rapidly in some parts of the continent, in the city and country where Athanasius ministered, Christianity is a very small minority religion. But even in the parts of Africa where the Church can be said to be thriving, there is a clear preference of orthopraxy over orthodoxy. In many Churches, sermons focus on behavior. The young generation of Christians have not been exposed to the christian creeds; and may not be familiar with the content of those creeds. Also, choruses with a few repeated phrases have replaced well-meaning hymns. In a number of seminaries on the continent, contextual theologies are on the rise at the expense of biblical theology. The occasion of celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the council of Nicaea is a good opportunity for the African theologians and Church leaders to rethink the place of creeds and doctrine in general in our theological discourse and practice.