Cherubim & Seraphim Movement Church is one of the most prominent indigenous churches in Nigeria.
The C&S Church is a church that redirects other churches. It is not because C&S Church was established specially from other churches. Rather, when other churches have some difficulties, they would approach C&S Church and after praying over the problem, God would show them the solution. And till date we are still living up to this standard and we have not position.
The C&S Movement Church fulfills several requirements. It was founded in Africa and so it is not a remote development from a Church rooted in some other land. It has remained a Church in Africa, although some of its members have established branches in other countries of the world. It was founded by Africans without any support or influence from foreign missions or their agents.
It has 1,750 branches branches.
109 Districts, 35 Model Parishes/Churches,
The history of Cherubim & Seraphim Church is woven around one man called Moses Orimolade Tunolase. It is strongly believed that no man can found a Church except God, therefore it is safe to say C&S Church was founded by God Almighty through Saint Moses Orimolade Tunolase. This is codified in one of the Church Hymns which says:
“Out of the darkness, there’s a light shining, in this and of Seraph, Holy Michael leadeth this Holy Band, And will lead us that day, Michael, Michael, Michael is the captain of the Seraph band, JAH-JEHOVAH founded this Holy band, No son of man.
When the Band was first established, it was named the Band of Cherubs, also known as “Egbe Aladura” because it seems that it was established solely to wage ‘war’ with prayers.
At inception, the “EGBE ALADURA”, when it was time to have a name that would be given to the Church, St. Moses Orimolade told members to observe three-day prayers and fasting about the naming of the sect. When the people reassembled on the third day, a female member, whose name was not identified, revealed that she saw in the sky, the previous night’s letter “SE”. Another member said he saw “RA” but both could not see the rest of the letters. The members could not reach a beautiful decision that evening and St. Moses Orimolade dismissed them to go home and pray more about it.
On Wednesday 9 September 1925, Orimolade invited all the members outside at about 9a.m. They all knew that something important was about to take place as they clapped and danced. There Reverend J. C. Barber, a Clergy of the United Native African Church (UNA) from Ode-Irele Okitipupa division who was a regular attendant of Orimolade’s prayer meetings interpreted the letters to be “SE-RA-FU” (SERAPH). Orimolade told them to sing all the verses of K&S 338 ‘Bugbe Re ti l’ewa to! Orimolade concluded prayers facing East and said with a loud voice, ‘JAH JEHOVAH’! In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, today this Band is named “SERAFU” (Seraph). After this, many people dreamt and it was even revealed to Orimolade himself that the Angels in heaven were unhappy because of what Orimolade did. It was said that two Angels were working with Moses Orimolade (The Cherubim & Seraphim) and he named his Church on earth after one. He was told to make an amendment. This was why on 26 March 1927, the name “CHERUBIM” was added. Since that day the Church had been named “CHERUBIM & SERAPHIM”. That day, Orimolade prophesied that this Holy Band shall spread all over the earth and nobody would be able to stop it. Then, he told them again that before fifty years the church shall be founded in the white man’s country.
Several years after the creation of the Cherubim & Seraphim, different denominations following in its traditions broke off and formed new churches. By the 1940s, the Aladura Movement Church had begun to spread throughout the world, from places in Africa to other English-speaking countries, such as the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
The church’s Tenets of Faith are Biblical in Pattern, Pentecostal in Power, Ecumenical in Outlook and Worship among the people.
The Cherubim & Seraphim base most of it’s worship methods and objects of worship on the New Testament and the Book of Revelation. The objects they use include candles, to represent light, backed with Revelation 3:1-3; rods, as a sign of authority, from Revelation 2:26-27; increase, which is used to drive away demons, Malachi 1:11 and Revelation 5:8,8:4; and ringing of bells as a sign of victory. We wear white garments as a form of uniform, which also represents the garment/dress of the faithful because it was what Christ wore during his suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection (Tovey, 2004). The Cherubim & Seraphim have special prayers for sick people, which are used as a form of faith healing.
The Cherubim & Seraphim believe in the use of water and oil. The water has a type of healing power, because of the strength of baptism and the Spirit of God that dwells within it. They also believe in the use of concentrated oil, because it is backed by the Bible in James 5:14-15. Fasting is another tradition they have. They believe it is “an injunction of Christ for support of prayer.” The Cherubim & Seraphim also believe that fasting increases our spiritual strength and speeds up our success in spiritual matters.
The Cherubim & Seraphim also have holidays, such as Holy Michael’s Day, which takes place on September 29 of every year. This day is regarded as the day that the Archangel Michael overcame the Devil in a battle. “On this day, we have a Church service in which we read two lessons from the Bible, Daniel 12 and Revelation 12. Holy Gabriel’s Anniversary is another holiday, observed on the Third Thursday in August. The Anniversary of the Cherubim Band is celebrated on the last Thursday in May, and we wear special dresses for these services. We also celebrate the Anniversary of Seraphim Band, which takes place on September 9 every year to commemorate the day the church was named in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1925. There is also a celebration in memory of the founder, every October 18–19, in which vigil is held from 10 pm to 3 am at the founder’s graveyard initially in Lagos but now held in Ikare, Ondo State, Nigeria after the body was exhumed to the later.
The Cherubim & Seraphim have Church services throughout the week. They have special services on Sunday. On Wednesdays are Shiloh services and Bible study classes. On Fridays, they have Covenant Service. Finally, on Saturdays, a vigil is observed called Watch-night Service.
In 1916, Orimolde left his hometown of Ikare for Irun, which was about six miles away. On getting there, he found the people celebrating the festival of Osijora, the idol they worshiped. He pulled down the images of this idol, and “opened the seal of witchcraft, and acrobatic devil worshipers”. From Irun, he headed straight to Ogbagi, a nearby village, and did the same thing, after which he preached the gospel of God and showed the people what God expected from them to make heaven.
What are the SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF ST. MOSES ORIMOLADE TUNOLASE TO THE CHRISTIAN FAITH?
Moses Orimolade Tunolase was the pioneer of what has now been severally known as the prophet/healing movement and the era of independent Churches in Nigeria. He is also the founder of the African Church owned by Africans for Africans. To deny this is to deny and undermine the very foundations of the indigenous Christian faith in this land. Here are some of his contributions worthy of note:
Missionary Evangelism., Pioneering of Indigenous Churches, Pentecostal innovations Some of these are: Open Air Services and Processions, Night Vigils, Mountains, Retreats, and Camp, Indigenous Music and Worship, and Divine Healing.
There is also the role late Baba Aladura Nathaniel Ekundayo Coker played. Today, the Cherubim & Seraphim Movement Church has not only become a force to be reckoned with in Christendom, but the Church has also moved beyond initial petulance that characterized and almost truncated this Godly dream at inception.
According to Shofarasin (1990) in Six Years at the Helm, the Church was established in 1940 in Northern Nigeria. It took off with a group comprising: Nathaniel E. Coker, S. A. Adekoya, C. A. Shofarasin, S. O. Kalejaiye, E.O. Ajayi, D. A. Aina, Tay, and Joseph T. Agboola.
At a meeting held on 11/11/1941, a name was approved- C&S Church Movement, Northern Conference, with Kaduna, Jos, Kano, and Zaria in attendance. Their opening song was K&S 803 “Baba Olorisun Ibukun gbogbo”. Elder Coker and Pa. Alamos Sosan from Abeokuta said the opening and thanksgiving prayers respectively. After the prayers, the executives were chosen: Elder N. E. Coker (Chairman), Elder C. A. Shofarasin (Secretary), Elder S. A. Adekoya (Treasurer), Elder Wilson (Leader), and a Kano delegate as Auditor.
In 1959, Nathaniel Ekundayo Coker became the first Spiritual Father of the C&S Church Movement (Agboola, 1990). In 2005, during the 65th Annual Conference, a new name was adopted for the Church as “The Holy Order of the Cherubim & Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide. Years later, the name changed to Cherubim & Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide, AYO NI O (C&S Constitution, 2014).