THE ADVENT OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH NIGERIA AND THE EULOGISTORY OF PASTOR E. E. OKON, 1931 – 2010

Abstract

The history of The Apostolic Church Nigeria remains one of the most significant narratives in the development of Pentecostal Christianity in Nigeria and West Africa. Yet, despite the remarkable spread and influence of the church, historical distortions, institutional amnesia, and conflicting interpretations have continued to obscure the actual origins and growth of the movement. Central to these controversies is the place of the late Pastor Eyo Edet Okon, whose role in the establishment and expansion of the church in Eastern Nigeria has often been either exaggerated or inadequately represented. While some traditions erroneously regard him as the founder of the church in Nigeria, others diminish his strategic contributions to the growth of Apostolic Christianity in the region. This study examines the advent of The Apostolic Church in Nigeria and reconstructs the historical significance of Pastor E. E. Okon within that development. The paper adopts the framework of eulogistory — a historiographical approach that critically studies the celebration, memorialization, and heroic reconstruction of historical figures without abandoning empirical historical methods. Through this lens, the paper interrogates how memory, reverence, oral traditions, institutional narratives, and regional loyalties have shaped the image of Pastor Okon in Apostolic historiography. Using socio-historical and interdisciplinary methodologies, the study relies on oral interviews, church records, anniversary publications, memoirs, and secondary historical materials to reconstruct the emergence of The Apostolic Church in Nigeria from its formal affiliation with the British Apostolic movement in 1931. The paper argues that although Pastor E. E. Okon was not the founder of The Apostolic Church Nigeria, his evangelical zeal, pioneering efforts, linguistic mediation, and leadership in Eastern Nigeria made him one of the most influential indigenous architects of the church’s expansion. The work concludes that preserving accurate church history is essential for preventing institutional confusion and for understanding the broader development of Pentecostalism in Nigeria.