The late Bengt Sundkler, missionary, bishop, and academic, pioneered the study of independent churches in Africa. In this magisterial work, he reviews the entire history of the development of Christianity in all regions of the continent. In contrast to the conventional focus on the missionary enterprise, Professor Sundkler places the African converts at the centre of the study. African Christians, typically drawn from the margins of society, reinterpreted the Christian message, proselytised, governed local congregations, and organised independent churches. Emphasising African initiatives in the process of Christianisation, he argues that its development was shaped by African kings and courts, the history of labour migration, and local experiences of colonisation. This long-awaited book will become the standard reference on African Christian churches.

‘ … this book is full of riches, of delightful vignettes, and it is wholly ecumenical. It will long remain a work of reference for anyone interested in the history of African Christianity.’

Source: The Tablet

‘… if you want to know how the Churches and Zambian nationalism are related, who the early African Christian leaders in Malawi were, who was Prophet Harris and exactly where and when did he work and how these and other African Christian leaders related to the ongoing history of their territory, then this is your book … this is an important work and ought to be in every library where ecclesiastical history and African history are taught.’

Source: Journal of Ecclesiastical History

‘There can be no doubt that this is a landmark book which cannot be praised enough … here we have an extraordinary contribution to African church history … I hope it will be used also by those whose history is told on these pages.’

Source: Missionalia

' … an important reference work.'

Ian Fairweather - University of Manchester

‘… the most authoritative reference work now available on the history of the Christian church in Africa.’

Source: African Studies Review