Church of the Lord (Aladura)
African Initiated Church
The Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship), formerly known as The Church of the Lord (Aladura) was established by Josiah Olunowo Ositelu in 1925 and inaugurated in 1930 in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.
"Aladura" in Yoruba means "the Praying People". They always wear white.
Also known as Aladura churches, they believe in the power of praying and in faith healing and various elements associated with Pentecostalism. Most of the founders of the churches were associated with Anglicanism, though some Methodists joined the movement as well. The churches oppose traditional African religion, and sometimes burn cult images as idols. They oppose polygamy and witchcraft. In contrast with Kimbanguism, the churches tend to avoid politics and focus instead on the holiness movement, Aladura is also known as a prophetic church: there is a prophetic gift embedded in the church as a result of constant praying, which they are known for as aladura, the praying church.
Rufus Okikiola Ositelu is the current Archbishop And Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Nigeria and the Primate of The Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Organisation Worldwide.
History
(Ositelu) Disciples on 27 July 1930
Josiah Olunowo Ositelu founded the church in 1925, inaugurated in 1930 in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Church of the Lord (Aladura)” is african Initiated Church. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Church, Lord and Aladura, not as a finished interpretation.
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Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17001761. VIAF identifies the subject as 211970044. Authority coordinates are 6.936, 3.642. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1925 and 1930.
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This entry incorporates text from “Church of the Lord (Aladura)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.