THE AWAKENING OF NATIONALISM OF THE CAMEROON CLERGE OF THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MISSION (MPA) (1940-1957)

Abstract

Its area of evangelization of South Cameroon, missionaries of the MPA had introduced the ideas of freedom and autonomy among his flock to fight against French colonization and allow the political and social empowerment of black people. However, after the Second World War, while political leaders molded in schools of the MPA were fighting for the independence of Cameroon, African employees the Mission and trained to the awakening of consciousness began to assert their masters, the improvement of working conditions and the handling of the management of the heritage of the Mission. The pressure of the black clergy had pushed the MPA to grant independence to the missionary field giving birth, December 11th, 1957, in the Cameroonian Presbyterian Church (EPC). With the withdrawal of the American missionaries, the problem of the management of an important heritage designed since the end of the 19e century arose, because pastors African, few in number, but avid authority, had not received the training required to ensure the relay of these Apostles of good new and well trained to the task to ensure the technical work in different medical institutions, schools, agricultural. So far, the problem remains real in this church, the opposite of self-propagating who brought the early Church to create more than 500 parishes in fifty years of independence

Keywords

• presbyterian
• church
• heritage
• missionaries
• nationalism