HERESY, APOSTASY AND ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE IN NIGERIA

Many studies observed that the Church involvement in ecclesiastical architecture for a number of decades amounted to apostasy and heresy. Other studies have also noted that architecture has augmented and has become an impetus to the aspirations and purpose of Christianity. This study examined apostasy and heresy in the Church and how they have affected the development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. The three phases of ecclesiastical architecture development were considered. Since this study is theoretical and historical in nature, qualitative methods in form of literature, unstructured interview and non-participant observation were adopted to gather the data. The analysis was done through description and content analysis. The findings of this study showed that, in Nigeria, architecture created identity for the Church, registered the Church’s presence at every location, exhibited the wealth of the Church, encouraged the poor of hope and announced the Church to the world. This study concluded that the issue of apostasy or heresy was not associated with the development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. Rather architecture has contributed to the aspirations and purpose of the Church