09/01/2026
✨ THE MAN WHO NAMED THE CHURCH: THE LEGACY OF ALEXANDER YANGA ✨
The identity of the Celestial Church of Christ was not decided by a human committee; it came down from Heaven by divine revelation. Today, we take you down memory lane to honor a true ihero of faithi, Alexander Yanga, the man chosen by God to reveal the name of this great fold.
The story begins in the early days of the commission. Alexander Yanga,who was a seeker undergoing spiritual healing at the residence of the Pastor Founder. During this period, Yanga was held in a powerful trance that lasted for seven days. On the final day, he requested a piece of chalk and wrote on the wall: eglise du Christianisme celeste—the Celestial Church of Christ.
Beyond naming the church, Yanga’s spiritual sensitivity birthed one of our most sacred traditions. In 1948, he received and sang CCC HYMN 694, “ka sise fun iwenu mo emi wa…” (Let’s work for the purification of our soul). To this day, this hymn, as a cornerstone of our heritage, remains the foundation of our Monthly Watch Night services.
However, Yanga’s life also serves as a vital lesson in the old landmark of the CCC. While he was a strong Prophet , history records that once he was healed and established in the faith, he focused on prophecy and the "tongues of the land" so that all could understand. He stopped the practice of trance once his spiritual mission of naming the church was complete.
This aligns with the stern 1974 instructions of our Pastor Founder, St. S.B.J. Oshoffa. Papa emphasized that prophecy, not uncontrolled trance or untranslated tongues, is the true mark of a Prophet. He warned that trance was never intended to be a permanent tenet, as the Church is for the redemption of human beings, not celestial beings.
Alexander Yanga passed away on February 8, 1991, but his legacy lives in every Halleluyah we shout. As we remember him today, let us heed the message of his hymn: let us stop focusing on the outward show of spirituality and start working inwardly.
