Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar

The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (Malagasy: Fiangonan'i Jesoa Kristy eto Madagasikara) (FJKM) is the second-largest Christian denomination in Madagascar. The current officers include the Rev. Ammi Irako Andriamahazosoa, President; the Rev. Jean Louis Zarazaka, Clerical Vice President; Mr. Georges Randriamamonjisoa, Lay Vice President; Mr. Olivier Andrianarivelo, Treasurer, and the Rev. Zaka Andriamampianina and Mr. Benjamin Rakotomandimby, Advisors.[2]

Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar
ClassificationProtestant
TheologyReformed
GovernancePresbyterian
ModeratorPastor Ammi Irako Andriamahazosoa[1]
AssociationsWorld Communion of Reformed Churches, World Council of Churches
Origin1968
Madagascar
Branched fromLondon Missionary Society
Congregations5,800
Members5 million
Official websitehttps://www.fjkm.mg

History

Founded in 1968 as a Reformed Protestant denomination by the union of three churches that arose from the work of the London Missionary Society, the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society and the Friends Foreign Missionary Association, the FJKM today has more than 6 million adherents in approximately 6,719 congregations and 37 Synods nationwide and 1 international synod; the church runs 581 schools.[3]

The fact that former Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana is a member of the church and concurrently served as an elected lay vice-president of the church during his presidential term has led to concerns of church and state interests being "not kept entirely separate" in Madagascar.[4]

In 2002, a schism in the church occurred, and the New Protestant Church in Madagascar was formed with 300,000 former members of the FJKM.[4]

Following the 2009 Malagasy protests, the leader of the FJKM, Pastor Lala Rasendrahasina, was taken into custody by army soldiers along with five generals who were selected by Ravalomanana as members of a proposed military directorate that would have run the executive branch after his resignation but instead had transferred power over to the opposition leader, Andry Rajoelina, (a Roman Catholic); Rasendrahasina, a cousin of Ravalomanana's wife and supporter of Ravalomanana, was seen as being too close to the former president.[5]

Theology

Notes
  1. "FJKM - Madagascar". CEVAA - Communauté d'Églises en Mission.
  2. "Bureau central de la Fjkm – Pasteur Ammi Irako Andriamahazosoa, élu président". Madagascar Matin, Wednesday, 29 November 2017.
  3. "Profile of FJKM".
  4. U.S. Department of State, "International Religious Freedom Report 2006: Madagascar" .
  5. "Five army generals, one church leader arrested by soldiers_English_Xinhua". xinhuanet.com.
  6. "Address data base of Reformed churches and institutions". reformiert-online.net.
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