Full-Circle Revival
A priest from Nigeria leads an American congregation in prayer in a Torrance home. His followers are former members of the Episcopal Church, who left their childhood church because they say leaders have strayed too far from biblical scripture.
By Melissa Evans Staff Writer
Monday, October 08, 2007

In the midst of a tense, worldwide dispute over Christian doctrine, religious history is coming full circle in the living room of Tom Winfrey's Torrance home.

A priest from Nigeria sits on a folding chair at the front of the room, leading an American congregation in prayer. His followers are former members of the Episcopal Church, the American arm of the centuries-old Anglican Communion, who left their childhood church because they say leaders have strayed too far from biblical scripture. The tipping point, defectors say, was the ordination of a gay bishop in 2003.

The Rev. Elias Yinka Eniade is from a country that was Christianized in the 19th century in part by American and European missionaries. Two hundred years later, African clerics are now coming to the West to restore what they say are the true teachings of the Bible - to bring biblical orthodoxy back. the rest