About this book:

The papers in this volume narrate the histories of leading African Christians, and reflect on the meaning of
writing African Christian biographies. Written to celebrate The Dictionary of African Christian Biography
(www.dacb.org), this volume shows why remembering the lives of Christian leaders remains important
for understanding African history, Christian identities, and African contributions to the shaping of World
Christianity. The authors include some of the world’s leading scholars of African Christianity in its social,
political, and theological contexts. Subjects of the papers range from an Ethiopian saint, to kings and queens,
history-making Protestant pastors, and women whose hidden stories undergird their transformative leadership
of family, church and society.
About the editor:
Dana L. Robert is the Truman Collins Professor of World Christianity and History of
Mission, and the Director of the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston
University. Author of numerous books, including Christian Mission: How Christianity
Became a World Religion, and African Christian Outreach: Vol. 2, Mission Churches (ed),
she is Associate Editor of the Journal of African Christian Biography.
“This outstanding volume demonstrates the significance of biographies in understanding African Christianity
and its relation to World Christianity. The book is essential reading for anyone concerned with African
Christianity.”
Philomena Njeri Mwaura • Kenyatta University
“African Christian Biography presents us with a stimulating account of the Christian impact on the people and
societies of Africa. The essays breathe with the intimacy of human struggle to give historical inquiry the vivid
perspective of insiders as movers and shakers. The book reinforces the importance of biography for historical
reconstruction and cultural innovation; it shows how the subjects of history, uninhibited by the boundaries and
demarcations of conventional classifications, are critical for helping us understand events and the ideas that
drive them.”
Lamin Sanneh • Yale University
“This excellent volume combines the insightful exploration of individual lives with clear discussion of the
methods, sources, and perspectives required to reveal unfamiliar characters or re-discover those better
known. It makes a significant contribution to the scholarship on African Christianity and is a suberb resource
for students, scholars, and all enquirers into the lives of African women and men.”
Emma Wild-Wood • University of Edinburgh
“Dana Robert has collected here a wealth of valuable research on African Christian leaders that fills an
enormous gap in scholarly literature. This is a groundbreaking book that deserves to be on the book shelf of
every person interested in World Christianity.”
Allan H. Anderson • University of Birmingham
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Editor: Dana L. Robert