The dispute between two wings of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Angola has provoked clashes between the faithful and the local police.
The church led by Brazilian bishop Edir Macedo has been going through a storm in the African country for two and a half years.
Pro-Macedo faithful, who rival local religious leaders, kept a 24-hour vigil for more than a week in protest against the Angolan state’s decision to keep temples closed due to fights and lawsuits against Universal in court.
The faithful, including elderly women, spent the night in front of the temples. Religious were arrested and four people were injured in the early hours of Wednesday (20), when the Angolan National Police tried to remove supporters of Macedo who were occupying the Maculusso cathedral, in Luanda.
About 100 Universal temples in Angola were interdicted by the country’s authorities due to the legal battle between the two groups that claim control of the institution.
The Angolan police informed that the faithful, “in disobedience to the authorities”, would have illegally removed the seals from the access to the Maculusso and Alvalade neighborhood temples. Temples were also illegally opened in the localities of Benfica and Talatona.
“Pastors have shared audios on social media, motivating the faithful to go to these temples to practice violence in order to return to worship,” said the director of Institutional Communication of the National Police in Luanda, Nestor Goubel.
The police said that clergymen reopened the temples without any warrant that would legitimize the repossession of the seized properties. The Brazilian wing would have decided to retake the churches on their own and, therefore, the police were called. Then there was the confrontation.
On social media, religious linked to the Reformation —a group of Angolan bishops and pastors recognized by the government as responsible today for the local Universal Church—, denounced that a pastor linked to the Brazilian wing had summoned the faithful, instructing them to take gasoline and tires to burn in in front of the temples.
According to the police spokesman, “severe” measures could be taken against followers who insist on having access to religious temples, without the prior legal authorization of the authorities.
In the dispute in Angola, there are the faithful supporters of the “Reform” – which are recognized by the National Institute of Religious Dialogue (Inar), an organ of the Angolan Ministry of Culture -, and on the other hand the “movement of 7,000”, which follows the lead by Edir Macedo and continues to be considered the legitimate direction of the church in the country.
dispute over ownership
The split at Universal de Angola began at the end of 2019 with the emergence of Reforma, a group led by about 300 Angolan bishops and pastors, which openly opposed the Brazilian leadership and released a manifesto accusing the institution of crimes such as money laundering, evasion of foreign exchange, racism and imposition of vasectomies on pastors.
In June 2020, Angolan bishops and pastors took charge of the church, after a general assembly that removed the former leaders aligned with Bishop Macedo.
Since then, the dispute has intensified. In May of last year, TV Record Africa had its activities suspended in Angola. More than 50 pastors and Universal workers were sent back to Brazil.
The new confusion arose after Judge Tutri Antônio, of the 4th Section of Common Crimes of the Court of Luanda, determined, on March 31, that the temples, assets and blocked bank accounts of the Universal Church should be returned to their legitimate direction.
As the judge did not specify what that legitimate direction would be, and there is a fierce dispute between two wings, Universal’s Brazilian management began to consider that it would have its temples back. In a statement, Universal in Brazil stated that the court ordered the “return of the temples and goods to Universal in the country”.
Judge Tutri Antônio ordered the return of the temples at the end of the trial that sentenced Brazilian bishop Honorilton Gonçalves, former all-powerful of TV Record in Brazil and later spiritual leader of Universal in Angola, to three years in prison for imposing vasectomy on pastors. . His sentence was suspended for two years. Three other defendants linked to the church were acquitted.
Regarding the dispute over the temples, the magistrate stated that the discussion should take place in another judicial instance, as it was up to him only to analyze the alleged crimes pointed out in the process.
“It is an issue that must be resolved in another court. People who are disputing control of the church have lawyers and they know where to go in order to determine who will manage and who will receive back the assets that the court ordered to be refunded,” said the judge. “That part is no longer up to me, it’s no longer up to my colleagues. For this reason, we don’t speak out.”
For the Angolan wing of Universal, there is no doubt that the institution in the country is commanded by the Angolan bishop Valente Bezerra LuÃs, as the general assembly that elected him, in 2020, would have been recognized by the National Institute of Religious Dialogue.
However, a publication of changes to the church’s statute in the Diário da República (the Angolan Official Gazette) in October 2021, forwarded by the Brazilian wing, reignited the discussion and generated confusion. The Angolan government claims to have not received this change request.
The deputy director general of Inar, Ambrósio Micolo, said that today there are no wards in the Universal Church, but a recognized direction and it would not have been the one that illegally reopened the temples. “There is a direction legitimized by the Angolan government and which will receive the temples to be delivered by Inar. Inar is just waiting for the court’s notification”, he informed. “The faithful must remain calm, which will be restored to legality”.
In a video on social media, Bishop Alberto Segunda, the church’s leader according to the Brazilian ward, said his followers are being “wronged and persecuted.”
In a note released on Friday (22), Bishop Segunda also states that the church has no relationship with inciting acts of violence, either “directly or indirectly”.
The note goes on to say that there is “fierce persecution by a group of individuals who seek at any cost to achieve their ulterior motives”, but that “we will never condone any act of violent resistance”.
BBC News Brasil contacted the IURD in Brazil for further clarification, but received no response at the time of publishing this report.
Second already foresees the possibility of an unfavorable result for the Brazilian wing. The bishop said that if the Angolan state decides to “take away” the patrimony of Edir Macedo’s church, “we will start again from scratch”. The bishop asked that, in this case, the government at least not remove the UCKG (Universal Church of the Kingdom of God) mark.
Another spokesman for the pro-Macedo group, OlÃvio Alberto, said that “dissidents from the Universal Church” would have had the support of the Angolan National Police. For him, police would be occupying the churches to later “deliver to the supposed pastors protected by the Angolan authorities”. Inar, in the opinion of OlÃvio Alberto, would also be supporting the bishops and pastors of the Reformation.
The religious who oppose Edir Macedo, on the other hand, supported the police action in the Maculusso cathedral. For Bishop Valente Bezerra LuÃs, appointed by Inar as the current president of the church, the police operation guaranteed legality.
“I have to congratulate the police work. Our brothers invaded the temples that were sealed and held the services. They were warned that they were not the legitimate representatives and ignored the police’s appeal three times. In audios, pastors encouraged violence It’s very sad “, said Louis.
