The spirit of Umunna and the development of small Christian communities in Igboland

How can the Igbo Christians express their own values of community, harmony, and solidarity in the context of their Christian faith? Can the Umunna community be used as a base for the establishment of small Christian communities in Igboland? In order to achieve a community-oriented Church from the Igbo perspective the author made an indepth study of community in Igbo context. By exploring Umunna traditional and natural groups found in Igboland for a better understanding and structuring of the Church, according to the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, this work tries to look at the question of how the Church should exist and function, using the peoples' cultural setup. The author proposes methods that will enable the parish to move away and to develop into a communion of communities. This study seeks to contribute something to a more authentically African Christianity, using a communicative social milieu that makes it possible for the «Church to become» and «to be» in Igboland - «Our Church».