The African Theological Archministry is a new religious movement

New religious movement

A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...

, one in the tradition of the Yoruba religion, that was founded by Walter Eugene King

Adefunmi

Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi was the first African-American to ever be initiated into the priesthood of the initiation cult of any African traditional religion...

. In 1970, King declared himself a Yoruba king and took the regnal name "Oba Efuntola Adelabu Adefunmi I". He then moved the congregation of followers that had grown around him to South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, where they subsequently founded the Oyotunji

Oyotunji

Oyotunji African Village is a village located near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina that was founded by the late Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I in 1970, as part of a "New World Yoruba" initiative....

community. The group has grown over the years, having nineteen affiliated centers in the United States in 1988.