Ochorus for African churches
Free Christian classics for churches in Africa
Augustine, Athanasius, Cyprian and Antony were Africans. So were Samuel Ajayi Crowther and the brothers and sisters of the East African Revival. Their books, and the great classics in English, Swahili and Luganda, free on any phone.
- books
- 295
- sermons
- 251
- reading plans
- 36
- languages
- 10
In the languages you serve
Each language has its own library of full editions. Send someone straight to theirs, and the whole site reads in that language.
Español
Spanish
145 books · 72 sermons · 28 reading plans
- Tukutendereza
TukutenderezaVidas del Avivamiento de África Oriental - Un fuego escondido
Un fuego escondidoLo único que quería saber - Diario de una expedición por el Níger
Diario de una expedición por el NígerPor los ríos Níger y Tshadda, 1854 - Amanda Smith: una autobiografía
Amanda Smith: una autobiografíaLa historia del trato del Señor con la señora Amanda Smith
Kiswahili
Swahili
90 books · 238 sermons · 18 reading plans
Luganda
58 books · 44 sermons · 9 reading plans
Português
Portuguese
92 books · 63 sermons · 16 reading plans
العربية
Arabic
57 books · 44 sermons · 11 reading plans
Français
French
168 books · 100 sermons · 30 reading plans
- Tukutendereza TukutenderezaDes vies du réveil est-africain
- Amanda Smith : une autobiographie Amanda Smith : une autobiographieLe récit des voies du Seigneur envers Mme Amanda Smith
- Les Confessions
Les ConfessionsD’après la traduction anglaise d’Edward B. Pusey - Sur l’incarnation du Verbe
Sur l’incarnation du VerbeTraduit de l’anglais d’Archibald Robertson
हिन्दी
Hindi
51 books · 36 sermons · 7 reading plans
Українська
Ukrainian
39 books · 29 sermons · 5 reading plans
አማርኛ
Amharic
130 books · 39 sermons · 26 reading plans
Good places to start
The church in Africa
Revival, mission, and the first African Anglican bishop.
Africa’s church fathers
From Hippo, Alexandria, Carthage and the Egyptian desert.
For children and teens
The same lives, told for young readers.
Why African churches use Ochorus
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In the languages your people speak
Full editions in Spanish, Swahili, Luganda, Portuguese, Arabic, French, Hindi, Ukrainian and Amharic as well as English, with more languages on the way.
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The East African Revival
Tukutendereza and A Hidden Fire tell the story of the Balokole revival that began in Uganda in 1929 and spread through six countries.
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Africa’s church fathers
Augustine of Hippo, Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyprian of Carthage and Antony of Egypt shaped the faith of the whole church. Their books are here in full.
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Free, and printed too
Every book is free to read with no account. Ochorus also prints books and gives them away at pastors’ conferences and in churches, schools and prisons across East Africa.
“Too late loved I Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new!”
Plans to read together
One short reading a day. Start on the same day and everyone reaches the same chapter together, each reader ticking off their own progress as they go.
Family Devotions: The Boy from Osogun
12 days·~2 min/dayTwelve nights of five-minute family devotions with Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the Yoruba boy sold as a slave who grew up to give his people the Bible in their own language. Read one short chapter aloud: the slave ship stopped at sea, the day he found his mother again, the Lord’s Prayer in Yoruba for the Queen, and the kind slaves who fed him when he was a prisoner. Each ends with a prayer and three questions to talk about together.
Day 1 ·Samuel Ajayi Crowther (For Children)
Voices of the Early Church
128 days·~2 min/dayThe first Christian centuries in their own words. Clement of Rome writes from the church at Rome while the apostles' own generation still lived, Ignatius of Antioch sends his letters on the road to martyrdom, and Athanasius of Alexandria sets out the heart of the faith — why God himself became man — in On the Incarnation. Short daily readings over about four months.
Day 1 ·The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
The Way to God: Grace for Every Sinner
35 days·~18 min/dayA month on the oldest good news there is. Richard Baxter's tender call to the unconverted, D. L. Moody on the way to God, and Charles Spurgeon's All of Grace — the plainest of guides to how a sinner is saved, and how to know it.
Day 1 ·A Call to the Unconverted
Start a reading group
Choose a plan and the day you begin, then pass on the link. Everyone who opens it is on the same day of the plan. Nobody needs an account, and nothing about anyone is collected.
Ways to use it in your church
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Read in Swahili or Luganda
Point each member to the library in their own language: the whole site reads in it.
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Tell the revival story
Read Tukutendereza with your fellowship and ask what that revival asks of you today.
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Africa’s fathers for students
Give Bible-school students Augustine’s Confessions and Athanasius On the Incarnation, written on African soil.
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Heroes for children
Read the life of Samuel Ajayi Crowther with children: the boy from Osogun who became a bishop.
Meet the writers
The lives behind the books: each one has a full biography, with the books and sermons they left.
Pass it on
A message ready for a bulletin, a group chat or an email. Copy it as it is, or make it your own.
Questions
Is Ochorus really free?
Yes. Every book and sermon on Ochorus is free to read, with no paywall, no subscription and no ads. The classics themselves are in the public domain, and Ochorus is a ministry, not a business.
Which African languages are there?
Books are published as full editions in Spanish, Swahili, Luganda, Portuguese, Arabic, French, Hindi, Ukrainian and Amharic as well as English, and more languages are on the way. Each language has its own library.
Can we get printed books?
Ochorus prints books and gives them away at pastors’ conferences and in churches, schools and prisons across East Africa. If your church would like to take part, please contact us.
Africa’s story, in Africa’s languages
Open the library in your language, or start with the story of the East African Revival.