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Introduction The issue of women and leadership in Africa's religious sphere has been a neglected discourse in gender studies. This attitude is characterized by the Western perception that views women's role narrowly as emotional, mothers of children and husbands' comforters and only relevant within the home. This perception contradicts Africa's oral tradition that places importance on women's role, including the political and economic space. For instance in Yoruba traditional society, the responsibility of a woman to provide for her family included providing the material resources for such care, believing that such provisions met their responsibility as women and citizens. Such services done by women were complementary to men's work, and the former achieved impressive status in the economic and social spheres. Likewise, traditional religion placed women as pertinent players in their various communities. In fact, women were seen as the repository, sustainers and transmitters of religious traditions. This aspect is particularly salient since women held core positions in Yoruba traditional religious milieu such as Oya, Yemoja (the most senior goddess of Yoruba Pantheon), Otin (goddess of Otin River), Osun (goddess of Osun River) and the Gelede cult, which relates to fertility in women. As agents or leaders in the religious sphere, Coquery-Vidrovitch (1997) argued that men always worshipped female figures because they feared a power that they needed but could not control, including; the ability to give life, to obtain good harvests for the community through fertility rituals, to intervene as mediators in the complex marriage strategies engage in social relations among neighboring groups and villages; to defuse quarrels, handle children and women's medical needs, and to heal. In spite of these powerful roles played in the religious sphere, in some cases, women were exempted from participating in some core traditional religious practices (and still are), subordinating them in the public space. An example of this religious practice is found in the Oro cult festival. During Oro's procession, there is the popular cliche that women dare not look or peep at the deity or else, would die. Only men partake in the rituals leading to the Oro's procession and join in the celebration. Despite the lacuna in some religious practices, the leadership role played by women in African traditional political, economic, social and even religious spheres cannot be over-emphasized (Nwoye 2004, 1). With the advent of missionary churches all over Africa, and Southern Nigeria to be specific, most women were converted from traditional to modern Christianity and subsequently, their ability to exert influence reduced drastically regardless of their size (number) within the Church when compared to their role in traditional religion. The current wave of Christianity, especially with the inception of new indigenous churches and more importantly, Pentecostal churches whereby women establish, lead and enjoy active control, has shown some improvement in the gap. Even in male-dominated Pentecostal churches, women serve pertinent roles over and above male counterparts. How does this new wave translate to and represent total breaking of Christian women's stained glass ceiling? Has this transformation trickled down to women in the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim (ESOCS) or commonly shortened to Order, one of the factions of the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church denominations? What are the issues that discriminate against women's emergence as leaders within the Order? Can they be addressed? It is within this context that women's leadership roles in the Order, will be investigated. Based on the use of participant observation and oral interviews with some members from Gideon House of Prayer, one of the branches of the ESOCS in Nigeria, and Mount Zion Headquarters, this study explains the hindrances impinging on successful transformation of women into leadership positions in the church. …
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