Many studies observed that the Church involvement in ecclesiastical architecture for a number of decades
amounted to apostasy and heresy. Other studies have also noted that architecture has augmented and has become an
impetus to the aspirations and purpose of Christianity. This study examined apostasy and heresy in the Church and how
they have affected the development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. The three phases of ecclesiastical architecture
development were considered. Since this study is theoretical and historical in nature, qualitative methods in form of
literature, unstructured interview and non-participant observation were adopted to gather the data. The analysis was done
through description and content analysis. The findings of this study showed that, in Nigeria, architecture created identity
for the Church, registered the Church’s presence at every location, exhibited the wealth of the Church, encouraged the poor
of hope and announced the Church to the world. This study concluded that the issue of apostasy or heresy was not
associated with the development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. Rather architecture has contributed to the
aspirations and purpose of the Church
