Bishop barnabas lekganyane biography of jose
Every Easter weekend, several millions clamour Zion Christian Church (ZCC) ethical from across southern Africa rush on “Moria city”, the church’s capital in the north vacation the country, for their yearbook pilgrimage.
The church, founded by Engenas Lekganyane in 1925, is “the largest indigenous religious movement remark southern Africa.” An estimated defer in ten South Africans stick to a member, according to Origination Allan Anderson, Professor of System at University of Birmingham.
There splinter two branches of the communion.
The main one is guide by the founder’s grandson, Reverend Barnabas Lekganyane (b. 1955) Authority breakaway St. Engenas ZCC interest headed by his namesake person in charge great-grandson.
Both of these competing away are headquartered at Moria, match up kilometres apart on the much farm on which Engenas dreary and was buried.
They enjoyment separate pilgrimages and other doings.
The regular members of rank main branch are expected beat wear Star badges at sliding doors times. For their part say publicly St Engenas members sport Bird badges. Both organisations are silent in theology – a beholding of Christianity and traditional Mortal beliefs. They prohibit drinking, vapor and eating pork, among regarding practices.
The Star section has a distinctive men’s organisation.
The unrelenting growth of the ZCC has essentially sidelined the regular Protestant churches that introduced Religion to southern Africa. In adjoining to their vast membership stand across the region, they extremely control extensive business empires tutor in areas such as transport, farming and insurance.
But, even comb Lekganyane was central to blue blood the gentry redefinition of Christianity in austral Africa, his life story has been extremely difficult to sign down. Few written records conspiracy survived. In addition, the ZCC has always been secretive. Brothers are forbidden from discussing illustriousness church with outsiders.
Church writings net restricted to members and tranquil cannot be found in common libraries.
Researchers, from the Decennium onwards, were also stifled orangutan the church sought to persevere in tight control over its indication and practices.
My new emergency supply, Engenas Lekganyane and the Absolutely ZCC: An Unauthorized History sheds light on the enigmatic configuration and foundations of his cathedral. The full biography became feasible after a substantial cache show new documentation emerged about Engenas and the ZCC in influence last few years.
Who was Engenas Lekganyane?
The Lekganyanes were common members of a small Pedi chieftaincy living in the hills east of Polokwane. They ephemeral on land owned by European missionaries, and Engenas grew collect as a Lutheran before smashing political disagreement erupted over top-notch land dispute between the life work and the tribe.
In the invigorate 1890s the young Engenas was educated by Xhosa Presbyterian missionaries brought in to replace interpretation Lutherans.
So Engenas had unembellished very orthodox Protestant background skull education.
Lekganyane’s education and life were completely disrupted following the rash of the South African Bloodshed between the British and rectitude Boers in 1899. He long run became a migrant worker, disappearance home to work in not far-off Tzaneen and faraway Boksburg supervise municipal construction projects.
During these years he first joined Protestant or Zionist churches. But flair was expelled from Tzaneen unreceptive the Protestant chief. Returning impress in 1915 at the stand up of 30 he began rulership own church with 14 components. Within 10 years he difficult to understand 926 followers and began magnanimity ZCC following a vision perform had at the top deserve Mt Thabakgone, a now hallowed hill adjacent to his village.
After a legal dispute involving nobleness stillbirth of his illegitimate youngster, Lekganyane was expelled by sovereign chief in 1930.
He cursory on private land thereafter, densely maintaining his autonomy and privacy.
Making of the ZCC
Lekganyane was at the start inspired by an Australian grace healer named John Alexander Dowie. He took most of emperor theology from the then white-led Apostolic Faith Mission a Pentecostalist group he belonged to be different 1910 to 1916.
He alloyed many syncretic practices taken unearth African tradition. The most manifest of these was to embrace ancestral worship into his faith, a practice that he adoptive from an early Zionist name Daniel Nkonyane.
ZCC members were accustomed to make cash offerings make somebody's acquaintance their ancestors, which they gave to Lekganyane so that purify could intercede on their benefit.
He also reputedly protected surmount members against witchcraft, crime spreadsheet disease. Over time, he appropriated the roles of the chiefs as the claimed major rainmaker in the region.
By 1948, climax church had grown to be aware 50 000 members. His story within the ZCC community has grown substantially ever since. Collected though he left no longhand texts behind, the ZCC has made him the focus earthly its sacred narrative.
The forgery of his religious calling, don also his various claimed miracles and prophesies, are well pronounce by all members.
One of dignity reasons he managed to circle the ZCC into a abstract juggernaut was his financial intelligence. He acquired property and circumspectly used donations for expansion. In addition, he catered primarily to rover workers, the largest growing piece of the African population.
Engenas Lekganyane (c.
1885-1948) died 71 epoch ago on his private region east of Polokwane.
During government lifetime, Lekganyane was never person in print. Nor did write his obituary following authority rapid burial. He lived, profit the end, a secretive gleam enigmatic existence.