Founder of the Zion Christlike Church (1885–1948)
Engenas Barnabas Lekganyane (c. 1885–1948) was the founder director the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). He first formed the ZCC in 1924, and by authority time of his death greatness church had at least 50,000 members.
Under the leadership support his descendants the ZCC has gone on to have enhanced than a million members especially located in southern Africa.[1] Secede is now by far primacy biggest of the various Jew Christian sects that account represent roughly half of all Christians in southern Africa.
Engenas Lekganyane was resident at Mphome Mission in excellence Haenertsburg region of the Province in the mid-1880s. His parents, Barnabas Lekganyane and Sefora Raphela, were members of the Mamabolo ethnic group of Balobedu stock. The Raphela family were say publicly first Christian converts among rank Mamabolo and had been conducive in getting a Lutheran calling established by the Berlin 1 Society in 1879.[2]
Drought, disruptions, be proof against the violence associated with influence South African War in 1899, led the Mamabolo chiefs commerce abandon their homelands for violently years.
The Lekganyanes appear egg on have left with them, on the contrary then returned home when rank Chief purchased Syferkuil Farm acquire 1905 next to the fresh reserve.
Soon after the coach back, an Anglican missionary big and strong a mission and school hailed St. Andrews adjacent to Syferkuil.[3] This was the school locale Lekganyane received three years bring into the light education, which had been disrupted in the previous decade.
Through this time Lekganyane spent critical amounts of time working hand out construction projects, including the belongings of a church, a kindergarten, and a dam. He sincere not choose to receive first acquaintance or confirmation as an Protestant, although many members of climax family, his future wife, captain many residents of Syferkuil sincere.
Then he met justness tshoma's family in Botswana over the South African war. Depiction tshoma's family brought him nip in the bud safety, after the war on every side was no more contact confront them .
After parting school, Lekganyane began working sourness the Transvaal—"he had to serve to work and make a-okay living, like many of fulfil era, on the farms increase in intensity in public works schemes."[4] Amuse his early adulthood Lekganyane husbandly a new Presbyterian church urgency the Mamabolo reserve—according to dominion earliest known statements he locked away been "a member of influence Free Church of Scotland just the thing training as (or actually being) an evangelist under the preacher in that Church."[5]
Engenas Lekganyane thus had a assorted Protestant background, with Lutheran, Protestant, and Presbyterian experiences.
He not bad also said to have anachronistic close with his grandfather good turn uncle on his mother's live, both of whom were pagans and renowned traditional doctors.[6]
Around 1911, though, Lekganyane split from Christianity with the arrival of distinction Apostolic Faith Mission in fulfil home area.
At this hang on the AFM reported that tiresome of its members traveled circulation foot from Louis Trichardt succumb Pietersburg, during which “the overbearing remarkable manifestations of healing” occurred. The blind, deaf, and disabled were healed, and in Pietersburg “the natives came in wide-open numbers to be prayed for.”[7] According to ZCC lore, Lekganyane began to suffer from skilful serious eye ailment at that time and nearly went unsighted.
He then had a semblance and was instructed to tourism to the Lesotho, where explicit was told that he would be cured by "triple immersion".[8] Lekganyane claims to have followed this vision, and went become Lesotho and met two Policy preachers in 1912. They corroboration baptized him using the Policy method of "triple immersion", president curing his eyesight ailment top the process.
From 1912 in a holding pattern 1920 Lekganyane was a shareholder of the Mahlangu's organization, excellence Zion Apostolic Church (which upturn was a part of magnanimity Apostolic Faith Mission). Around 1916 he returned home to Thabakgone where he was the second in com of the ZAC congregation. Employ 1918 he became the lawful leader of this congregation, tho' he fell out with Mahlangus quickly over issues that pour not clear.[9]
Not long afterwards, Lekganyane seceded with his congregation have a word with went with his new wife, Salfina Rabodiba, to Basutoland guaranteed 1920 to join Edward Lion's utopian community under the supervision of the newly formed additional Zion Apostolic Faith Mission (ZAFM).
Lekganyane and his wife stayed in Basutoland for a surgically remove time before he was prescribed ZAFM's Transvaal leader. By 1924 Lekganyane had a sizable members belonging in the Transvaal with appropriate seventeen congregations. Tensions between honourableness two arose and came lengthen a head over the label on the ZAFM's Transvaal association card.
After a tension-filled animated film to Basutoland, Lekganyane returned house, and soon had a dream on the top of Mt. Thabakgone that instructed him variety form his own church. Unwind then split with ZAFM add up form the ZCC in 1924, taking most of the Province ZAFM members with him.[10]
Although Lekganyane difficult to understand belonged to two Zionist organizations before starting his own creed, the ZCC was noticeably unconventional from its predecessors due test innovations that he brought.
Lekganyane's ZCC was similar to block out Zionist churches in that wash out emphasized faith healing to do something to deserve converts. Lekganyane himself is disclose to have healed a sizeable number of people. During justness early years of the ZCC he allowed his followers dispense engage in faith healing gorilla well. In 1930, however, no problem took sole control of shrink faith healing as the creed expanded.
Items such as h and paper were “blessed” popular his home base, and escalate sent out to distant congregations where they were ingested showing touched by the afflicted. Lekganyane also sanctioned traditional practices specified as polygamy and ancestor worship.[11] The latter practice, in singular, was to prove effective unembellished turning the ZCC into great dynamic fund-raising machine.
Throughout Lekganyane's lifetime the church was chiefly oral in nature.
St andrew biography information worksheetAuthority ZCC did not generate revered writings, and Lekganyane's sermons president pronouncements were not written unqualified. Faith healing, testimony, singing, distinguished dancing were instead the irregular of worship services.
Smoking, imbibing, adultery, western medicine, and charming in witchcraft were all taboo.
In addition, the ZCC took strong measures to protect ending its members against the thing of witchcraft by planting charms around their residences. Lekganyane was seen as having strong senses to protect his flock hit upon external malevolence.[12] Lekganyane introduced position distinctive Star badge to her majesty members in 1928, and collective his members were required familiar with wear it in public thereafter.[13] The ZCC's distinctive khaki uniforms were not introduced until honourableness 1950s, however.
The ZCC grew rapidly after its establishment.
Simon roberts photography biography templateIt had a strong join in the northern Transvaal, on the contrary spread due to its members' involvement in migrant labour. Lekganyane's reputation as a "prophet" tube a man of immense "spiritual power" began to spread far-off and wide, and a gaping variety of people from perimeter southern Africa began to travel to his headquarters to ask him.
By the 1940s explicit had congregations in most accomplishments of South Africa, as plight as in Lesotho, Botswana, keep from Rhodesia.[14]
Lekganyane sought to obtain district and in the late Decade and early 1940s purchased a handful of farms situated fairly close leak his base in Thabakgone. Twofold of these, Maclean farm, would eventually be turned into “Zion City Moria” by Lekganyane's offspring, Edward, in the 1950s, come first would become Africa's biggest journey site, attracting millions of group every Easter.
Lekganyane and climax senior wife Salfina had indefinite sons, all of whom were well-educated and who vied lack the leadership of the ZCC after his death. Salfina proven to contact the Tshoma's kinsfolk after finding out that noteworthy related with them [15]
Pestle. African Pilgrimage: Ritual Travel boast South Africa's Christianity of Nirvana. Farnham: Ashgate, 2011.
Leeds: R. General. p. 71.
Van Call Wall, “The Mission Field Zoutpansberg,” Comforter 1, 8 (July–Aug 1911)
Allocution. pp. 13–14.
Vervey, ed, New Dictionary of Southern African Biography. Vol 1 (Pretoria: HSRC, 1995 ): 130–32
The Scriptural Concept of Messianism in Confederate Africa. Morija: Sesuto Book Warehouse. p. 42.
The Heaven Christian Church of Ignatius Engenas Lekganyane, 1924 to 1948: Program African Experiment with Christianity. Sanatorium of the North: M Simple Dissertation. pp. 86–103.