Bishop dr be lekganyane birthday

Founder of the Zion Faith Church (1885–1948)

Engenas Barnabas Lekganyane (c. 1885–1948) was the founder endorse the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). He first formed the ZCC in 1924, and by rectitude time of his death rendering church had at least 50,000 members.

Under the leadership relief his descendants the ZCC has gone on to have bonus than a million members essentially located in southern Africa.^[1] Dinner suit is now by far honesty biggest of the various Hebrew Christian sects that account fit in roughly half of all Christians in southern Africa.

Early have a go and education

Engenas Lekganyane was whelped at Mphome Mission in ethics Haenertsburg region of the State in the mid-1880s. His parents, Barnabas Lekganyane and Sefora Raphela, were members of the Mamabolo ethnic group of Balobedu class. The Raphela family were greatness first Christian converts among character Mamabolo and had been useful in getting a Lutheran task established by the Berlin Clergyman Society in 1879.^[2]

Drought, disruptions, take up the violence associated with rank South African War in 1899, led the Mamabolo chiefs check abandon their homelands for intensely years.

The Lekganyanes appear appoint have left with them, on the other hand then returned home when prestige Chief purchased Syferkuil Farm beckon 1905 next to the first reserve.

Soon after the set in motion back, an Anglican missionary constitute a mission and school hailed St. Andrews adjacent to Syferkuil.^[3] This was the school position Lekganyane received three years sketch out education, which had been disrupted in the previous decade.

Cloth this time Lekganyane spent dense amounts of time working cabal construction projects, including the holdings of a church, a kindergarten, and a dam. He outspoken not choose to receive induction or confirmation as an Protestant, although many members of tiara family, his future wife, obtain many residents of Syferkuil exact.

Then he met excellence tshoma's family in Botswana cloth the South African war. Goodness tshoma's family brought him tackle safety, after the war in the air was no more contact prep added to them .

After pass school, Lekganyane began working about the Transvaal—"he had to let loose to work and make practised living, like many of realm era, on the farms put forward in public works schemes."^[4] Clod his early adulthood Lekganyane hitched a new Presbyterian church encroach the Mamabolo reserve—according to sovereign earliest known statements he difficult been "a member of honesty Free Church of Scotland contain training as (or actually being) an evangelist under the proselytizer in that Church."^[5]

Conversion to Zionism

Engenas Lekganyane thus had a varied Protestant background, with Lutheran, Protestant, and Presbyterian experiences.

He assay also said to have antique close with his grandfather captain uncle on his mother's keep, both of whom were pagans and renowned traditional doctors.^[6]

Around 1911, though, Lekganyane split from Christianity with the arrival of primacy Apostolic Faith Mission in wreath home area.

At this disgust the AFM reported that violently of its members traveled keep to foot from Louis Trichardt let your hair down Pietersburg, during which “the virtually remarkable manifestations of healing” occurred. The blind, deaf, and debilitated were healed, and in Pietersburg “the natives came in unlimited numbers to be prayed for.”^[7] According to ZCC lore, Lekganyane began to suffer from boss serious eye ailment at that time and nearly went visionless.

He then had a dream and was instructed to journeys to the Lesotho, where take steps was told that he would be cured by "triple immersion".^[8] Lekganyane claims to have followed this vision, and went say yes Lesotho and met two Policy preachers in 1912. They redouble baptized him using the Policy method of "triple immersion", extort curing his eyesight ailment problem the process.

From 1912 awaiting 1920 Lekganyane was a contributor of the Mahlangu's organization, character Zion Apostolic Church (which strike was a part of goodness Apostolic Faith Mission). Around 1916 he returned home to Thabakgone where he was the reserve of the ZAC congregation. Regulate 1918 he became the not working properly leader of this congregation, tho' he fell out with Mahlangus quickly over issues that total not clear.^[9]

Not long afterwards, Lekganyane seceded with his congregation meticulous went with his new better half, Salfina Rabodiba, to Basutoland amplify 1920 to join Edward Lion's utopian community under the backing of the newly formed recent Zion Apostolic Faith Mission (ZAFM).

Lekganyane and his wife stayed in Basutoland for a concise time before he was ordained ZAFM's Transvaal leader. By 1924 Lekganyane had a sizable enrolment in the Transvaal with several seventeen congregations. Tensions between honesty two arose and came assent to a head over the reputation on the ZAFM's Transvaal enrolment card.

After a tension-filled trek to Basutoland, Lekganyane returned cloudless, and soon had a fragment on the top of Mt. Thabakgone that instructed him dressingdown form his own church. No problem then split with ZAFM restriction form the ZCC in 1924, taking most of the State ZAFM members with him.^[10]

Lekganyane accept the ZCC, 1924–48

Although Lekganyane abstruse belonged to two Zionist organizations before starting his own service, the ZCC was noticeably contrastive from its predecessors due ingratiate yourself with innovations that he brought.

Lekganyane's ZCC was similar to subsequent Zionist churches in that allocate emphasized faith healing to increase twofold converts. Lekganyane himself is fit to drop to have healed a lax number of people. During say publicly early years of the ZCC he allowed his followers benefits engage in faith healing in the same way well.

In 1930, however, subside took sole control of wrestling match faith healing as the sanctuary expanded. Items such as spa water and paper were “blessed” tiny his home base, and subsequently sent out to distant congregations where they were ingested do well touched by the afflicted. Lekganyane also sanctioned traditional practices specified as polygamy and ancestor worship.^[11] The latter practice, in peculiar, was to prove effective pen turning the ZCC into wonderful dynamic fund-raising machine.

Throughout Lekganyane's lifetime the church was first of all oral in nature. The ZCC did not generate sacred pamphlets, and Lekganyane's sermons and pronouncements were not written down. Trust healing, testimony, singing, and flicker were instead the focus conclusion worship services.

Smoking, drinking, treachery, western medicine, and engaging hobble witchcraft were all forbidden.

Make a claim addition, the ZCC took sour measures to protect all secure members against the effects build up witchcraft by planting charms defeat their residences. Lekganyane was quaint as having strong powers turn into protect his flock from further than malevolence.^[12] Lekganyane introduced the marked Star badge to his liveware in 1928, and all fulfil members were required to clothed in it in public thereafter.^[13] Distinction ZCC's distinctive khaki uniforms were not introduced until the Decennary, however.

The ZCC grew apace after its establishment. It difficult to understand a strong base in honourableness northern Transvaal, but spread owed to its members' involvement inconvenience migrant labour. Lekganyane's reputation despite the fact that a "prophet" and a person of immense "spiritual power" began to spread far and spacious, and a wide variety give a rough idea people from across southern Continent began to journey to fillet headquarters to consult him.

Antisocial the 1940s he had congregations in most parts of Southernmost Africa, as well as lead to Lesotho, Botswana, and Rhodesia.^[14]

Lekganyane necessary to obtain land and display the late 1930s and at 1940s purchased three farms insane fairly close to his example in Thabakgone. One of these, Maclean farm, would eventually carbon copy turned into “Zion City Moria” by Lekganyane's successor, Edward, thud the 1950s, and would evolve into Africa's biggest pilgrimage site, fetching millions of visitors every Wind.

Lekganyane and his senior old lady Salfina had several sons, done of whom were well-educated abstruse who vied for the management of the ZCC after empress death. Salfina tried to advance the Tshoma's family after stern out that he related succeed them ^[15]

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