Founder of the Zion Christian Church (1885–1948)
Engenas Barnabas Lekganyane (c. 1885–1948) was the founder of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). He first formed the ZCC in 1924, and by rendering time of his death the church had at least 50,000 members. Under the leadership of his descendants the ZCC has gone on to have more than a million members especially located in southern Africa.[1] It is now by far interpretation biggest of the various Zionist Christian sects that account send off for roughly half of all Christians in southern Africa.
Engenas Lekganyane was born at Mphome Mission in picture Haenertsburg region of the Transvaal in the mid-1880s. His parents, Barnabas Lekganyane and Sefora Raphela, were members of the Mamabolo ethnic group of Balobedu tribe. The Raphela family were rendering first Christian converts among the Mamabolo and had been utilitarian in getting a Lutheran mission established by the Berlin Evangelist Society in 1879.[2]
Drought, disruptions, and the violence associated with picture South African War in 1899, led the Mamabolo chiefs round off abandon their homelands for some years. The Lekganyanes appear preempt have left with them, but then returned home when rendering Chief purchased Syferkuil Farm in 1905 next to the earliest reserve.
Soon after the move back, an Anglican missionary reinforced a mission and school called St. Andrews adjacent to Syferkuil.[3] This was the school where Lekganyane received three years see education, which had been disrupted in the previous decade. Over this time Lekganyane spent considerable amounts of time working muse construction projects, including the building of a church, a educational institution, and a dam. He did not choose to receive baptism or confirmation as an Anglican, although many members of his family, his future wife, and many residents of Syferkuil plainspoken.
Then he met the tshoma's family in Botswana meanwhile the South African war. The tshoma's family brought him consent safety, after the war there was no more contact block them .
After leaving school, Lekganyane began working destroy the Transvaal—"he had to go to work and make a living, like many of his era, on the farms discipline in public works schemes."[4] In his early adulthood Lekganyane connected a new Presbyterian church in the Mamabolo reserve—according to his earliest known statements he had been "a member of say publicly Free Church of Scotland in training as (or actually being) an evangelist under the missionary in that Church."[5]
Engenas Lekganyane thus had a diverse Protestant background, with Lutheran, Protestant, and Presbyterian experiences. He is also said to have bent close with his grandfather and uncle on his mother's put to one side, both of whom were pagans and renowned traditional doctors.[6]
Around 1911, though, Lekganyane split from Protestantism with the arrival of interpretation Apostolic Faith Mission in his home area. At this about the AFM reported that some of its members traveled deny foot from Louis Trichardt to Pietersburg, during which “the ultimate remarkable manifestations of healing” occurred. The blind, deaf, and lame were healed, and in Pietersburg “the natives came in infinite numbers to be prayed for.”[7] According to ZCC lore, Lekganyane began to suffer from a serious eye ailment at that time and nearly went blind. He then had a make believe and was instructed to travel to the Lesotho, where settle down was told that he would be cured by "triple immersion".[8] Lekganyane claims to have followed this vision, and went inclination Lesotho and met two Zionist preachers in 1912. They so baptized him using the Zionist method of "triple immersion", delighted curing his eyesight ailment in the process. From 1912 until 1920 Lekganyane was a member of the Mahlangu's organization, picture Zion Apostolic Church (which itself was a part of rendering Apostolic Faith Mission). Around 1916 he returned home to Thabakgone where he was the deputy of the ZAC congregation. Brush 1918 he became the official leader of this congregation, tho' he fell out with Mahlangus quickly over issues that on top not clear.[9]
Not long afterwards, Lekganyane seceded with his congregation presentday went with his new bride, Salfina Rabodiba, to Basutoland discern 1920 to join Edward Lion's utopian community under the protection of the newly formed new Zion Apostolic Faith Mission (ZAFM). Lekganyane and his wife stayed in Basutoland for a thus time before he was appointed ZAFM's Transvaal leader. By 1924 Lekganyane had a sizable membership in the Transvaal with depleted seventeen congregations. Tensions between the two arose and came nurse a head over the name on the ZAFM's Transvaal body card. After a tension-filled trip to Basutoland, Lekganyane returned sunny, and soon had a vision on the top of Mt. Thabakgone that instructed him to form his own church. Flair then split with ZAFM to form the ZCC in 1924, taking most of the Transvaal ZAFM members with him.[10]
Although Lekganyane had belonged to two Zionist organizations before starting his own church, the ZCC was noticeably marked from its predecessors due to innovations that he brought.
Lekganyane's ZCC was similar to other Zionist churches in that acknowledge emphasized faith healing to win converts. Lekganyane himself is skull to have healed a large number of people. During representation early years of the ZCC he allowed his followers distribute engage in faith healing as well. In 1930, however, agreed took sole control of all faith healing as the communion expanded. Items such as water and paper were “blessed” erroneousness his home base, and then sent out to distant congregations where they were ingested or touched by the afflicted. Lekganyane also sanctioned traditional practices such as polygamy and ancestor worship.[11] The latter practice, in particular, was to prove effective keep turning the ZCC into a dynamic fund-raising machine. Throughout Lekganyane's lifetime the church was primarily oral in nature. The ZCC did not generate sacred writings, and Lekganyane's sermons and pronouncements were not written down. Faith healing, testimony, singing, and show were instead the focus of worship services.
Smoking, drinking, fornication, western medicine, and engaging in witchcraft were all forbidden. Fence in addition, the ZCC took strong measures to protect all university teacher members against the effects of witchcraft by planting charms leak out their residences. Lekganyane was seen as having strong powers proficient protect his flock from external malevolence.[12] Lekganyane introduced the singular Star badge to his members in 1928, and all his members were required to wear it in public thereafter.[13] Picture ZCC's distinctive khaki uniforms were not introduced until the Decennary, however.
The ZCC grew rapidly after its establishment. It challenging a strong base in the northern Transvaal, but spread birthright to its members' involvement in migrant labour. Lekganyane's reputation importance a "prophet" and a man of immense "spiritual power" began to spread far and wide, and a wide variety cut into people from across southern Africa began to journey to his headquarters to consult him. By the 1940s he had congregations in most parts of South Africa, as well as tackle Lesotho, Botswana, and Rhodesia.[14]
Lekganyane sought to obtain land and conduct yourself the late 1930s and early 1940s purchased three farms placed fairly close to his base in Thabakgone. One of these, Maclean farm, would eventually be turned into “Zion City Moria” by Lekganyane's successor, Edward, in the 1950s, and would progress Africa's biggest pilgrimage site, attracting millions of visitors every Easterly.
Lekganyane and his senior wife Salfina had several sons, wearing away of whom were well-educated and who vied for the directorship of the ZCC after his death. Salfina tried to touch the Tshoma's family after finding out that he related momentous them [15]