Zion
Origin
African
Zionism
African Zionism, also known as the
"amaZioni" which is a Zulu word meaning the people of Zion. There are
between 15-18 million amaZioni throughout Southern Africa making it the largest
religious movement in the region. African Zionism is the predominant religion
of Swaziland and forty
percent of Swazis consider themselves Zionist. It is also common among Zulus in South Africa. The amaZioni
are found in South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana,
and Namibia. It is a combination of Christianity and African Traditional
Religion.
Contents
1.
History
2.
Practices
3.
References
|
History
The Zionist churches of
southern Africa were founded by Petrus Louis Le Roux, an Afrikaner faith healer.[2] He was a former member
of the Dutch Reformed Church who joined John Alexander Dowie's Christian Catholic Church based in Zion, Illinois. In 1903 Dowie sent a
Daniel Bryant to South Africa to work alongside Le Roux. In 1908 Daniel
Nkonyane became the leader of the church. By the 1920s the church in Africa was
entirely separated from its American version. In the mid-1980s the church in
Zion, Illinois (now called Christ Community Church) began reestablishing a
connection with the Zion movement in Southern Africa.
Practices
·
African Zionism blends
traditional African beliefs, the belief of the Holy Spirit with faith-healing
and water baptism. Some members wear white robes and carry staffs.
- The use of different mechanisms for faith-healing. These include the
laying-on of hands, the use of holy water, and the wearing of
blessed cords or cloth.
- The belief of the holy spirit.
References
3.
^ Adrian Hastings,
The Church in Africa: 1450-1950. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994 pp. 499-505,
520-1, 537-8. Also Hennie Pretorius and Lizo Jafta, "A Branch Springs Out:
African Initiated Churches" in Christianity in South Africa, edited by
Richard Elphick and Rodney Davenport. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1997 pp. 216-224.
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