John or Johane Marange (Johane Marange) (1912-1963) was a Zimbabwean Apostolic leader, prophet, and founder of the
Apostolic Church of John Marange
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
* Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...
.
Background
He was born Muchabaya Momberume (also spelled Ngomberume) near Bondwe Mountain in the
Marange
The Marange diamond fields are an area of widespread small-scale diamond production in Chiadzwa, Mutare District, Zimbabwe. 'Although estimates of the reserves contained in this area vary wildly, some have suggested that it could be home to one ...
Tribal Trustland of
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
in 1912.
He was given the name Johanne Mubhabhatidzi Mupostori in 1932 July . He was educated as a Methodist. He was born in 1912 and at the age of 5years he began to receive the Holy Spirit(1917) He had brothers named Anorodi and Konoriyo. In 1932, when Marange was 20, he returned from journeys in the bush announcing a series of visions and encounters with
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, calling him to be a Holy Spirit guided itinerant preacher and establish a new African church.
In his visions he was also admonished that he should baptize people and observe the aturdaySabbath (Sabata In Shona). He founded the largest independent church in Central Africa.Dr. Bertram Melbourne, "Acts 1:8 and the Gospel in Africa" in 2000 Years of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, edited by Dr. Emory Tolbert, published by The Sabbath in Africa Study Group, page 26.
The main gathering of the church occurred at Passover feast named PASKA at Marange's village, lasting for seventeen days, and ending with communion.