Apostles of Johane Maranke is an

African Initiated Church An African-initiated church (AIC) is a Christian church independently started in Africa by Africans rather than chiefly by missionaries from another continent. Nomenclature A variety of overlapping terms exist for these forms of Christianity: Af ...

movement that was started by

Johane Maranke John or Johane Marange (Johane Marange) (1912-1963) was a Zimbabwean Apostolic leader, prophet, and founder of the Apostolic Church of John Marange. Background He was born Muchabaya Momberume (also spelled Ngomberume) near Bondwe Mountain in t ...

(1912–1963) in

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 1932. The "Apostolic Church of John Maranke" (as it is officially called) numbers over 300,000 adherents in five

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 ...

n nations. It is one of the largest movements in the

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

churches of Africa. The Zionists take on some symbols and practices of Judaism as well as emphasizing

faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

and prophecy. The Apostles of Johane Maranke forbid pork, alcohol, tobacco, and both African and Western medicine. The

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

is on some of their religious garments. The church is

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

. At their services, men sit on the east side and women on the west side. Women are believed to have healing powers. All services are performed outside. Initiation into the church is through water

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, usually in pools of running water in rivers and streams. In urban environments, the practice has been restricted as many streams and rivers in urban vicinities are polluted by industrial or domestic effluent. On baptism, the convert is given a new name (usually a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

or biblical one) by a prophet which name he will be called by from thence. After a verbal catechism on the dos and don'ts the convert is allowed to be adorned in the church's regalia. For male converts this consists of an ankle-length white robe; a white undercloth; and a long staff, usually with a loop on the upright end. From then all males are required to shave their heads and keep a goatee permanently. For women, it consists of an ankle-length white robe and a long head veil worn backwards and wide enough to be wrapped around the body like a cloak. The veil is marked by a long red stripe that runs its full length in the centre. Although they use the whole

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

for preaching and instruction, most of the church's doctrines are Jewish and Old Testament oriented.

External links

Africa Focus at Wisconsin University
African initiated churches Christian denominations in Zimbabwe {{Zimbabwe-org-stub