Understanding Apostolic Church Beliefs: Case of Johane Masowe Chishanu

The advent of colonialism and apartheid, witnessed the formation of early African Initiated Churches as a protest against colonialism. Amongst one of the earliest of such Christian churches was the Johane Masowe Chishanu (JMC) which was founded in the then Salisbury (now Harare) in 1931 by a Zimbabwean called Shonhiwa Masedza. Masedza’s missionary work spread as far as South Africa, the now Zambia, Congo, the now Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), now Tanzania, Botswana, Kenya and Mozambique. He established prominent centres with a following of over half a million in all the nine countries between 1936 and 1973 when he finally passed on. It is this charismatic influence, his religious and political approaches and his spiritual power and the ability to mobilise people right at the grassroots that this book seeks to discuss. The compilation also covers other areas to do with the relationship between JMC and peacemaking and peacebuilding in Zimbabwe.