No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1985.

Thesis--Cologne. / In Periodical Room.

During the period 1884-1925 Ethiopian-type schisms from mission churches occurred for a number of reasons. Generalisations of these reasons have been made by numerous authors. By generalising the causes of schism the particular reasons why each independent church 1 eader 1 eft the mission church are ignored. The thesis shows how each schism was due to unique circumstances in the mission church as well as to factors, for example, the personal feelings of the independent church leader. In each case there was a point of no return when the founder of the independent church no longer felt he could accept the status quo. There were two government commissions that investigated the independent or "separatist" churches during these years - the South African Native Affairs Commission of 1903-1905 and the 1925 South African Native Affairs Commission which investigated the "Separatist Churches". The testimony of the white government officials and missionaries and the black church leaders has been compared with the findings in the reports. Four case studies are investigated to show how general causes of schism may occur for a number of years until a reason, peculiar to the particular independent church, manifests itself and leads to the formation of an independent church. The case studies are the Ethiopian Church and related independent groups, the independent churches which joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1896 with the Ethiopian Church but later left to form their own churches, for example the Order of Ethiopia, schisms from the Presbyterian Church during the 1890' s and the Independent Methodist Church. / Christian, Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th (Church History)

During the period 1884-1925 Ethiopian-type schisms from mission churches occurred for a number of reasons. Generalisations of these reasons have been made by numerous authors. By generalising the causes of schism the particular reasons why each independent church 1 eader 1 eft the mission church are ignored. The thesis shows how each schism was due to unique circumstances in the mission church as well as to factors, for example, the personal feelings of the independent church leader. In each case there was a point of no return when the founder of the independent church no longer felt he could accept the status quo. There were two government commissions that investigated the independent or "separatist" churches during these years - the South African Native Affairs Commission of 1903-1905 and the 1925 South African Native Affairs Commission which investigated the "Separatist Churches". The testimony of the white government officials and missionaries and the black church leaders has been compared with the findings in the reports. Four case studies are investigated to show how general causes of schism may occur for a number of years until a reason, peculiar to the particular independent church, manifests itself and leads to the formation of an independent church. The case studies are the Ethiopian Church and related independent groups, the independent churches which joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1896 with the Ethiopian Church but later left to form their own churches, for example the Order of Ethiopia, schisms from the Presbyterian Church during the 1890' s and the Independent Methodist Church. / Christian, Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th (Church History)

A tragic massacre in May 1921, commonly referred to as the Bulhoek Massacre, was associated with the ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, founded by Enoch Mgijima. If it were not for the theology of eschatology that this church adhered to, the so-called Bulhoek Massacre would not have happened. The theology of eschatology which Mgijima was focussing on caused the ecclesiology of the amaSirayeli to be the victims of the circumstances. Dulles defines ecclesiology as the church in the process of self actualisation. There is self understanding of worshippers. In the case of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, such self-understanding caused the Bulhoek Massacre. It is said that when people fervently believe in an Ultimate Being, whether such belief is a construction in their minds or a reality, then those people will be willing to defend their belief and die for, if it needs to be. For such a believer, it is because of the hope for a better life in the future that they are willing to even defy earthly authorities. When that believer follows a voice of the supernatural, which is revealed only to him and sounds much louder, much clearer and more authoritative than human voices, it is then that he cannot be void. Such an authoritative voice may be transmitted either through ancestors, known as the living dead, or directly from the Supreme Being. In the case of the said church, it is both. Secondly, an ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ should be understood in the light of their mother church in America under the leadership of Crowdy the founder. Such ecclesiology should also be understood against the religious backdrop of the African Initiated Churches (AIC). These two factors, the mother church in America and the religion of the African Initiated Churches, will be the main components that drive this thesis, and thus illuminate the spark in the said church. Owing to the proliferation of the African Initiated Churches in the continent of Africa, there is a wide speculation that Africa, of the 21st century, will be the centre of World Christianity. Whether this is just a dream or a reality remains to be realized. But the fact remains that, these churches continue to be a religious force that forms part of the church history in Africa. While this thesis will constantly be referring to the 1921 events, an ecclesiology of the said church is a present phenomenon because the church survived the massacre and is still active today. The two researchers, Robert Edgar from Los Angeles University in the USA, and Martin Mandew from the University of Natal, completed their doctoral theses on the Bulhoek Massacre. Edgar was researching on, The Fifth Seal. Enoch Mgijima, The amaSirayeli Bulhoek Massacre, 1921. Mandew concentrated on, War, Memory and Salvation, The Bulhoek Massacre and the Construction of a Contextual Soteriology. Since both researchers come from a distance, and are unable to speak the language of the people they were researching, there were of obviously unfilled gaps in between. As mentioned about cultural differences, therefore, knowing the language of the worshippers makes a big difference. There needs some analysis of idiomatic expressions, enunciated and other formal and informal expressions that tend to be important during communication. However, I acknowledge their research programme but I will go further from their product. This thesis examines the ecclesiology of this church and then relates it to the massacre where they were killed for their own beliefs. It is also important to analyse, as this thesis does, the church-state relations in South Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in order to establish how other religious bodies related to the governments of the said period. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Church History)

A tragic massacre in May 1921, commonly referred to as the Bulhoek Massacre, was associated with the ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, founded by Enoch Mgijima. If it were not for the theology of eschatology that this church adhered to, the so-called Bulhoek Massacre would not have happened. The theology of eschatology which Mgijima was focussing on caused the ecclesiology of the amaSirayeli to be the victims of the circumstances. Dulles defines ecclesiology as the church in the process of self actualisation. There is self understanding of worshippers. In the case of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, such self-understanding caused the Bulhoek Massacre. It is said that when people fervently believe in an Ultimate Being, whether such belief is a construction in their minds or a reality, then those people will be willing to defend their belief and die for, if it needs to be. For such a believer, it is because of the hope for a better life in the future that they are willing to even defy earthly authorities. When that believer follows a voice of the supernatural, which is revealed only to him and sounds much louder, much clearer and more authoritative than human voices, it is then that he cannot be void. Such an authoritative voice may be transmitted either through ancestors, known as the living dead, or directly from the Supreme Being. In the case of the said church, it is both. Secondly, an ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ should be understood in the light of their mother church in America under the leadership of Crowdy the founder. Such ecclesiology should also be understood against the religious backdrop of the African Initiated Churches (AIC). These two factors, the mother church in America and the religion of the African Initiated Churches, will be the main components that drive this thesis, and thus illuminate the spark in the said church. Owing to the proliferation of the African Initiated Churches in the continent of Africa, there is a wide speculation that Africa, of the 21st century, will be the centre of World Christianity. Whether this is just a dream or a reality remains to be realized. But the fact remains that, these churches continue to be a religious force that forms part of the church history in Africa. While this thesis will constantly be referring to the 1921 events, an ecclesiology of the said church is a present phenomenon because the church survived the massacre and is still active today. The two researchers, Robert Edgar from Los Angeles University in the USA, and Martin Mandew from the University of Natal, completed their doctoral theses on the Bulhoek Massacre. Edgar was researching on, The Fifth Seal. Enoch Mgijima, The amaSirayeli Bulhoek Massacre, 1921. Mandew concentrated on, War, Memory and Salvation, The Bulhoek Massacre and the Construction of a Contextual Soteriology. Since both researchers come from a distance, and are unable to speak the language of the people they were researching, there were of obviously unfilled gaps in between. As mentioned about cultural differences, therefore, knowing the language of the worshippers makes a big difference. There needs some analysis of idiomatic expressions, enunciated and other formal and informal expressions that tend to be important during communication. However, I acknowledge their research programme but I will go further from their product. This thesis examines the ecclesiology of this church and then relates it to the massacre where they were killed for their own beliefs. It is also important to analyse, as this thesis does, the church-state relations in South Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in order to establish how other religious bodies related to the governments of the said period. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Church History)