Review: Engenas Lekganyane and the Early ZCC

Barry Morton, Booksmango, 242 pages, 3 of 5 stars

The Zion Christian Church (ZCC) is the African and ecclesiastical version of the Freemasons—shrouded in mystery and secret rituals. What’s so special about the tea they’re brewing? Why is the water they splash on faces so magical? What makes their uniforms blessed? The answers are difficult to find.

Despite its twelve million members and place as southern Africa’s largest African Initiated Church, the ZCC is nearly empty of any historical or theological literature.

This book is so helpful because it pulls back the curtain on this Christian cult that dots the south of Africa. A main reason I strongly recommend Barry Morton’s book on the ZCC is that there is no other work like it. There’s simply not a lot of literature from which to choose. Continue reading

Marching to Zion? An Overview of Southern Africa’s Largest AIC Church

–– Paul Schlehlein

Audio version of this article available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

The Zion Christian Church (ZCC) has been in the international news recently. On Thursday, 28 March 2024, a small town in Limpopo South Africa was the scene of a horrific bus crash that took the lives of at least forty-five people. The bus was travelling from Botswana on the way to an Easter gathering as part of the annual ZCC festivities. 

The driver lost control and the bus careened off a bridge and fell 50 meters below where it burst into flames. Everyone on board was killed, except for an 8-year-old child who remains in serious but stable condition. 

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