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Example of ‘Apostle to the Shona’

by
25 October 2024

In Black History Month, Ericcson Tinashe Mapfumo and Martha Mutikani celebrate the life and witness of Bernard Mizeki

reproduced by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter of Southwark

Icon of Bernard Mizeki in Southwark Cathedral

Icon of Bernard Mizeki in Southwark Cathedral

BERNARD MIZEKI’s life helps us to reflect on what God can do through a willing vessel, and what one man can achieve, if he is used by God.

Mizeki was born in 1861, near the Bay of Inhambane, in Mozambique, among the Bagwambe people. At the age of about 12, he left his home for Cape Town, where he stayed for ten years, living in a slum neighbourhood and working as a labourer. In the evenings, he attended night classes run by members of the Society of St John the Evangelist, known as the Cowley Fathers. Under their influence, he was baptised as a Christian on 9 March 1886.

This coincided with the “scramble for Africa”, which was a time of political uncertainty. Mizeki followed God’s calling to become a missionary, working closely with the Cowley Fathers. It appears that his character and way of being were so infectious that people were drawn to him. He was recognised as a devout Christian, and his spiritual disciplines led to the conversion of many.

In his schooling, Mizeki had demonstrated a gift as a linguist, mastering English, French, high Dutch, and at least eight local African languages, which made him invaluable when the Anglican Church started to translate the Bible into indigenous tongues. He was one of five lay catechists who accompanied the first Anglican Bishop of Mashonaland, George Knight-Bruce, on his mission to evangelise the Shona people in what is now Zimbabwe. Among the Shona, Mizeki is still considered an “apostle”.

 

PRAYER was a key element in Mizeki’s preaching and evangelisation. He lived among, and identified with, the Mangwende people in Marondera, in what is now Zimbabwe, where he worked particularly closely with the children, and eventually opened a school. During the Mashona rebellion in 1896, local African Christians were perceived as being agents of European imperialism, and Mizeki was warned to flee. Recognising that the converts among whom he was living were also in danger, he refused to leave.

On 18 June 1896, he was fatally speared outside his hut. His wife and another helper, who had gone to get food and blankets for him, reported seeing a blinding light on the hillside where he had been lying, and “hearing a rushing sound, as though of many wings”. When they returned to the spot, his body had disappeared (it was never found).

The place of Mizeki’s death has become a focus of devotion for Christians of all denominations; every year, on the anniversary of his martyrdom, it is the site of one of the greatest Christian festivals in Africa.

 

MIZEKI was able to maintain his own distinct cultural values while simultaneously integrating with the Shona people. He showed care for the people he was ministering to, despite their not being part of his native ethnic tribe; and he promoted inclusivity and cultural relevance in worship, being part of the local worshipping community that sang in local languages. He was sensitive to the Shona spirit religion, but remained faithful to God through times of opposition and unpopularity.

His experience of financial hardship and the difficulties of finding employment and adapting to a new culture in a strange land resonate with immigrants to Britain and elsewhere today. Despite the mistrust among some indigenous Zimbabweans that arose from Mizeki’s association with English missionaries, his life and example has had a lasting influence in Zimbabwe, where he is still seen as an icon and a model saint.

 

ZIMBABWEAN Anglicans today are challenged by the need to support and educate their own community members continuously, the better to navigate the challenges of their faith and culture with the volatility of life in the diaspora. Faith-based and cultural activities help to develop a secure sense of identity and belonging, in Anglican parishes and more generally in English society.

By emulating Mizeki’s courage and commitment, the community can navigate contemporary challenges while preserving faith and cultural identity; and the application of the Mizeki model of sanctity encourages churches and communities to engage with people on the margins of society through projects such as foodbanks.

In the Corona chapel of Canterbury Cathedral, there is a memorial to martyrs of recent times, particularly those of the Anglican Communion, including Bernard Mizeki. He is commemorated throughout the worldwide Communion on 18 June, the anniversary of his death, with a special collect, which reads:

 

Almighty and everlasting God, who kindled the flame of your love in the heart of your holy martyr Bernard Mizeki: Grant unto us your humble servants a like faith and power of love, that we, who rejoice in his triumph, may profit by his example; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

The Revd Dr Ericcson T. Mapfumo is a chaplain at the University of Huddersfield, Priest-in-Charge of Moldgreen and Rawthorpe, in the diocese of Leeds, and the author of a new book, Black Clergy in the Church of England: Towards a sense of belonging (available via link.springer.com).

Canon Martha Mutikani is an Assistant Dean of Women’s Ministry in the diocese of Chichester, and head of occupational health at a large NHS trust in Kent.

They are both members of the Zimbabwean Anglican Fellowship (ZINAFE),

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