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| They also hold a month-long celebration near ] every year in November, where up to 25,000 members gather to receive the blessings of Shembe. | They also hold a month-long celebration near ] every year in November, where up to 25,000 members gather to receive the blessings of Shembe. | ||
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Revision as of 12:45, 14 March 2009
Nazareth Baptist Church (Alternatively called "The Nazarite Church" "iBandla lamaNazaretha", or the "Shembe Church") is an African Initiated Church founded by Isaiah Shembe in 1910. It has approximately a million members in KwaZulu-Natal and Inanda. The religion bans smoking, drinking, fornicating, dating, and keeping dogs and cats as pets. It also forbids shaving and believes in faith-healing. It is seen as a mixture of Zulu tradition and Christianity. It reveres Isaiah Shembe as an African Messiah and emphasizes the Ten Commandments.
It has been divided into two groups since the 1976 death of Bishop Johannes Galilee Shembe. The larger group was led by Bishop Amos Shembe until his death in 1996, while the Rt. Rev. Londa Shembe led the smaller group.
They also hold a month-long celebration near Eshowe every year in November, where up to 25,000 members gather to receive the blessings of Shembe.