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’s utilized by God.
Mizeki was born in 1861, near the Bay of Inhambane, in Mozambique, among the many 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 dealing as a labourer. In the evenings, he attended night classes run by members of the Society of St John the Evangelist, often 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 grow to be a missionary, working closely with the Cowley Fathers. It appears that his character and way of being were so infectious that individuals were drawn to him. He was recognised as a devout Christian, and his spiritual disciplines led to the conversion of many.
In his education, Mizeki had demonstrated a present as a linguist, mastering English, French, high Dutch, and at the very least eight local African languages, which made him invaluable when the Anglican Church began to translate the Bible into indigenous tongues. He was one in every of five lay catechists who accompanied the primary Anglican Bishop of Mashonaland, George Knight-Bruce, on his mission to evangelise the Shona people in what’s now Zimbabwe. Among the Shona, Mizeki continues to be considered an “apostle”.
PRAYER was a key element in Mizeki’s preaching and evangelisation. He lived amongst, and identified with, the Mangwende people in Marondera, in what’s now Zimbabwe, where he worked particularly closely with the youngsters, and eventually opened a faculty. During the Mashona rebel in 1896, local African Christians were perceived as being agents of European imperialism, and Mizeki was warned to flee. Recognising that the converts amongst whom he was living were also in peril, he refused to depart.
On 18 June 1896, he was fatally speared outside his hut. His wife and one other 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 if of many wings”. When they returned to the spot, his body had disappeared (it was never found).
The place of Mizeki’s death has grow to be a spotlight of devotion for Christians of all denominations; every yr, on the anniversary of his martyrdom, it’s the location of one in every of the best Christian festivals in Africa.
MIZEKI was able to keep up his own distinct cultural values while concurrently integrating with the Shona people. He showed look after the people he was ministering to, despite their not being a part of his native ethnic tribe; and he promoted inclusivity and cultural relevance in worship, being a 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 monetary hardship and the difficulties of finding employment and adapting to a latest culture in a wierd land resonate with immigrants to Britain and elsewhere today. Despite the mistrust amongst some indigenous Zimbabweans that arose from Mizeki’s association with English missionaries, his life and example has had a long-lasting influence in Zimbabwe, where he continues to be seen as an icon and a model saint.
ZIMBABWEAN Anglicans today are challenged by the necessity to support and educate their very own community members repeatedly, the higher to navigate the challenges of their faith and culture with the volatility of life within 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 appliance of the Mizeki model of sanctity encourages churches and communities to have interaction with people on the margins of society through projects equivalent to foodbanks.
In the Corona chapel of Canterbury Cathedral, there’s 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 center of your holy martyr Bernard Mizeki: Grant unto us your humble servants a like faith and power of affection, 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, without end. Amen.
The Revd Dr Ericcson T. Mapfumo is a chaplain on the University of Huddersfield, Priest-in-Charge of Moldgreen and Rawthorpe, within the diocese of Leeds, and the creator of a latest book, Black Clergy within the Church of England: Towards a way of belonging (available via link.springer.com).
Canon Martha Mutikani is an Assistant Dean of Women’s Ministry within the diocese of Chichester, and head of occupational health at a big NHS trust in Kent.
They are each members of the Zimbabwean Anglican Fellowship (ZINAFE),
