AFRICA/DR CONGO – What is the “Kimbanguist Church”?

AFRICA/DR CONGO – What is the “Kimbanguist Church”?

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Among the different denominations present in the Democratic Republic of Congo (a country which is preparing to welcome Pope Francis on an apostolic visit), there is one which was born during the time of Belgian colonization. This is the “Kimbanguist Church”, whose official name since 1987 is “Church of Jesus Christ on Earth by its special envoy Simon Kimbangu”.
Simon Kimbangu was born on September 24, 1899 in Nkamba, in what is now Kongo-Central province. A member of the Baptist Missionary Society, after a few visions, he proclaimed himself “Special Envoy”, claiming to have received from Jesus Christ the mission and authority to carry out a spiritual ministry which would spread from Nkamba throughout the world . Simon Kimbangu began his mission with the healing of a young woman, Maman Kiantondo, in Ngombe-Kinsuka on April 6, 1921. For the religious movement he founded, the holy book of reference remains the Bible. But for this new preacher, Adam and Eve were black. At the height of colonization, his preaching took on the tones of a campaign for the emancipation of blacks. This message, as well as some of his other so-called “miracles”, attract him a growing number of followers. This deeply irritates the Belgian colonial administration, which sees the messianic movement as a potential destabilizer of the social fabric of the colony. Against this “movement”, the colonial government adopted extreme repressive measures.
The “prophetic mission” of “Pope” Simon Kimbangu only lasted five months. He was arrested in Nkamba, tried and sentenced to death on October 3, 1921 by a military tribunal; the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by King Albert I of Belgium. The condemned man was deported to Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi), 2000 km from his native village, where he died on October 12, 1951. But the only effect of these measures was to strengthen the movement, which quickly spread. On December 24, 1959, the Kimbanguist Church was finally recognized by the colonial power, on an equal footing with the Catholic and Protestant Churches. At that time, the movement was led by the pope’s younger son Simon Kimbangu. Joseph Diangienda Kuntima, spiritual leader and legal representative.
In the strongly hierarchical structure of the group, the spiritual leader, as the supreme authority, has under his orders a general assembly, a body in charge of the general policy of the community and an executive council. The Kimbanguist Symphony Orchestra is famous. For a long time it was the only symphony orchestra in Central Africa.
Today, the so-called Kimbanguist Church has groups of adherents scattered throughout Africa, Europe and America. Members of the community claim to refer to the Nicene Creed. The doctrine followed by the adherents recognizes four sacraments: baptism, eucharist, marriage and ordination. But the host distributed in the liturgies is represented by a bread made of corn and bananas. Also, since followers are not allowed to consume alcoholic beverages, the blood of Christ is “symbolized” by honey mixed with water. The Kimbanguist doctrine is also summarized in the trilogy “Bolingo, Mibeko, Misala”, which means “Love, Commandments, Work”. In 1992, Kuntima claimed to have found, “after careful study”, that the birth of Christ took place on May 25.
The Kimbanguist Church has been a member of the World Council of Churches (CEC) since 1969 and of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) since 1974, but since 2001 Kimbanguism is no longer part of ecumenism and does not is no longer recognized as a Christian community by other Churches and ecclesial communities following the self-proclamation of the “reincarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ” by the son of Simon Kimbangu, Salomon Dialungana Kiangani.
From the point of view of relations with politics, the Kimbanguist Church has always been satisfied with a certain recognition by the authorities, having supported Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko (in power from 1965 to 1997), then Kabila senior (1997- 2001) and sons (2001-2019) and today President Félix Tshisekedi, elected in 2019.
The Kuimbunguist Church claims more than 35 million followers worldwide. According to data considered reliable by American intelligence analysts, at least 10% of the 105 million inhabitants of the Democratic Republic of Congo are Kimbunguists.
(LM) (Agenzia Fides, 28/1/2023)

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