Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa

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Outline map of Lesotho in Africa
Eugène Casalis

The Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa (LECSA; Sesotho : Kereke ea Evangeli Lesotho e Boroa ho Afrika ; German for example "Evangelical Church of Lesothos in Southern Africa"; formerly LEC ) is one of the largest religious communities in Lesotho . It is one of the first Protestant churches in Africa .

history

From 1822 the reformed Société des missions évangéliques de Paris (SMEP), in English Paris Evangelical Mission Society, trained young Protestant clergymen in Paris for missionary service overseas. In addition to theological topics, linguistics and agriculture were also covered. From 1829 the SMEP concentrated on southern Africa ; in the same year the first mission station was founded in Cape Town .

In 1833 Eugène Casalis , Thomas Arbousset and Constant Gosselin were invited by the head of the Basotho , Moshoeshoe I , to set up a mission station. Moshoeshoe wanted to protect his people from attacks by the Griqua and European settlers and to expand their knowledge of agriculture and technology. In the same year the station in Morija was opened. Moshoeshoe had lively religious and political discussions with the missionaries, but did not convert to Christianity. But he had two of his sons, Letsie and Molapo , instructed by the missionaries in Moriah. In 1837 a second mission station was set up at Moshoeshoe's headquarters in Thaba Bosiu , which from then on was headed by Casalis. In 1845 the first printing press was brought into the country, which was set up in the Masitise mission station - in what is now the Quthing district . The number of Basotho baptized slowly increased; In 1847 there were 1246 adults. The Basotho's belief in a supreme god, molimo, benefited the missionaries, and customs such as initiation rites , belief in the balimo (forefathers) and polygamy tried to curb them. Numerous Basotho left the church after they had captured numerous cattle in a campaign against the Batlokoa in 1849 and the missionaries refused to accept this. As a result, the number of Christians baptized as Protestants rose again.

Eugène Casalis was also an important advisor to Moshoeshoe until his departure in 1855. He supported him during the campaign against the British in the Orange River Sovereignty and wrote numerous dispatches. In 1855 the New Testament was translated into Sesotho. During the Senekal War in 1858, numerous SMEP mission stations were destroyed by Boers in the Orange Free State , but were later rebuilt. This is how the Leribe Mission came into being in 1859 near Hlotse under François Coillard . Since 1863 the church has published the newspaper Leselinyana la Lesotho (German for "Little Light of Lesotho") - initially monthly. It is considered to be the oldest surviving newspaper in an African language south of the Sahara. After the Boers of the Orange Free State had conquered the western areas of Basutoland in the Seqiti War in 1865–1868 , they closed all SMEP missions there and expelled the missionaries from the country. The missionary David Frédéric Ellenberger then settled in Masitise in what is now the Quthing district . In 1868, Basutoland became a British colony of Basutoland with the consent of Moshoeshoe . The SMEP was able to increase the number of its stations as a result. At the same time, however, the SMEP tried - in vain - to get the British High Commissioner to act against traditional customs and limit the power of the barena . In the same year, the SMEP established the first secondary school in Basutoland. A teachers' seminar was also established in Morija .

The Church of the Leribe Mission (photo from 1913)

In 1874 the printing press from Masitise set up the Morija Printing Works, which still exist today and where, in addition to religious literature, secular works were printed, such as the novels by Thomas Mofolo , dictionaries and school books in 50 languages. Even in the Gun War (1880–1881) against the British, the SMEP stood on the side of the Basotho. In 1887 a seminary was established in Morija . In 1894 the number of Basotho who belonged to the SMEP had risen to 13,733; In 1904 a total of 14.63% of all Basotho Christians of different denominations were made up. The first local pastors were ordained in the late 19th century . Numerous other religious books have been translated into Sesotho. In 1898 the church was renamed Kereke ea Lesotho , German "Church of Lesothos". At the same time, the seboka was introduced, a synod in which French and local pastors had equal rights. In the 1920s, for the first time, there were more local than French pastors. From 1932 onwards, Kereke ea Lesotho established a number of health centers and hospitals as well as other secondary schools.

In 1964 the church was renamed Lesotho Evangelical Church . The first president of the LEC was EE Phakisi. In 1970, after the canceled elections , tensions arose after the LEC intervened in favor of the Basutoland Congress Party , which had been deprived of its victory . The rulers of the Catholic Basotho National Party under Leabua Jonathan banned Leselinyana la Lesotho for two months; the editor was murdered. Tensions persisted until the 1980s.

In the 2010s, the LEC added its name to Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa (LECSA).

present

In 2007 the proportion of LEC members in Lesotho was around 26 percent or 340,500 people (as of 2006). The seat of the church is the Casalis House in Maseru . In 2018 LECSA had over 100 pastors in 109 congregations and 12 “ presbyteries ”, including in the South African province of Gauteng . Clergy and lay people are represented at the local, parish, presbyteries and national synod levels.

LECSA is a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the World Fellowship of Reformed Churches . Exhibits on the history of LECSA are on display in the Morija Museum & Archives and its branch Masitise Cave House . The newspaper Leselinyana la Basotho appears biweekly . LECSA has around 500 primary schools and 75 secondary schools.

Others

Today's national anthem of Lesotho was written in the 1860s based on a text by the SMEP missionary François Coillard; Coillard found the melody in a Swiss songbook.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weis fields Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 168.
  2. ↑ a b Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weis fields Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 169.
  3. ^ Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 170.
  4. ↑ The Senekal War at sahistory.org.za , accessed on January 18, 2013
  5. ↑ edition of Leselinyana la Lesotho from February 1878 (Sesotho / English), accessed on January 13, 2013
  6. ↑ a b Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weis fields Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 171.
  7. ^ Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 172.
  8. ^ Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 173.
  9. ↑ Information from the State Government of the USA ( Memento from August 6, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  10. ↑ a b c d LEC on the World Council of Churches website , accessed February 8, 2016
  11. ^ Vision, Mission, History. lecsakereke.wordpress.com (English), accessed December 10, 2018
  12. ↑ Information on Lesotho's national anthem at nationalanthems.info , accessed on January 14, 2013