BISHOP DR S. DWANE AND THE RISE OF XHOSA SPIRITUALITY IN THE ETHIOPIAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH (FORMERLY THE ORDER OF ETHIOPIA) by PETER TSHOBISO MTUZE submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY in the subject SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA. PROMOTER: PROF R.T.H. DOLAMO JUNE 2008 Student number: 259-734-9 I declare that BISHOP DR S. DWANE AND THE RISE OF XHOSA SPIRITUALITY IN THE ETHIOPIAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH (FORMERLY THE ORDER OF ETHIOPIA), is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ………………… ……………….. SIGNATURE DATE (Prof P T Mtuze) ii SUMMARY The thesis consists of seven chapters with each chapter focusing on a particular aspect of the research topic. Chapter One deals with conventional preliminaries such as aim of study, method of approach, literature overview and other introductory material. Chapter Two is an an overview of the foundations of Bishop Dwane’s spirituality and his church’s struggle for autonomy. It also covers the origins, the nature and the purpose of Ethiopianism as the central thread in Dwane’s theologizing and family history. Chapter Three reflects the attitude of the Anglican Church to African traditional culture as reflected in three historical phases – the era of total onslaught on African culture and religion, the period of accommodation, and the phase of turning a blind eye to these matters for as long as Anglicanism remains intact. Chapter Four contains Dwane’s views on various cultural issues culminating in his decision to indigenize his Ethiopian Episcopal Church’s liturgy and other forms of worship by incorporating traditional healers into the church and invoking the presence of Qamata and the ancestors in worship. Chapter Five analyses Dwane’s prophetic spirituality as evidenced by his advocacy role in fighting for justice and human rights in this country. He relentlessly fought for the rights of those who were victimized by the government of the day, and those who were willfully discriminated against. iii Chapter Six is on the evolution of an authentic Xhosa spirituality, in particular, and African spirituality in general, in the Ethiopian Episcopal Church. While the main focus of the study is the evolution of Xhosa spirituality, it should be emphasized that the thrust of Dwane’s theologizing extended to the evolution of other African spiritualities in the broader church. Chapter Seven is a general conclusion that highlights the main elements of Dwane’s spirituality and the heritage he left behind in this regard. KEY WORDS African culture, African religion, African spirituality, African theology, Cultural domination, Ethiopianism, Incarnation, Inculturation, Interculturation, Xhosa spirituality. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a great debt of gratitude to so many people for the success of this thesis that I cannot enumerate all of them by name. Besides God, my Creator, Qamata, and my ancestors, I cannot fail to thank my parents, Apollis Kusi and Esther Mtuze for the part they played in moulding me and bringing me up as an African Christian. The Rhodes Department of Divinity helped me find my bearings in this research with their master’s course in spirituality which, unfortunately, coincided with the closure of the department. The insights into Contemporary spirituality, Ignatian spirituality, Celtic spirituality, Reformed spirituality, and African spirituality sharpened my desire to explore my own roots. My promoter, Professor Ramathate Dolamo, nurtured and guided me through the maze of research, ably directing my thoughts to issues that needed to be incorporated in a study such as this. His extensive knowledge of relevant scholarship in other parts of the continent enabled me to take a more global view of the issues concerned. His meticulous checking of the thesis has been indicative of his own interest in research on African Christianity today. I am particularly indebted to Mary Louise Peires for undertaking the mammoth task of editing this thesis at short notice, and to Zweli Vena of the Rhodes University Cory Library for valuable help with research material. Last but not least, a final word of appreciation and well wishes for her own doctoral studies goes to my wife, Khuthala, who stood by me throughout this hectic and demanding time so early in our exciting marriage. v Table of contents Declaration ii Summary iii Acknowledgements v 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Problem statement 1 1.2 Aim of study 6 1.3 Method of approach 10 1.4 Literature overview 11 1.5 Main assumptions of the study 24 1.6 Theoretical framework 25 1.7 The significance and benefit of the study 30 1.8 Definition of terms 33 1.9 Summary 41 2. The foundations and evolution of Bishop Dwane’s spirituality and the Order of Ethiopia’s struggle for autonomy. 42 2.1 Introduction 42 2.2 Origins, nature and purpose of Ethiopianism 42 2.3 The legacy of Bishop Dwane 52 2.4 A short overview of the Dwane family 58 2.5 Hallmarks of Dwane’s spirituality 60 2.5.1 Ethiopianism 60 2.5.2 Africanism 66 2.5.3 Anglicanism 71 2.5.4 Ecumenism and other influences 74 2.6 The Order of Ethiopia’s struggle for autonomy. 82 2.6.1 Introduction 82 2.6.2 The first breakaway 83 2.6.3 Opposition to the election of Dr Dwane as Bishop 84 2.6.4 Reasons advanced for breakaways. 85 2.6.5 Action, interaction and reaction 86 2.6.6 Bishop Dwane’s account of the history of the Order 89 2.6.7 Bishop Dwane elected and rejected 90 2.6.8 The establishment of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church. 92 2.7 Summary 93 vi 3. Anglicanism and its attitude towards African culture and spirituality 94 3.1 Introduction 94 3.2 African culture and religion 96 3.3 The era of breaking down and supplanting African culture 101 3.4 Anglicanism and Xhosa culture 106 3.5 Attempts to accommodate African culture 112 3.5.1 God in Xhosa society 112 3.5.2 Ancestors 113 3.5.3 Evil spirits 116 3.5.4 Circumcision 118 3.5.5 Izangoma, evil practitioners and other unwanted practices. 119 3.6 The blind eye approach to inculturation . 127 3.7 Summary 134 4. Analysis of Bishop Dwane’s contribution 135 4.1 Introduction 135 4.2 Christianity and culture (n.d.) 135 4.3 Poverty alleviation – the Grahamstown initiative (1988) 141 4.4 The ordination of women to the priesthood (1992) 146 4.5 The consecration of Peter as Bishop of Zululand (1993) 152 4.6 The President’s Charge at St Matthew’s (1996) 156 4.7 The President’s Charge at St Bartholomew’s (2002) 158 4.8 An overview of Bishop Dwane’s Ad Clera 160 4.9 Summary 168 5. Bishop Dwane’s spirituality on Church and State relations. 169 5.1 Introduction 169 5.2 Letters of protest to the apartheid Government 170 5.3 Correspondence with Post-Apartheid Government 188 5.4 Summary 198 6. The evolution of an authentic African spirituality in the Ethiopian Episcopal Church 199 6.1 Introduction 199 6.2 Contextualising the Anglican liturgy 201 6.3 The incorporation of traditional healers into the church 207 6.4 Analysis of the Order of Ethiopian liturgy 210 6,5 The new Ethiopian Episcopal Church Prayer Book 213 6.5.1 Morning and Evening Prayers 215 vii 6.5.2 The Eucharistic Service 220 6.6 Summary 228 7. Theological Appraisal of Dwane’s Spirituality 229 7.1 Introduction 229 7.2 Critique 229 7.2.1 Three Pillars 229 7.2.2 Dwane’s apologetic stance 230 7.2.3 Anglo-Catholic doctrines and Africanism 231 7.2.4 Dwane against White domination 232 7.2.5 Dwane’s spirituality grounded in praxis. 232 7.2.6 Centrality of prayer in Dwane’s life 233 7.2.7 Dwane’s Ad Clera 235 7.2.8 Missionary enterprise and African context 237 7.2.9 Culture and liturgy 238 7.2.10 Culture and Scripture 241 7.3 Conclusion 244 Bibliography 247 viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem statement The problem to be addressed by this study is one of cultural imperialism which originates from the time of the introduction of Christianity in this country. The missionaries brought a double agenda of introducing Western religion, Christianity, on the one hand, and civilisation, on the other, to the so-called raw natives. This view is strongly supported by Nolan (1988:1) who contends that: The history of the preaching of the gospel in our country is closely bound up with our social, political and economic history. The preaching of the gospel in South Africa has never been politically neutral even when, in recent times, some Christians have imagined that they have transcended worldly matters like politics and economics. The gospel that first came to our shores with Dutch and then British colonialism was a gospel that justified and legitimised colonialism, imperialism and European superiority. Despite their barbaric methods and attitudes, the colonisers firmly believed that what they were bringing to this part of the world was ‘civilisation’ and that the basis of this ‘civilisation’ was the message of Jesus Christ. A major problem regarding church and culture is that the Western church deliberately downplays the fact that it is culture-bound, and its cultural component is not the same thing as its religious content. It behaves as if these two form one inseparable package, whereas the following comment by Gaybba (2004: 40) clearly highlights the dual nature of Western religion: With the spread of Christianity to parts of the world previously unknown to the west, the message went forth incarnated in western cultural categories.