Isaiah Shembe
Shembe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shembe Mudliwamafa Mloyiswa KaMayekisa c.1865 Ntabamhlophe (Estcourt Area), South Africa |
| Died | May 2, 1935 (aged 70) KwaZulu-Natal |
| Education | autodidact |
| Occupation | Leader of the Nazareth Baptist Church |
| Known for | Founder of the Nazareth Baptist church |
| Title | INkosi yaseKuphakameni(Lord Of eKuphakameni) |
| Term | 1910 - 1935 |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | Johannes Galilee Shembe |
| Partner(s) | MaShabalala, MaSigasa, MaNgwenya, MaRadebe |
| Children | Johannes Galilee Shembe (1904-1976), Amos Kula Shembe (1906-1995), Stanley Shembe |
| Parent(s) | Sitheya Hadebe and Mayekisa KaNhliziyo |
Isaiah Mloyiswa Mdliwamafa Shembe (c. 1865 – 2 May 1935), was a prophet and the founder of the Ibandla lamaNazaretha, South Africa, which was the largest African-initiated churches in Africa during his lifetime. Shembe started his religious career as an itinerant evangelist and faith healer in 1910. Within ten years, he had built up a large following in Natal with dozens of congregations across the province. The chronology remains one of the biggest churches to date, and there is a rapid emergence of organized congregations and seminary events (held within Shembe temples) across the nine provinces of South Africa.