Guta raJehovah information

Guta raJehovah or Guta ra Jehovah (English: City of Jehovah), also known as the City of God,^[1] is a church and series of religious healing communities located across Zimbabwe.^[2] The beliefs of this church stem from the Methodist teachings that were present across Southern Africa at this time as well as more traditional healing practices indigenous to the area.^[3] The church was founded in 1954 by renowned faith healer Mai Chaza^[4] following her departure from the area's Methodist church with the community's first independent healing centre, what those in the church refer to as a Guta, being established in a village outside of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare (formerly known as Salisbury). This community, and Guta ra Jehovah more widely, was founded on curing the sick through spirituality and prayer particularly through Mai Chaza's perceived ability of being able to successfully pray for barren women to conceive.^[5] Not only was Mai Chaza known widely for her powers as a healer, she was referred to by her followers as "Matenga", meaning "heavens".^[4] With this view, Mai Chaza was viewed in a messianic way as the human embodiment of the Holy Spirit on Earth forming the basis of Guta raJehovah's beliefs and attracting followers to these healing communities.^[2] Those seeking treatment would travel to spend time living in the church's compounds undergoing spiritual healing from Mai Chaza and through other prayer rituals for days, months and even years at a time, practices that continue to this day.^[6]

Throughout the 1950s, Guta raJehovah experienced relative success with large amounts of people travelling from all over Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries to receive the faith healing offered by Mai Chaza, her followers and their rituals.^[3] The number of followers at the height of the church's popularity was estimated to be around 70,000.^[7] However, despite continuing to this day, the church has struggled to maintain its popularity and prominence following the death of their spiritual leader in 1960 with only around 3,000 followers still existing today.^[6]

^ "Zimbabwe Churches". Traveller's Guide to Victoria Falls. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
^ ^a ^b Holy people of the world : a cross-cultural encyclopedia. Phyllis G. Jestice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. 2004. ISBN 1-85109-649-3. OCLC 57407318.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ ^a ^b Scarnecchia, Timothy (1997). "Mai Chaza's Guta re Jehova (City of God): Gender, Healing and Urban Identity in an African Independent Church". Journal of Southern African Studies. 23 (1): 87–105. ISSN 0305-7070.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference she-mc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Mai Chazas Church | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
^ ^a ^b Chara, Tendai (28 August 2016). "Inside Mai Chaza's Shrine". The Sunday Mail Zimbabwe. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
^ Anderson, Allan H. (2001). African Reformation: African Initiated Christianity in the 20th Century. African World Press. p. 119.

[tgvf-zc2-1] "Zimbabwe Churches". Traveller's Guide to Victoria Falls. Retrieved 11 February 2010.

[:0-2] Holy people of the world : a cross-cultural encyclopedia. Phyllis G. Jestice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. 2004. ISBN 1-85109-649-3. OCLC 57407318.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[:2-3] Scarnecchia, Timothy (1997). "Mai Chaza's Guta re Jehova (City of God): Gender, Healing and Urban Identity in an African Independent Church". Journal of Southern African Studies. 23 (1): 87–105. ISSN 0305-7070.

[she-mc-4] Cite error: The named reference she-mc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:3-5] "Mai Chazas Church | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.

[:1-6] Chara, Tendai (28 August 2016). "Inside Mai Chaza's Shrine". The Sunday Mail Zimbabwe. Retrieved 20 October 2021.

[7] Anderson, Allan H. (2001). African Reformation: African Initiated Christianity in the 20th Century. African World Press. p. 119.