Kimbanguism (French: Kimbanguisme) is a Christian new religious movement professed by the African initiated church Jesus Christ's Church on earth by his special Envoy Simon Kimbangu (French: Église de Jésus Christ sur la Terre par son envoyé spécial Simon Kimbangu) founded by Simon Kimbangu in the Belgian Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1921. A large, independent African-initiated church, it has an estimated 6 million believers and has its headquarters in Nkamba, Kongo Central. The denomination became a member of the World Council of Churches, the All Africa Conference of Churches, and the Organization of African Instituted Churches. In June 2021, the World Council of Churches withdrew membership on doctrinal grounds.
History
In April 1921, Kimbangu, a Baptist mission catechist, inaugurated a mass movement through his supposed miraculous healings and biblical teaching. His teachings attracted working people, who left jobs to hear him speak about liberation. This threatened the colonial labor structure and thus the Belgian regime. The Belgian authorities treated the...