Text and Authority in the South African Nazaretha Church

This book tells the story of one of the largest and most influential African churches in South Africa.

1. Introduction; 2. Scholars, subjects and sources: ecumenicism and literary collaborations in the Nazaretha church; 3. Charting a changing literary landscape: Isaiah Shembe and the early Zion Movement in South Africa; 4. Transcription services: young literates and the transformation of generational relations; 5. The imitation of Christ: healing performances and Biblical spectacles; 6. Reading from the same page: Bible-writing and the creation of orthodoxy; 7. Tales of war: women's testimonies and the crafting of heroic reputations; 8. God loves this chief of ours: oratory and casting political obedience as religious obligation; 9. Pursuing recognition: rhetoric and reality in Church-state relations; 10. Conclusion.