The sovereignty of the African districts of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

244 Pages·2010·14.61 MB·English

by  Adonis Carolus Booyse

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE AFRICAN

DISTRICTS OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST
EPISCOPAL CHURCH: A HISTORICAL
ASSESSMENT

Supervisor: Professor Ernst Conradie

This thesis is submitted to the Faculty of Arts – Department of Religion and Theology:
University of the Western Cape.

ADONIS CAROLUS BOOYSE
May 2010
DECLARATION

I, Adonis Carolus Booyse, delare that “The sovereignty of the African districts of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church: A historical assessment” is my own work and
that all sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of
complete references for the Ph. D degree.

Signature:……………………………. Date:……………………..
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am profoundly grateful to God for giving me the knowledge, understanding and strength
to complete this thesis. All glory, honour and praise to the almighty God through His Son
Jesus Christ who continues to keep me in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, prof. Ernst Conradie for his invaluable advice,
guidance and inspiration. He guided my academic development with great insight. The
achievement is a direct result of his brilliance and diplomatic manner in pointing out the
areas in my work which required refinement.

My sincere appreciation is to Dr. Edward Smith, a lifetime friend of mine, who greatly
assisted me with the editing, styling and academic insight of this thesis. I must confess
that times when I was completely lost, having strayed away from the conceptual
framework, you provided me with the intellectual beacons to reach my destination.

A special word of commendation to Dr. Daniël Adams for his helpful suggestions on the
recommendations.

To my wife Elsabie and sons Ellsforth and Ashley, a sincere word of thanks for your
tolerance and encouragement to achieve high levels of quality and excellence in all things
that I do. Thank you for permitting me to travel Africa and America to do my research. I
therefore dedicate this thesis to you.

Adonis Carolus Booyse
May 2010

Declaration
Acknowledgements  

Table of content Page
Number

Abstract (i)
1 Chapter 1 - Introduction and overview 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Context and relevance 2
1.2.1 AME Church as a worldwide organisation 2
1.2.2 The African Districts 2
1.2.3 Structural relations between the African and American districts 4
1.3 A summary of the tensions between the African and America Districts 5
1.4 Tensions with reference to the 15th Episcopal District 8
1.5 Statement of research problem 10
1.6 Statement of the research hypothesis 10
1.7 Introducing the concept of schism 11
1.7.1 Meaning of schism 11
1.7.2 The Protestant-Roman Catholic schism 11
1.7.3 The Protestant-Roman Catholic schism 12
1.7.4 The Anglican-Methodist schism 14
1.7.5 The Methodist – African Methodist Episcopal schism 15
1.7.6 The Roman Catholic-Anabaptist schism 16
1.7.7 Concluding remarks on schisms   17
1.8 The need for a study of this nature 18

1.9 Literature review 18

1.10 Limitations of the study 21

1.11 Overview of this study 23
2 Chapter 2 - A brief History of the AME Church 25
2.1 Introduction – A brief History of the AME Church 25
2.2 Factors that played a role in the establishment of the AME Church 25
2.2.1 The American Revolution 25
2.2.2 Resistance within the Church 27
2.2.3 The leadership of Richard Allen 28
2.2.4 The formation of Free African Society 30
2.3 The establishment of the AME Church 31
2.4 Significance of the name “African Methodist Episcopal” 33
2.4.1 “African” 33
2.4.2 “Methodist” 33
2.4.3 “Episcopal” 33
2.5 The significance of the motto 33
2.5.1 “God our Father” 34
2.5.2 “Christ our Redeemer” 34
2.5.3 “Man our Brother” 35
2.6 A contemporary view of the motto 35
2.7 The subsequent growth of the AME Church 35
2.8 The structures of the AME Church 41
2.8.1 The organisational structure 41
2.8.2 Decision-making within the AME Church 44
2.9 Aspects of the life and work of the AME Church 47
2.9.1 Confessional nature 47
2.9.2 Ecumenical relations 48
2.9.3 Educational Institutions 49
2.10 Conclusion 50
3 Chapter 3 The AME Church in  Africa 51
3.1 Introduction 51

3.2 Historical overview 51

3.3 The debate around missionary expansion 53
3.4 The 14th Episcopal District   54
3.5 The 15th Episcopal District Mangena Maake Mokone 56
3.5.1 Mangena Maake Mokone 57
3.5.2 Charlotte Manye Maxeke 59
3.5.3 The Ethiopian Movement 60
3.5.4 The expansion into the rest of Southern Africa 62
3.5.5 Development programmes 63
3.6 The 16th Episcopal District 65
3.7 The 17th Episcopal District 66
3.8 The 18th Episcopal District 67
3.9 The 19th Episcopal District 69
3.10 The 20th Episcopal District 72
3.11 Conclusion 73
4 Chapter Four – The first schism – 1899 74
4.1 Introduction 74
4.2 Rise of the Ethiopian Movement 75
4.3 Brief profile of James Mata Dwane 76
4.4 Dwane and the Ethiopian Movement 79
4.5 Dwane’s appointment as General Superintendent in South Africa 82
4.6 Dwane as vicar-bishop of the AME Church in South Africa 85
4.7 Discontent on Dwane’s elevation to the bishopric 89
4.8 The South African reaction to Dwane’s appointment 90
4.9 The reaction of missionaries and governmental officials 92
4.10 The secession meeting 95
4.11 Main reasons for the schism 97
4.11.1 The financial instability of the AME Church in America 97
4.11.2 The influence of Bishop Gaines’ actions 98
4.11.3 The Apostolic Succession   100
4.12 Conclusion 100

5 Chapter 5 – The second schism of 1904 102

5.1 Introduction 102

5.2 Initial steps aimed at rebuilding the foundation 102
5.3 The request for American leadership 104
5.4 Historical background on Levi Jenkin Coppin 104
5.5 The issue of proselytizing 104
5.6 The 1902 hearings 109
5.7 Factors that contributed to the second schism 110
5.7.1 The role of Samuel Brander 110
5.7.2 The South African College 111
5.7.3 Reliance on foreign leadership 114
5.7.4 Unacceptable attitudes of superiority 116
5.7.5 Election of delegates to the 1904 General Conference 117
5.8 The second schism and its aftermath 117
5.9 Conclusion 118
6 Chapter 6 – The third schism of 1908 119
6.1 Introduction 119
6.2 A glimmer of hope for change 119
6.3 Background on Charles Spencer Smith 120
6.4 Relationships during Smith’s tenure as bishop 125
6.5 The financial situation during Smith’s tenure as bishop 127
6.6 Smith’s chaotic reign comes to an end 128
6.7 Restoring the damage of the Smith episcopacy 129
6.8 The third schism in 1908 130
6.9 Conclusion 131
7 Chapter 7 – The fourth schism of 1980 133
7.1 Introduction 133
7.2 The election of John Albert Johnson a s bishop 133
7.3 The establishment of Wilberforce Institute 134

7.3.1 Further developments in South Africa 136

7.4 The government views on African Americans bishops assigned 137

to South Africa
7.5 The election of Francis Herman Gow as bishop 140
7.6 The AMEC Printing and Publishing House 143
7.7 Factors that led to the fourth schism 147
7.8 The proposal for re-unification 150
7.9 Conclusion 151
8 Chapter 8 – The fifth schism of 1998 153
8.1 Introduction 153
8.2 The change in the AME Church-state relationship 153
8.3 The Kraaifontein Consultation 155
8.4 The restructuring proposal 156
8.4.1 Seizing the opportunity 156
8.4.2 Restructuring the episcopacy 157
8.4.3 Retaining connectionalism 157
8.4.4 Developing indigenous leadership 158
8.4.5 Implementing smaller Episcopal districts 159
8.5 McKinley Young as bishop of the 15th Episcopal District 159
8.6 Setting of priorities under Young’s administration 161
8.7 Other contributing factors to the deterioration of relationships 163
8.7.1 The fulltime ministry 163
8.7.2 The assignment of Pastors 164
8.7.3 The Supreme Court case 166
8.8 The fifth schism takes shape 168
8.8.1 The Peace and Reconciliation Committee 169
8.8.2 The Concerned Alliance 169
8.8.3 The reconciliation process 171
8.9 The way forward for the Concerned Alliance 176
8.9.1 The Robertson Declaration   176
8.9.2 The Bloekombos Deliberations 177

8.9.3 The Llandudno consultations: final prelude to the schism 179

8.10 Conclusion 180

9 Chapter 9 – Addressing the underlying causes of schism 182

9.1 Introduction 182

9.2 The African Summit 183
9.3 Meeting of the African Summit 184
9.3.1 Evangelism 184
9.3.2 Education 185
9.3.3 Polity 186
9.3.4 Ownership of real estates 186
9.3.5 Economic development 187
9.3.6 Administration 187
9.3.7 Indigenous leadership 188
9.4 The African Jurisdictional Council 188
9.4.1 Introduction 188
9.4.2 Purpose and objectives 189
9.4.3 The composition 190
9.5 First Conference of the African Jurisdictional Council 190
9.6 Recommendations of the First Conference of the African 191
Jurisdictional Council
9.6.1 Economic development 191
9.6.2 Youth development 192
9.6.3 Research, history and development 192
9.6.4 Conference boundaries and re-districting 192
9.6.5 Health matters 193
9.6.6 Educational institutions 193
9.6.7 Educational literature 193