Bernard Mizeki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernard Mizeki (c. 1861 – 18 June 1896) was an African Christian misssionary and martyr. He was born Mamiyeri Mitseka Gwambe in Inhambane, Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique), but moved to Cape Town, Cape Colony (South Africa), when he was about twelve-years old to find work with some older cousins. He worked in the Rondebosch area under the pseudonym of Barns for superstitious reasons.
While in Cape Town, Barns encountered the Cowley Fathers' mission in the suburb of Woodstock, and he enrolled in their evening school, ran by the German missionary Baroness Paula Dorothea von Blomberg (whom the students called Fräulein). In time, he and converted to Christianity, and, on 7 March 1886, he was one of the first to be baptized in St Phillip's Mission, Sir Lowry Road, taking the name Bernard (perhaps derived from Barns). Bernard Mizeki (the spelling of his patronym was perhaps influenced by the Fräulein's German) studied with the Anglican mission in Cape Town for about ten years. During his time in Cape Town, Bernard experienced the poverty and the effect of drunkenness in the slums, which lead him to be a firm teetotaler. Shortly after his baptism, Bernard started work at St Columba's Hostel off Sir Lowry Road, which was run by the missionaries for African men. Within a few months at the hostel he was converting guests to Christianity. Realizing his usefulness to mission, Bernard was sent to Zonnebloem College to train as a catechist. He became a dedicated translator of the Bible, and he spoke about eight African languages besides English, French and Dutch.
After completing his studies, in January 1891, Bernard accompanied the new missionary bishop of Mashonaland, George William Knight-Bruce, as a lay catechist among the Shona people in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). He was sent to work in the Marandellas (Marondero) district among the Nhowe people, and settled in the kraal of Mangwende Mungati. Bernard built his home and a school there and quickly became an expert in the Shona language. He angered local witch doctors when he cut down sacred trees near the village, but the Mangwende supported him in his actions. As well as wishing to demonstrate the victory of Christianity over traditional religion, Bernard Mizeki was an earlier pioneer of inculturalisation in mission: the incorporation of the local culture into the Christian faith. In 1895, Bernard was given permission to marry, and became engaged to, and the year after married, Mutwa, a granddaughter of the Mangwende and a convert (she took the name Lily at her baptism after her husband's death).
On 18 June 1896, during a tribal uprising, Bernard Mizeki was murdered outside of his home. Hei is revered throughout Southern Africa as a hero of the faith to this day. As with other missionaries in the region, Bernard had been warned to leave, but he had refused to abandon his mission and his pregnant wife. As he lay dying from a spear wound, Mutwa and a friend went to fetch blankets and food for him. As they returned, they report seeing a blinding light and loud noise from a distance, and, when they came to the house, found Bernard's body had gone. Some reports name Mchemwa, the son of the Mangwende and ally of the witch doctors, as responsible for Bernard's murder and the removal of his body.
The martyrdom of Bernard Mizeki was the catlyst for the conversion of the Shona people. Exactly a month afterwards, John Kapuya was the first to be baptized. John later became a catechist, following in Bernard's footsteps. Another of Bernard's converts, Samuel Munyavi, became the father to one of the first black priests in Southern Africa. The place of Bernard Mizeki's martyrdom has become a pilgrimage shrine to Anglicans and other Christians, especially around 18 June, when a great communion service is held in his honor. Bernard Mizeki College now stands close to where he lived, and the Mangwende's kraal, above the village, is now topped with a large concrete cross to commemorate Bernard. More than twenty churches throughout Southern Africa bear Bernard's name: including those in Kwazakhele in Port Elizabeth, Mkumenge in Transkei and Atteridgeville in Pretoria. There is also a chapel in Botswana dedicated to him, and a school in Swaziland. Bernard Mizeki is depicted in a stained-glass window in St George's Cathedral, Cape Town. He also has a reliquary in the new St Phillip's Church in Cape Town. The altar of St Cyprian's Church, Langa, on the Cape Flats is inscribed Bernard Mizeki si tandaza (Bernard Mizeki, pray for us).
