By The Related Press
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A Pentecostal church in South Africa celebrated Easter Sunday with mass wedding ceremony ceremonies for round 3,000 folks, with a lot of them coming into into polygamous marriages.
The Worldwide Pentecost Holiness Church mentioned mass weddings are a part of its Easter festivities and the custom of polygamy, which is noticed in some African cultures, has been integrated into the church.
Sunday’s ceremonies would see some males marry their sixth or seventh wives, church spokesperson Vusi Ndala mentioned. Different grooms have been set to marry a number of brides at one time, Ndala mentioned.
“Polygamy isn’t solely embraced however held in excessive regard” within the church, Ndala mentioned.
The Worldwide Pentecost Holiness Church was based in South Africa within the early Sixties. It’s an African-initiated church, which means it was based by Africans somewhat than international missionaries, and blends Pentecostal beliefs with native traditions.
The church has held mass weddings earlier than, together with in 2023 when round 400 {couples} or bridal events tied the knot. It says this yr’s occasion was its largest by far.
Ndala mentioned the big variety of folks being married this yr was due to “a lot of males marrying multiple spouse at a go.”
In some instances, grooms introduced their present spouse or wives to be with them for his or her new marriage.
The weddings have been held on the church’s headquarters, an enormous, dome-shaped constructing within the city of Heidelberg, close to Johannesburg, that may seat 60,000 folks.
The congregants who have been being married waited in lengthy white tents arrange in open fields subsequent to the church constructing, the place they got bridal flowers, meals packs and water. They then filed into the church constructing in lengthy queues, the ladies sporting white bridal robes and lots of the males in matching white fits and purple ties.
Polygamy is authorized in South Africa if the union is registered as a customary marriage.
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AP Africa information: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
