Hundreds of couples got married at the same time in South Africa.
Photo: IHSAAN HAFFEJEE/AFP / Getty Images
More than 800 couples walked down the aisle on Easter Sunday in one of the largest mass wedding ceremonies in South Africa since the Covid-19 pandemic.which left more than 100,000 dead in that country.
These massive nuptials take place three times a year in the African country: at Easter, in December, and also during the celebrations in September of the founding of the church in 1962.
The International Holiness Church of Pentecost blesses polygamous unions, which are common in some African communities, and the church claims they are authorized by the Bible, the Reuters agency assured this Sunday.
The wives wore colorful outfits for the ceremony at the Jerusalem congregation of the International Holiness Church of Pentecost, 62 miles north of Johannesburg. First-time brides wore traditional white dresses.
The celebrations were a respite from a longstanding dispute over the leadership of the church, which has a membership of around 3 million, making it one of the largest congregations in South Africa, the agency recalled.
The succession battle between three brothers began after the 2016 death of church leader Glayton Modise.
In 2020, five people were killed in a shooting at another church congregation.but last year a court dismissed the case against the 42 defendants.
Security was tight at Sunday’s ceremony, which was manned by armed guards and metal detectors were used to monitor the congregation.
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