Balokole

{{Short description|none}}  {{Status of religious freedom |persecution}}The '''Balokole''' (Luganda: "the saved ones" or "the chosen") is an African evangelical Christian revival movement, started by Simeon Nsibambi and John E. Church in the 1930s, that has profoundly impacted Protestant churches across East Africa for over a century.<ref name="dacb">{{cite web|url=https://dacb.org/histories/uganda-tukutendereza-yesu/|title=Tukutendereza Yesu: The Balokole Revival in Uganda|publisher=Dictionary of African Christian Biography|access-date=2025-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Theroux |first1=Paul |url=https://archive.org/details/darkstarsafari00paul/page/226 |title=Dark Star Safari |date=2002 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9780140281118 |page=[https://archive.org/details/darkstarsafari00paul/page/226 226] |quote=His father, Semyoni... abandoned political belief and started a religious revival called the Balokole Movement. |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The East African revival: The treasure of Ankole region |url=http://newvision-web-nuxt3.us-east-1.elasticbeanstalk.com/news/1433089/east-african-revival-treasure-ankole-region |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=New Vision}}</ref> The movement emerged from the broader East African Revival that began in 1929 on a hill called Gahini in then Belgian Ruanda-Urundi.<ref name="cambridge">{{cite journal|last1=Ward |first1=Kevin |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-church-history/article/abs/east-african-revival-of-the-twentieth-century-the-search-for-an-evangelical-african-christianity/CC5152C83B96A3368FB1C28243B04150|title=The East African Revival of the Twentieth Century: the Search for an Evangelical African Christianity|journal=Studies in Church History|date=2008 |volume=44 |pages=365–387 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/S0424208400003727 |access-date=2025-07-15|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-01-09 |title=Birth of the Balokole in Uganda |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/magazines/people-power/birth-of-the-balokole-in-uganda-1614346 |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=Monitor |language=en}}</ref>

==Origins and development== The Balokole movement originated from the East African Revival Movement that began in 1929 in Gahini, Rwanda, and quickly spread to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and the eastern mountains of Belgian Congo.<ref name="cambridge"/> The revival was characterized by its emphasis on personal salvation and commitment to Christian discipleship, offering individuals "the challenge of a deeper experience of salvation in Christ and a more radical commitment to Christian discipleship."<ref name="dacb"/><ref name=":0" />

The movement gained particular prominence within the Anglican Church of Uganda through partnerships between local leaders and missionary workers.<ref name="bu">{{cite web|url=https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/c-d/church-john-edward-1899-1989/|title=Church, John Edward (1899-1989)|publisher=Boston University History of Missiology|access-date=2025-07-15}}</ref> By the mid-1930s, East African revivalists proclaimed their message of salvation throughout colonial East Africa, seeking to revive the mission churches of the region.<ref name="boydell">{{cite web|url=https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781580465847/living-salvation-in-the-east-african-revival-in-uganda/|title=Living Salvation in the East African Revival in Uganda|publisher=Boydell and Brewer|date=2023-08-10|access-date=2025-07-15}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Moon |first=Daewon |title=The Balokole Revival and African Christian Spirituality |date=2022-08-19 |work=African Initiative and Inspiration in the East African Revival |pages=95–124 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004520462/BP000012.xml |access-date=2025-07-15 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/9789004520462_005 |isbn=978-90-04-52046-2|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Despite its theological roots in the Western revival movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Balokole evolved as an indigenous African movement. The term ''Balokole'' can be translated as "the saved ones" or "the chosen".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moon |first=Daewon |date=2019 |title=Dissertation |url=https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/37032 |url-status= |access-date=25 May 2024 |website=Boston University Libraries}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moon |first=Daewon |date=2019 |title=African initiative and inspiration in the East African Revival, 1930-1950 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2144/37032 |journal=Boston University |hdl=2144/37032 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Balokole movement criticized established hierarchies within the Church of Uganda and questioned prevailing amorality or double standards. The Balokole formed egalitarian brotherhoods, followed puritanical rules, publicly confessed their sins and professed their experience of conversion, which they understood as a radical break with their former sinful selves and a receiving of new life from God.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Behrend |first=Heike |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/alice-lakwena-and-the-holy-spirits/C6B1550B5A6FD3FD6197D36325AB9DA2 |title=Alice Lakwena and the Holy Spirits: War in Northern Uganda, 1986-97 |date=2000 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer}}</ref> They stressed the importance of the Lordship of Christ over all areas of life.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Church |first1=John Edward |title=Amazon.com: Quest for the Highest: A Diary of the East African Revival (9780853643289): Joseph E. Church: Books |date=1981 |publisher=Paternoster Press |isbn=0853643288 }}</ref> Dr Joe E. Church required those missionaries who did not agree with his revival theory to resign from their assignment. In 1949 at least eight missionaries were asked to resign due to disagreements with his leadership.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=UDY |first=BENJAMIN |title=Ecstatic Spirituality in Kigezi, Ruanda and Western Tanganyika c.1933 – 1940: Censorship, Control and the Ruanda Mission |date=2013 |degree=Masters |publisher=Durham University |url=https://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9440/}}</ref>

==Characteristics and beliefs== The Balokole movement was distinguished by its criticism of established hierarchies within the Church of Uganda and its questioning of prevailing amorality and double standards within religious institutions.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/east-african-revival|title=East African Revival|publisher=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=2025-07-15}}</ref> Members formed egalitarian brotherhoods and followed puritanical rules, publicly confessing sins and emphasizing personal transformation.<ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Winter |first=Mark |date=1983 |title=The Balokole and the Protestant Ethic: A Critique |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1594934 |journal=Journal of Religion in Africa |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=58–73 |doi=10.2307/1594934 |jstor=1594934 |issn=0022-4200|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The movement emphasized the concept of being "saved" or "chosen," with participants understanding themselves as having experienced a profound spiritual transformation. This evangelical revival was arguably the most famous and influential African spiritual renewal movement of the twentieth century.<ref name="bu"/> The Balokole worked alongside established churches while avoiding schism, although they initially faced resistance from some church authorities.<ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name=":2" />

==Impact and legacy== The Balokole Revival addressed what was perceived as a spiritual malaise within East African Christianity. By 1947, when Uganda's first indigenous bishop was appointed, the movement had become instrumental in confronting spiritual challenges within the church.<ref name="dacb_history">{{cite web|url=https://dacb.org/histories/uganda-history-christianity/|title=A History of Christianity in Uganda|publisher=Dictionary of African Christian Biography|access-date=2025-07-15}}</ref> The movement's influence extended far beyond Uganda, with its reverberations continuing to impact Christianity across East Africa and beyond.<ref name="newwineskins">{{cite web|url=https://www.newwineskins.org/blog/the-east-african-revival|title=The Overlooked Revival: The East African Revival Was a Mighty Move of God|publisher=New Wineskins Missions Network|date=2024-03-19|access-date=2025-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-23 |title=Don't suffocate evangelism |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/don-t-suffocate-evangelism-4800422 |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=Monitor |language=en}}</ref>

The Balokole movement's emphasis on personal salvation, public confession, and moral renewal fundamentally changed the landscape of Protestant Christianity in East Africa. It demonstrated the capacity for indigenous African Christianity to generate its own revival movements while working within established denominational structures.<ref name="dacb"/><ref name=":1" />

The Balokole in Uganda are not only of the East African Revival Movement but also the Pentecostal born again Christians who have their Sunday or daily prayers from Pentecostal churches which are headed by Pastors, who at times are called 'Bishops'. The born again Christians of the East Africa Revival Movement rooted from the early Church Of Uganda Protestants who were termed as 'sleepy' christians. The East African Revival Movement Born Again Christians are today referred to as the 'Abalokole Abazukuffu' meaning 'Awake Born Agains'. They still do carry on their regular services from the anglican church but do fellowship from designated areas where there is normally an elder in the faith.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-18 |title=Looking for a Balokole church: Don't bother with signposts, just listen for sound! |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/looking-for-a-balokole-church-don-t-bother-with-signposts-just-listen-for-sound--4438298 |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=Monitor |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Christian denominations in Uganda Category:Christian mysticism

Balokole

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