A Pentecostal church in South Africa celebrated Easter Sunday with mass wedding ceremonies for approximately 3,000 people, many of whom entered into polygamous marriages. The International Pentecost Holiness Church, based in Heidelberg near Johannesburg, said mass weddings are a traditional part of their Easter festivities, incorporating the practice of polygamy, which is observed in some African cultures.
The church’s spokesperson, Vusi Ndala, explained that some men were marrying their sixth or seventh wives, while others were set to marry multiple brides in a single ceremony. “Polygamy is not only embraced but held in high regard” in the church, Ndala emphasized.
The weddings took place at the church’s headquarters, a massive dome-shaped building that can seat 60,000 people. Congregants waited in long white tents, where they received bridal flowers, food packs, and water, before filing into the church in long queues. The women wore white bridal gowns, while many men sported matching white suits and red ties.
Ndala attributed the large number of marriages this year to “a large number of men marrying more than one wife at a go.” Some grooms even brought their current wives to be with them for their new marriage. This year’s event was the largest to date, surpassing the 400 couples who tied the knot in 2023 .
The International Pentecost Holiness Church, founded in South Africa in the early 1960s, blends Pentecostal beliefs with local traditions. Polygamy is legal in South Africa if the union is registered as a customary marriage.
