The Sunday Mail
Desire Ncube recently in Mhondoro
LOCATED some 130 kilometres from the capital is “Jerusalem”, a religious stone city being constructed by St John’s Apostolic Church of the Whole World in Madzongwe Village, Mhondoro.
Just like the Great Zimbabwe Monuments in Masvingo, the city is being built using stones without mortar. The stonework spreads across large pieces of land with great blocks of granite rising from the ground, creating a spectacular rock formation with fancy shapes.
The walls extend between rocky outcrops and massive layered rocks, forming a maze of narrow passageways and enclosures. The chiselled creations are poised to turn Mhondoro rural area into a place of pride and pilgrimage for worshippers from across the length and breadth of the world.
According to church officials, after its completion, probably in 2020, the city will be an archaeological site as well as a spiritual city for Christians from diverse denominations. The first thing that draws any visitor’s eye is the high level of craftsmanship displayed there.
Most impressive is an enclosed space, a spectacular semi-circle monument being constructed from granite blocks. Its outer wall extends over 200 meters and it has a maximum height of not less than eight meters, becoming one of the largest stone-works in the country. “Jerusalem” is being constructed through heavenly dictates, according to the people working on it.
One of the five constructors claimed that the brainchild of the sacred city, who is also the leader of the church — Bishop Sydney Mabhiza — frequently receives revelations from God on how the city should be constructed. “All the developments here are spiritually designed, this is because our leader Bishop Mabhiza regularly receives communication from God on how it is supposed to be built.
As you can see stones are being laid without mortar and only the five of us are working here,” said 25-year-old Jones Muponda. “I am a Form Three school dropout, I never trained to do this but if one looks at this work it doesn’t reflect my lack of expertise, this shows that God himself is working with us here,” he said.
Secretary of Jerusalem N, one of the church centres in Mhondoro, Mr Funnel Ziwiri told The Sunday Mail Religion that ‘Jerusalem City’ is being built with stones so that it will not wane with the passing of time. “There is great work going on here, church members are taking turns gathering stones in nearby mountains on a voluntary basis.
This city will become one of the very important places for the Christian community as it shares the same blessing with the Biblical Jerusalem. “So our desire as church members is to help our leader realise his God given dream. Even though the city sits in a remote region of Zimbabwe, due to its spirituality, believers will track the place, some for days or even weeks to get here. “We expect people with disabilities, those seeking spiritual answers among many others, to join the pilgrimage to the city on a yearly basis,” said Mr Ziwiri.
He added that St John’s Church will also construct state-of-the-art guest houses to accommodate tourists who will visit the city. “The church got this land from the local chief way back before Bishop Mabhiza received the revelation to build this city. ‘‘After the revelation, Bishop Mabhiza decided to construct this huge city with an enclosure for church conferences, recreational facilities, guest houses and a state-of-the-art hospital,” he said.
He explained that the hospital will be open to everyone in and around the area. St John’s Church was founded by Bishop Mabhiza more than three decades ago in Mhondoro. To date, it has planted hundreds of branches across Zimbabwe with others spreading into Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana, United Kingdom and Australia.
