Abstract:
This article explores an emerging ecumenical church polity in Zambia from a
church historical perspective. While church polity and church unity literature
has acknowledged the role of church polity and church unity in Zambia, and its
use for ecclesiological purposes, the growing use of church polity and the efforts
at church unity in the period 1965–2010 in Zambia, have remained unexamined.
This article thus explores qualitatively how church polity and church unity were
viewed in church legislation and official church documents of the United
Church of Zambia (UCZ), the Anglican Church in Zambia (ACZ) and the
Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA) in Zambia. The
article observes that ecumenical church polity has indeed been developed in
Zambia and lessons from efforts at church unity in Zambia can assist in
developing ecumenical church polity. This is demonstrated by comparing the
church legislation and by studying lessons from efforts at church unity within
the ranks of the UCZ, ACZ and UPCSA, among other ways. The article
therefore advances the argument that ecumenical church polity can be
developed by comparing the church legislation provisions and by studying the
lessons from efforts at church unity in Zambia. This article contributes to the
field of church history, church polity and ecclesiology.
