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Drawing up a valid Church Constitution in Zimbabwe

Almost all churches in Zimbabwe have a written constitution which governs matters of worship, leadership, dispute resolution and discipline within the church. The importance of preparing and drawing up a valid church constitution in Zimbabwe was addressed by the Supreme Court in the case of Church of the Province of Central Africa v Diocesan Trustees, Harare Diocese 2012 (2) ZLR 392 (S) where it held that:

“Almost all Constitutions of Churches have as their subject - matters the faith, worship,

government and discipline. The Constitution would invariably make provision for

matters of faith as expressed in ecclesiastical doctrines and embodied in all the rules

governing matters of worship, government and discipline by incorporation. It cannot

be correct to say that whilst the Church considers the Word of God to be embodied as

the primary command in the doctrines which are incorporated in the Constitution by

reference, they should not constitute the standard to be considered and applied by the

court in determining the rights and obligations of the parties over the property in

dispute. When rejecting the use of the factors of majority and allegiance to a leader in

Free Church of Scotland case supra–LORD ROBERTSON observed that “since the

days of Cyrus it has been held that justice is done by giving people not what fits them

but what belongs to them”.