In one of the most major mass wedding ceremonies in South Africa since the pandemic, over 800 couples exchanged vows on Easter Sunday.
The International Pentecost Holiness Church has a positive view of polygamous marriage, which is common in many African societies and is sanctioned by the Bible, according to the church.
Three times a year, in December, during Easter, and in September, when the church celebrated its inception in 1962, it holds mass weddings.
"It's a special day, and I am thrilled," Lebogile Mamatela, 38, a government employee who on Sunday married the father of her kid for a second time, told Reuters during the ceremony.
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Roto Mahluku, her new spouse, is 40 years old, joined the church in 1993, and wed Ditopa Mahluku 16 years ago. They are parents of three kids.
She claimed that the second marriage of Ditopa's husband, 37, "fulfils what God has created, fulfilling the scripture that says women will be leaning towards one man."
The ceremony was held at the Jerusalem congregation of the International Pentecost Holiness Church, 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Johannesburg. Current wives attended in colourful clothes. Newlyweds wore the customary white gowns.
The festivities provided a break from a protracted dispute over the church's leadership. The church is one of South Africa's largest congregations, with almost three million members.
Following the passing of the church's leader, Clayton Modise, in 2016, a succession conflict among the three brothers erupted.
Five people were shot dead in a shooting incident at another church congregation in 2020, but this year, a court threw out the 42 accused's case.
The ceremony on Sunday was well guarded; armed guards patrolled the area, and metal detectors were employed to filter the audience.
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