LOOK: The new Gauteng church where drinking alcohol is celebrated

Published Apr 21, 2018

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Orange Farm - A new church in Orange Farm celebrates drinking alcohol and holds enthusiastic, whiskey-fueled services in bars.

Gabola Church began eight months ago and has found a lively following.

Gabola's founder and self-declared pope, Tsietsi Makiti, says the church is for those who have been rejected by other churches because they drink alcohol. Gabola means "drinking" in Tswana, one of South Africa's official languages.

The leader of the Gabola Church, self-proclaimed Pope, Tsietsi Makiti, drinks from a chalice during a church service in a bar in Orange Farm. Picture: Denis Farrell/AP

A worshipper drinks a homebrew from a soft drink bottle during a Gabola Church service in a bar. Picture: Denis Farrell/AP

A worshipper reaches for her beer during a service of the Gabola Church in a bar in Orange Farm. Picture: Denis Farrell/AP

Others in South Africa are outraged by Gabola, saying it is blasphemous.

Gabola is not a member of the mainstream South African Council of Churches, which says it has no comment about it.

AP

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