Antonianism

Antonianism was a syncretic Christian movement formed in the Kingdom of Kongo between 1704 and 1706 as a development within the Roman Catholic Church in Kongo. Its founder was a young charismatic named Beatriz Kimpa Vita who said she was possessed by Saint Anthony of Padua. Beatriz became known for healing and other miracles.

Roman Catholicism had been introduced to Sub-Saharan Africa in the 15th century and had attracted a wide following in Kongo. Beatriz claimed Anthony had told her through a vision to create a new Kongolese Catholicism, and she incorporated various native practices and traditions into her movement. The major differences between Roman Catholicism and Antonianism were the rejection of the cross, as it was seen as being responsible for Christ's death, as well as the rejection of baptism, confession and prayer. Among her beliefs were that Jesus was a black man and that the Kongo was the real home of Christianity. She also held that heaven was for Africans^{[citation needed]}. Beatriz also made polygamy legal in her movement.

European Christian missionaries charged her with heresy and at their request King Pedro IV of Kongo had her arrested in 1706. She was convicted and burned at the stake. The movement of Antonianism did not immediately die when she did and in 1708 twenty thousand Antonians marched on King Pedro IV, who eventually defeated them and restored his kingdom.