Ecclesia Africana is the journal of the College of the Transfiguration. In keeping with the vision of the College, the journal seeks to serve to resource lay and ordained members of the wider church as co-creators and facilitators of communities of faith and for the healing of the world, contributors to social change and social cohesion, and enablers of a truly transforming humanity. As such the journal adopts a prophetic orientation explicitly informed by the understanding that we are all made in the image of God, encouraging a method of theological reflection that is interdisciplinary, contextual and critical, anchored in the Anglican tradition and ethos, catholic in spirituality, evangelical in teaching and praxis, and ecumenical in outlook, for the renewal of the church and society. Through such an approach the journal hopes to promote discipleship that enables ministry, from an African worldview and context, that is critical, creative, informed and transforming, that draws us towards the God in whose image we are created.
Ecclesia Africana is published electronically once annually in August, to coincide with the Feast Day of the College of the Transfiguration.
Authors are invited to submit articles in any field of Christian theology. The guidelines which are set out below should be followed. In addition to academic articles, a small selection of poetry and prayers will also be published.
All submissions for the 2025 issue of Ecclesia Africana must be received by the editors by no later than 31 January 2025.
Guidelines for Authors
1. Unsolicited previously unpublished manuscripts are welcomed by the editors.
2. Articles should usually be between 5000 and 8 000 words, including footnotes.
3. Poetry and prayers may also be submitted. There is no set word length but preference will be given to those shorter than 1000 words.
4. All submissions should be in MS Word, Times New Roman 12 font. Quotations of four lines or more should be blocked in Times New Roman 12 font. Footnotes should be in Times New Roman10 font.
5. An abstract of 100-150 words needs to be provided.
6. All articles will be blind peer reviewed by two reviewers.
7. The editors reserve the right to decide whether or not to publish a submission and in which issue of the journal.
8. Articles should follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition, Notes and Bibliography system. Details can be obtained at: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html
References should take the form of footnotes (not end notes). The full bibliographic details should appear in the first footnote and thereafter a short form reference should be used, with only the author’s surname, a short version of the title and the page number. Ibid and op cit are not used.
URLs must be underlined, placed in square brackets and must include the date of accession
9. All headings and subheadings should have the first letter of the first word only in capitals (unless a proper noun is being used.)
10. Gender inclusive language should be used for human beings and, wherever possible, for God.
11. Preferably write in the first person singular (“I”, not “we” or “the author”).
11. Spelling may be American or British but must be used consistently.
12. Do not use p. to indicate a page number. Use only the number. 13. Submissions may be made to ecclesiaafricana@cott.co.za and must be accompanied by the following information:
- Author’s name
- Academic institution (if applicable)
- Short biographical description (including job title, previous publications, if any, research interests).