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Both Tutu and Bonhoeffer embraced conviviality as an attribute of Christian life, not only as theory, but also in practice. Both also drew from lived experience in an effort to articulate their respective theologies of conviviality. We discuss the experience of music and musical metaphors as a lens through which to explore this relationship between lived experience and an explicit theology of conviviality. Bonhoeffer’s metaphor of the “polyphony of life” is a product of his milieu and does not fully capture the conviviality implicit in his Christology (being-for-others). We argue that African manifestations of conviviality such as ubuntu and gbenopo, when understood as lived realities rather than isolated abstract concepts, make an important contribution to theological discourse, in general. In this case in particular, utilising ethnomusicology to attend to the polyrhythm in Ogu music enriches our understanding of what it means to be-for-others.

In the eyes of many, chairing the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was the crowning contribution of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his country, and to the world at large. Against the backdrop of his role leading the TRC, chairing the many victims’ hearings and guiding the amnesty proceedings, the article focuses on Tutu’s views on forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. The TRC operated within the mandates given to it by the South African parliament, but Tutu with his theological background, strong views, and dynamic personality put his own stamp on the truth and reconciliation process inSouth Africa. The role of religion in establishing truth and working towards justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation was controversial, but for the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, it was inconceivable to embark on the journey of reconciliation without faith in Jesus Christ, the ultimate Reconciler.

In the eyes of many, chairing the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was the crowning contribution of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to his country, and to the world at large. Against the backdrop of his role leading the TRC, chairing the many victims’ hearings and guiding the amnesty proceedings, the article focuses on Tutu’s views on forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. The TRC operated within the mandates given to it by the South African parliament, but Tutu with his theological background, strong views, and dynamic personality put his own stamp on the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa. The role of religion in establishing truth and working towards justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation was controversial, but for the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, it was inconceivable to embark on the journey of reconciliation without faith in Jesus Christ, the ultimate Reconciler.

A poem in Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa and Sesotho in honour of Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 1931 – 26 December 2021).

Because of an interpersonal world view, Ubuntu provides a much-needed reference point for navigating contentious issues for both political and spiritual discourse. The intent, in this instance, is not so much a polemic against political individualism as it is a reckoning with how Christian spirituality per se matters in the academy and public spheres. The concept of “Ubuntu” complements Christian spirituality in that the conceptualisation of Ubuntu moves us beyond notions of soteriology based in individualism and vapid understandings of personal salvation. In turn, Ubuntu expands the understanding of communal spirituality, by providing the reader better insight into the deepening paradox in which, by focusing upon community, one gains a deeper significance of self.

Across the African sub-region and indeed some parts of the world, there have been constant struggles of political instability, corruption, ethnic conflicts and poverty, among others, which continue to shape both social and religious communities. These, therefore, call on Christianity regarding how to faithfully respond to such deep wounds without losing hope. This paper assesses the complex relationship between realism and hope within African Christian expression in a theological dialogue between Augustine of Hippo and Desmond Tutu. The study is centred on the main question: How can African Christianity balance deep woundedness and stable hope by drawing on Augustine’s realism and Tutu’s Ubuntu? Adopting the comparative theological methodology, the study employs key primary texts, including Augustine’s City of God, Letters, and Confessions, alongside Tutu’s writings, such as No Future Without Forgiveness and The Rainbow People of God, to juxtapose theological concepts such as human dignity, justice, unity, coercion and hope. The paper reveals that Augustine’s theological realism finds the limits of justice and the prevalence of sin yet proposes an eschatological hope that is built on patience and perseverance. Tutu’s Ubuntu theology is also founded in African ethics, extending hope for active social healing through forgiveness and reconciliation. This paper concludes that the church in Africa must live ‘between wounds and hope’, where the hostilities of harsh realities are met with empathetic pastoral care, and realism is guided by transformative hope.ContributionThis study offers fresh perspectives on how Christianity in Africa can circumvent the harsh impacts of the social and spiritual predicaments through a dialogue between classical theological ideas and contemporary restorative praxis.