New Apostolic Church Eleven Wikipedia Articles PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information. PDF generated at: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:18:56 UTC Contents Articles New Apostolic Church 1 Catholic Apostolic Church 29 Richard Fehr 40 John Bate Cardale 41 Restored Apostolic Mission Church 42 United Apostolic Church 49 Chief Apostle 53 Wilhelm Leber 54 Old Apostolic Church 55 Apostolic Church of Queensland 59 Apostolic Church of South Africa – Apostle Unity 60 References Article Sources and Contributors 63 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 64 Article Licenses License 65 New Apostolic Church 1 New Apostolic Church New Apostolic Church (NAC) New Apostolic church hall with emblem Classification Chiliastic, partly Restorationist Orientation Irvingian movement, Christianity Polity Apostolic Hierarchical Leader Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber Distinct fellowships International Apostles' Meeting District Apostles' Meeting Project Groups: -Faith Questions -Ecumenism -Music -Communication -Youth Committee for special affairs and others Associations Consortium of Christian Churches, Germany and Switzerland Geographical areas 181 nations, divided into 18 District Apostle areas, Int. headquarters: Zürich Origin 1878 Hamburg, Germany Branched from Catholic Apostolic Church Separations Restored Apostolic Mission Church, Old Apostolic Church, United Apostolic Church, Congregations [1] 66,388 (12/31/2007) Members [1] 11,239,935 (12/31/2007) Ministers [1] 259,515 (12/31/2007) Aid organization NAK karitativ, Germany Official website [2] www.nak.org New Apostolic Church 2 The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands. It came about from the schism in Hamburg in 1863, when it demerged from the Catholic Apostolic Church, which itself started in the 1830s as a renewal movement in, among others, the Anglican Church and Church of Scotland. Premillennialism and the Second Coming of Christ are at the forefront of the New Apostolic doctrines. Most of its doctrines are akin to mainstream Christianity and, especially its liturgy, to Protestantism, whereas its hierarchy and organisation could be compared with the Roman Catholic Church. Churches with emblem (Karlsruhe, Karlstraße) The church considers itself to be the re-established continuation of the Early Church and that its leaders are the successors of the twelve apostles. This doctrine resembles Restorationism in some aspects. The official abbreviation in English-speaking countries is NAC (for New Apostolic Church), whereas it is NAK in German (Neuapostolische Kirche), ENA in French (Eglise Néo Apostolique), and INA in Portuguese (Igreja Nova Apostolica) and Spanish (Iglesia Nueva Apóstolica). History New Apostolic Church in Dortmund-Lanstrop New Apostolic Church in Otterndorf New Apostolic Church in Wittmund New Apostolic Church 3 The Catholic Apostolic Church In England in 1832, John Bate Cardale was called, through prophecies, as the first apostle of the second sending. Eleven more men from various Christian denominations, social positions and religious training were called to the newly founded apostle ministry from then until 1835. After a long period of combined preparation, these apostles started to travel around the world, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. The main point of their gospel was that the Church had deviated from its origins; only through restoring the Universal Church to its perfect state could the return of Christ be ensured. They were convinced that the restoration of the apostles' ministry was necessary to achieve that perfect condition. After the death of three apostles in 1855, the apostolate declared that there was no [3] reason to call new apostles. During a meeting at Albury in 1860, the German Apostle Schwartz later in life Prophet Heinrich Geyer called two evangelists to be apostles. After deliberation, the apostles rejected this calling, explained the callings of substitutes as coadjutors to the remaining apostles and affirmed that no further callings to the apostolate would be accepted. Break from the Catholic Apostolic Church Later, on 10 October 1862, while traveling with the Apostle Woodhouse in Königsberg, the Prophet Geyer called Rudolf Rosochaki to be an apostle while staying in his home. As callings in private were no longer accepted by the English apostles, Rosochaki was told to wait patiently until God would confirm his calling in the presence of witnesses. In December, Geyer informed Angel (Bishop) F.W. Schwartz, of the Hamburg congregation, that Rosochaki had been called and Angel Schwartz then invited both of them to Hamburg. In the afternoon service of 4 January 1863, Schwartz asked the men to describe what had happened and Schwartz, along with most of the [4] congregation, accepted this calling of Rosochaki to the apostolate. A few days later Apostle Rosochaki became doubtful of the divine origin of his calling as an Apostle after meeting with some of the other apostles. Eventually, he subordinated himself once more to Apostle Woodhouse and left the [5] schismatics, returning to the Catholic Apostolic congregation on 17 January 1863. On 26 January 1863 Angel Schwartz met with Apostle Woodhouse and Archangel Rothe in Berlin and expressed his belief in the need to continue the Apostle ministry. Therefore, on 6 February 1863 Apostle Woodhouse informed the Hamburg [4] congregation, in writing, of its expulsion from the Catholic Apostolic Church. This is commonly known as the "Hamburg Schism". The Hamburg congregation, along with Prophet Geyer, split off to form the Allgemeine Apostolische Mission (General Apostolic Congregation) in 1863, and shortly thereafter the Dutch branch of the Restored Apostolic Mission Church, at first known as Apostolische Zending and officially registered as Hersteld Apostolische Zendingkerk (HAZK) in 1893. Today, 4 January 1863 is considered the date on which the New [5] Apostolic Church was established. As Rosochaki had returned to the Catholic Apostolic Church, this left the newly independent Hamburg congregation without apostolic authority: no more believers could be sealed; no ministers could be ordained. On 12 April 1863, a deacon delivered a prophecy calling Priest Carl Louis Preuss as an Apostle. Prophet Heinrich Geyer confirmed this calling a little later. On 25 May 1863, Friedrich Wilhelm Schwartz was also called as an Apostle through many [5] prophetically gifted members in the congregation, and also through Prophet Geyer. Thus began the work of the Apostles of the New Order, with German "apostles" spreading "the word" around the world. New Apostolic Church 4 The First Schism The Prophet Geyer initiated the first schism in the new body for the same reason as the schism from the English Apostles and as for leaving the Catholic Apostolic congregations, namely Apostles not validating the Prophet's call for an Apostle. Friction existed between the Prophet Geyer and Apostle Preuss concerning whether Prophets or Apostles had higher authority, and when Apostle Preuss died on 25 July 1878, open conflict broke out. Geyer had already called the coal dealer Johannes F.L. Gueldner as an apostle in a private meeting four months before apostle Preuss' death. Apostle Preuss had refused to recognize this calling and, on his deathbed, designated Elder Wichmann as his successor. However, he was not able to stop Geyer because "the word of a prophet carried more weight in those days than the word of the Lord". Geyer called Gueldner again as an apostle, and as the successor of Preuss, in a service on 4 August 1878. The majority of the Hamburg congregation protested, Wichmann stepped up to the altar and, without much ado, relieved Geyer from his ministry. The ensuing tumult led to a flurry of apostle callings. Wichmann's wife, supported by her son, called him an apostle through prophecy. A maid called her master as an apostle, also by prophecy. Other prophetic people called a fourth person as an apostle. The result of this chaos was that none of those who were called could prevail. Wichmann told Geyer that he had to leave, so Geyer left the church with his followers, taking their vestments and several sacramental items with them. A successor for Preuss was not selected at this time (this happened later in 1880). Going by a prophecy, the remaining Hamburg congregation gave themselves under the care of Apostle Menkhoff but the congregation had suffered severe losses from the schism. Geyer and his followers founded a new congregation in Hamburg named Apostolische Mission (Apostolic Mission). They built a chapel and "served" together with Gueldner, also in Silesia. His congregation never gained any [6] importance, and wasted away after his death in 1896. The remainder of the Hamburg congregation adopted the name Allgemeine Christliche Apostolische Mission (General Christian Apostolic Mission). The Chief Apostle Office established After the death of Apostle H.F. Schwartz, the remaining active Apostles of the New Order formed a central, ruling [7] [8] [9] ministry in the form of the "Chief Apostle" in either 1895, 1896 or 1897, and designated Friedrich Krebs to this office. It is important to note that this office did not exist before Schwartz's death. He had been an Angel (Bishop) in the Catholic Apostolic Church, which was opposed to designating any one person as head of the church, citing that Christ is the head of the Christian Church. In contrast, the role of the Chief Apostle ministry was not intended to usurp the leadership of Christ, but more realistically aimed to continue the succession of Simon Peter, as Christ's immediate subordinate on Earth. In 1895, there were only six active Apostles, three in Europe and one each in South Africa, Australia, and Indonesia. [4] With the establishment of a higher Apostolic office, the Chief Apostle appointed all subsequent Apostles as opposed to prophetic calling, which had been fundamental since the formation of the Catholic Apostolic Church. By [4] 1899, the traditional limit of twelve apostles had been discarded and more men were ordained as Apostles. Parallel to the progress of the New Apostolic denomination, schisms occurred on several occasions elsewhere in the world. The reasons for those divisions were different but mainly related to disputes regarding the central ministry of the Chief Apostle. New Apostolic Church 5 Development during the 20th century In August 1906, Chief Apostle Niehaus ordained Apostle Helper Johann Gottfried Bischoff as District Apostle of the Middle Germany and Württemberg district, replacing the late Apostle Ruff. He also renamed the Neuapostolische Gemeinde (New Apostolic Congregation) as Neuapostolische Kirche (New Apostolic Church) and created a public corporation for it. He ordained numerous young ministers and regularly convened conferences of apostles. He founded the periodical church publication Apostolisches Sonntagsblatt (Apostolic Sunday Paper), later Neuapostolische Rundschau (New Apostolic Review), in 1907 as an additional weekly publication to go along with Der Herold and Wächterstimme von Ephraim (Watchman's Voice of Ephraim). In 1908 he Chief Apostle Hermann issued the Allgemeinen Hausregeln (General House Rules) and in 1916 he wrote the first Niehaus textbook about the New Apostolic faith Fragen & Antworten (Questions & Answers). This book still exists in its revised 1992 version, but will be replaced by the new catechism. As the first of the Chief Apostles, Apostle Niehaus and Apostle Carl August Brückner visited United States congregations on 19 August 19, 1909. The outbreak of war in 1914 brought high exposure to the church. The soldiers at the frontlines were administered the Holy Communion by field post as bread hosts with three drops of wine on them. This practice was established in every congregation in 1917 and remains to this day. While the Holy Communion had originally been celebrated separately with bread and wine, the current practice uses unleavened bread wafers which are manufactured with three drops of wine trickled onto each. The name Neuapostolische Kirche (New Apostolic Church) came into use in North America as early as 1918. A variety of names had been used there previously, including German Apostolic Church and Apostolic Church. This name was uniformly adopted in Germany in the late 1920s as well. A cult of personality materialized around the Chief Apostle and became apparent at his birthday celebrations. On the occasion of his 80th birthday, and the sixty year anniversary of the church ministry, a book with the name Der Grösste unter ihnen (The greatest among them) was published by the other apostles. On 25 January 1930, the day before his 25 year anniversary as Chief Apostle, he fell down the stairs in an accident and was pressed to give up his duties. He remained diligent but was finally retired by the council of apostles on 21 September 1930. He died on 23 August 1932 at the age of 84 years. The members of the church called him "Vater Niehaus" (Father). In 1905, Chief Apostle Niehaus oversaw six Apostle Districts with 488 congregations. At the end of his tenure, there were twelve European Apostle Districts with about 1,600 congregations and further 200 congregations overseas. The New Apostolic Church in Germany counted 138,000 members in 1925. The initially deep ecumenical conviction, which was cultivated in the Catholic Apostolic Church and then by Heinrich Geyer, had declined over time due to heavy conflicts with other Christian denominations, perhaps because the theologian education of ministers in the Catholic Apostolic Church may have been lacking (only a few had been Catholic Apostolic ministers before), or there may have been rejection by the national churches. The lower social classes, from which important ministers were drawn, were essential for the growth of the church. Nationalistic appeals can be found in hymnaries and theological scriptures from that time. Also, significantly for that period, the church's structure became increasingly hierarchical. The most charismatic element of the Catholic Apostolic Church, prophecies, became rarer (the last oral lore dates from the 1980s) and the Prophet Ministry disappeared. In fact, a total reform of the evangelical pattern can be observed and which became apparent by expelling Catholic Apostolic influences. New Apostolic Church 6 Setbacks in Nazi Germany The New Apostolic Church, like many other small organizations and societies, had to accept compromises with the National Socialist regime to avoid being prohibited or persecuted. Even though the Christian faith and basic principles of the New Apostolic Church fundamentally contradicted the world view of National Socialism, the church was not prohibited, unlike a number of other religious communities or sects. The extent which National Socialist views and attitudes were spread within the church, and whether this happened out of fear of reprisals or one's own expulsion, is today still a controversial subject between the church and its critics. All the New Apostolic congregations were prohibited in 1933. Then-Chief Apostle Bischoff tried to establish relations with the National Socialist regime in order to have the prohibitions removed. As a result, Mr Müller-Scheid, regional head administrator for Hessen-Nassau in the Reich Ministry for Propaganda, and assistant of Joseph Goebbels, wrote a recommendation letter for Chief Apostle Bischoff, "Friedrich Bischoff is a party comrade, known to me for years, and politically and humanly utterly reliable" (translation). On 21 March 1933, Bischoff preached that the Führer sent by God had now come, and he let the text of that speech be sent to the Reich Chancellery. On 25 April 1933, in a circular letter to the ministers, Bischoff explained that, regarding believers' application for membership, it would be good "to submit personal data of such persons to the responsible chapter of the NSDAP for a verification" and not complete their admission into the church until a declaration of non-objection was received from the NSDAP. The Hebrew word "Zion" was removed from the title of the church publication. Racist and political phrases found the way into church publications from a travelogue by Bischoff, "Blacks and Jews are climbing the social ladder up and up, with their cheap manpower they also dislodge the better salaried white from positions which should appertain to the white only... The coloured element has proceeded to attack... Validly, we have denied everything we have been offered in cinemas, theatres and literature as a product of a Jewish-Marxist clique" (translation), and later in the same year, "It is true, the white has been able to preserve a certain dominance, but it has begun to totter and it is going to totter ever more, the more influence the Jew wins; it is his goal namely, to split all the nations, to hold them down, and to exploit them" (translation). Despite the National Socialist propaganda which the church was made to spread, some sources tell of converted Jews in the congregations being helped by the New Apostolic Christians. Although many of the Apostles joined the NSDAP for reasons of fear, there were a few Apostles and District Apostles who publicly expressed their adverse attitude toward the regime. According to Nazi requirements, all divine services had to be concluded with a "Heil Hitler". Some ministers' congregation chiefs did not obey those orders, especially in rural areas. This led to several congregations being closed repeatedly over time. According to church accounts, prohibitions were cancelled partially, with hardship. This became apparent by other measures adopted. The Nazis burdened the New Apostolic Church with inordinately high duties, suppressed youth care, arbitrarily rejected purchases of land and establishment of chapels, did not allow collection of offerings and prohibited the release of church publications as well as printing of bibles and hymnaries. This attitude was explained in 1996 by Chief Apostle Richard Fehr, while church spokesman Peter Johanning elaborated on it in 2003. Johanning gave an account of a Jugendfreund article of July 1933, in which "allegiance" was already invoked shortly after Hitler's seizure of power. By referencing Sir 10 EU, that text legitimized the relation of church and state, "It may be regarded as naive today, but age back then revealed different reasonings". At that time ministers of the church were actually implored by church guidelines to abstain from political representation. "This avowal for non-political work of the church" signalled "the purposeful idea of the church administration to abstain unambiguously from any political representation, even though here and there the reality looked different". Furthermore, the spokesman described Richard Fehr's explanations concerning this issue, regarding the church administration's adaptation as on purpose "in order to perform more preaching of the Gospel". New Apostolic Church 7 "Botschaft" by Chief Apostle Bischoff On Christmas Day 1951, during service in Giessen, Germany, Chief Apostle J.G. Bischoff delivered his "Botschaft" ("message"), announcing that the Lord had made known to him that he would not die before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, during which the chosen people were to be taken into His kingdom (the First Resurrection). In 1954, [10] this teaching became the church's official dogma. Those ministers, especially the apostles, who did not preach this message lost their positions and were excommunicated from the New Apostolic Church. Approximately one quarter [11] of apostles active during this time resigned or retired early, several schisming to form their own denomination. The most important "victim" of this policy was Peter Kuhlen, who had been ordained in 1948 as the successor to J.G. Bischoff. The impact of this message varied regionally; all of the Apostles active in South Africa resigned or retired (1954), both Apostles in South America resigned (1957), several apostles in Europe (1954–55) resigned, but no schism formed in North America. When Chief Apostle Bischoff died on 7 July 1960, his dogma about Christ's return [12] had not been fulfilled. In the service on 10 July 1960, Walter Schmidt was introduced as the new Chief Apostle and, during that service, the admonition to the members was to answer external critics with silence regarding the Bischoff Prophecy. Even today, the church administration has not renounced the "Botschaft", but has set it at liberty for every church [13] member to make his/her own opinion. According to Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber it is "no dogma anymore". The excommunicated ministers and members have not been reinstated. The first official removal of all exclusions, apology for opponents of the Botschaft prophecy—not for the prophecy itself—and attempted rapprochements regarding the prophecy were started in 2005 and 2006, in Switzerland and Saarland. Since then members of Apostolische Gemeinde des Saarlandes have been visiting New Apostolic divine services. Until end or 2007 the NAC and United Apostolic Church (UAC) were reviewing common historical topics, supported and encouraged by liberal members. On december 4th, 2007 the NAC held a broadcasted information evening where the German apostles were blamed to be the only guilty persons for the circumstances and splits in 1955. As a result the talks were suspended by the UAC. Beliefs The New Apostolic Church sees itself as the re-established worker of salvation and continuation of the first Apostolic Church, thus constituting the true congregation established by Jesus Christ. New Apostolic Christians believe in the Triune God: God the Father, the Creator of the world; the Son, Jesus Christ the Son of Man, personified God, redeemer and Head of the Church; and the Holy Spirit, who guides the church by His revelations, gives knowledge to the believers and acts universally. In this, NAC hardly differs from other Trinitarian churches. The religion accepts the Apostles' Creed, believes in the sacramental nature of Holy Communion and baptism, [14] considers the Bible as the authority of the Word of God, the next coming of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. According to French Bishop Jean Vernette, the New Apostolic members are "strict millenarists", but sociologist Gilles Séraphin stated their millenarism is less pronounced than that of Jehovah's Witnesses and Adventists, and that [15] this is a "église de Réveil", which retains a Pentecostal look from its origins. Questions and Answers is the name of the New Apostolic Church's catechism. Available for decades, it was most [16] recently revised in 1992. New Apostolic Church 8 Bible In the New Apostolic Church the Bible is granted a high authority, because its writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The English congregations have officially used the New King James Version since 1998. It is the duty of the Apostles to watch over the regular exegesis. The apostles interpret the Bible in the same way as Protestantism and Catholicism, except for their interpretation of Holy Sealing and beliefs about the departed. The District Apostles' meeting from 22–24 September 2004 in Nice emphasised again that the Holy Scripture is recognised and regarded as the doctrinal basis of the NAC. In particular, the statements of the New Testament, especially the gospel of Jesus and the epistles of the Apostles, are of definitive importance. Individual Biblical books and passages, along with statements of Apostles and ministers of the New Apostolic Church, must have grounding in the Holy Scriptures. The doctrine and its proclamation must not contradict the fundamental statements of the [17] gospel. The church regards the basis of this faith as being found in the Bible, including the Apocrypha. In 2005, a District Apostles Meeting declared that "the Apocrypha are just as binding for the faith and doctrine of the New Apostolic [18] Church as the other writings of the Old Testament" (see official statement here ). Sacraments The New Apostolic Church knows three sacraments: Holy Baptism with water The Holy Baptism with water is part of the spiritual rebirth, and a prerequisite for receiving the Holy Spirit in the Church. Both children and adults can be baptised. A person baptised as a child will later confess the baptism, at the age of 14–16, by confirmation. The baptism can be performed by priestly ministries. Holy Baptism is taught to be the first and fundamental act of grace of the Triune God, bestowed on a person believing in Christ. The act of this sacrament includes the remission of the original sin. In this respect, the candidate for baptism has a share in Christ's merit, and experiences his first close relationship with God. The person Conventional Communion host becomes a (visible) Christian and is thus adopted into the fellowship of those who believe in Jesus Christ and avow [19] themselves to him. Baptisms performed by other Christian churches are recognised as long as they were performed with water and performed in the triune name of God. Holy Communion The sacrament of Holy Communion is celebrated "as a feast of joy and thankfulness" in every service. The Church teaches that this commemorates the sacrificial death of Christ, Son of God, who allowed himself to be crucified for the sins of mankind despite his innocence. Holy Communion preserves the eternal life of the soul and accords it the security of remaining in the fellowship of life Glutenfree Communion host with its redeemer Jesus Christ. For the New Apostolic Church, the