Apostolic Church of South Africa - Apostle Unity

The Apostolic Church of South-Africa - Apostle Unity is a South-African church in the tradition of the restoration movement of the Catholic Apostolic Church in the early 19th century. It was founded in 1955 as a schism of the New Apostolic Church but its roots date back to an Australian mission of 1883.

It is a member church of the United Apostolic Church which was founded in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1956.

Its logo is a 4R-symbol as it is used by the Australian sister church, too. The four "R"s stand for: RIGHT - ROYAL - RIGHTEOUS - RICH. RIGHT according to the bible, ROYAL as the Bride to have membership with Christ, RIGHTEOUS in partaking of the body and blood of Christ and RICH in the promises Christ gave to his apostles.

History of the Klibbe group

The Australian Apostle H.F. Niemeyer of the Apostolic Church of Queensland ordained Carl Klibbe (1852-1931) as apostle für South Africa in 1893. At that time it was not common that only the Chief Apostle had the right to ordain. Klibbe moved to South Africa and started a successful mission. 1911 Niemeyer of Australia separated from the New Apostolic Church because of differences in teaching and viewing of the chief apostle's ministry. He continued his work independently. In 1913 also Klibbe was excommunicated of the New Apostolic Church. He then founded the Old Apostolic Church of Africa. Also in 1913 he ordained his son in law H. Velde as priest in Swakopmund, Namibia. Velde was sent to Johannesburg. Later he was ordained as elder, evangelist and in 1925 as apostle. Klibbe as well as Velde had close contacts with the Australian congregations, but Velde with some of his followers separated from the Old Apostolic church. On September 27th, 1956 Velde died after a traffic accident in Wynberg, Cape Town.

History of the Erasmus group

When apostle Klibbe was excommunicated in 1913 the previously ordained Wilhelm Schlaphoff took over the leadership of the South African members that did not follow Klibbe. Due to the "Botschaft" of the chief apostle Johann Gottfried Bischoff the New Apostolic Church suffered serious conflicts in the 1950s. 1954 the apostles Philippus Jacobus Erasmus (1904-1960), D.C.S. Malan (1918-1968) and Heinrich Franz Schlaphoff (1894-1965) were excommunicated. They administered a prospering district of about 60.000 members. They founded the Apostolic Church and many members of the New Apostolic Church followed them. Apostle Schlaphoff, the chief apostle's helper for the Southern hemisphere, did not join to active duties anymore.

Union

Because of the sudden death of apostle Velde an already settled gathering with the Erasmus group could not take place anymore. The Australian apostle Zielke asked elder Petersen of the Apostolic Church of South Africa to meet with the Erasmus-Malan people. In Capetown they reached an agreement on November 23rd, 1956 to federate their churches. About 800 members and 3 church buildings were brought into the new Apostolic Church of South Africa - Apostle Unity from the Klibbe group. Already in July 1956 the Erasmus church joined the newly founded international federation of the United Apostolic Church.

On May 14th, 1972 two new apostles were ordained: Johannes Philippus Erasmus (*1943) and Josua Jeremia Joubert (*1932). In 1978 Philippus Jacobus Erasmus retired. He died on October 26th, 1986. In 1989 a mission was openend in the homeland of Venda. In February 1993 the congregations celebrated their centinary. At the end of July 1997 apostle Joubert retired.

actual Situation

The church is divided into 8 districts with 34 parishes which are mainly situated in the provinces of Western Cape and Gauteng. The headquarter is in Johannesburg.

External links

* Apostolic Church of South Africa - Apostle Unity - [http://www.apostle-unity.co.za http://www.apostle-unity.co.za]
* United Apostolic Church - [http://www.united-apostolic.org http://www.united-apostolic.org]