New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany.
The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Ne ...
, and has existed since 1896.
History
The term "Chief Apostle" was first used officially to describe Jesus Christ in the New Covenant Scriptures, Book of Hebrews, Chapter 3, verse 1, where he is also called the High Priest. As far as the controversies regarding which of the remaining 11, then 12 and then more apostles after that which includes then Saul, later called Paul, Scripture itself does not say. It may very well have been that they continued to follow the Messiah as their head. Indeed, that is what the Bible itself promotes.
The following are other views on chief apostles and the religions that therefore must flow out of those beliefs. One system in common use today is used by Messianic apostles who believe James "the Just" was Chief Apostle, in Jerusalem, following Jesus (they use the Hebrew form of his name, Y'shua, in various spellings) return to his Father in Heaven. A similar system is used by Catholic churches worldwide, varying from Roman Catholics, to Anglican Catholics, to Coptic, Russian etc. Each with a differing view on who is, or was, a Chief Apostle originally, and sometimes, even now.
A similar view introduced by minister Friedrich Krebs and can be compared to the one
Apostle Peter
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sendin ...
had 2,000 years ago amongst the original
Apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
(He is seen as the first Chief Apostle in the early church). Before Krebs introduced it, the title was already used in the
Catholic Apostolic Church
The Catholic Apostolic Church (CAC), also known as the Irvingian Church, is a Christian denomination and Protestant sect which originated in Scotland around 1831 and later spread to Germany and the United States.
faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people ofte ...
of New Apostolic Church members, he has the highest authority. Together with the district apostles he determines the
policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...
of the
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
.
The Chief Apostle can ordain new apostles or retire them.
One of the most interesting Chief Apostles was J.G. Bischoff: at Christmas in 1950 he declared his "Botschaft" ("message"). This teaching announced that he would not die before Jesus Christ's return, during which the chosen people will be taken into His kingdom (the First
Resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
). In 1954 this teaching became official
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
. Those ministers, especially the apostles, who did not preach this message lost their positions and were
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
from the New Apostolic Church. The most important "victim" of this policy was Peter Kuhlen, the ordained successor to J.G. Bischoff. When Chief Apostle Bischoff died in 1960, his dogma about Christ's return had not been fulfilled. In 2013, Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber made a statement in which the position of the Church is reviewed and provides that the "message" represented a personal position of Apostle Bischoff.http://www.nak.org/fileadmin/download/pdf/BotschaftBischoff/Statement_on_Message_Chief_Apostle_Bischoff_rev.pdf
The various communities and congregations which evolved out of these conflicts in different countries (Australia, Europe, South-Africa) gathered in 1956 to form the
United Apostolic Church
The member churches of the United Apostolic Church are independent communities in the tradition of the catholic apostolic revival movement.
Further reading
* Apostolic Church of Queensland, ''Book of faith''
* Wissen, Volker: Zur Freiheit berufe ...