The Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk (APK; ''Afrikaans Protestant Church''), also known as AP Kerk, is a South African conservative

Reformed Church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

federation with about 35,000 adherents. The federation consists of 103 congregations, mostly in South Africa, although the APK also includes 7 congregations in Namibia.

Formation

In 1982 the

World Alliance of Reformed Churches The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) was a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin. Its headquarters was in Geneva, Switzerland. They merged with the ...

' General Council declared

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

to be a sin and its theological justification a

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

, in the process expelling from its membership the

Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NGK) is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

, the major branch of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

(DRC) in South Africa and the traditional

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

of South Africa's

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

population. The shock of this isolation from other branches of the Reformed Churches worldwide led to the adoption in 1986 of the

Belhar Confession The Belhar Confession () is a Christian statement of belief written in Afrikaans in 1982. It was adopted (after a slight adjustment) as a confession of faith by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in South Africa in 1986. Themes According ...

by some branches of the DRC; the NGK, while stopping short of adopting the Belhar Confession, retracted its 1976 defence of apartheid as a biblical imperative, instead releasing a "more nuanced" document called ''Church and Society'' that provided "qualified support for separate development." However, the document "reflected the new majority consensus within the NGK which rejected the older, Kuyperian theology" and thus outraged the more conservative clergy within the NGK: as a "direct result" the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk was founded in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

on Saturday, 27 June 1987 by 3000 dissidents, together with conservative elements from other branches of the DRC in South Africa. Members of the APK also cited the influence of

Arminian Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the Christian theology, theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remo ...

and

liberal theology Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular position ...

in the NGK as a reason to split off. The new church opposed the use of the 1983 Afrikaans Bible translation during worship services, preferring to use older translations. The APK opposed reforms it considered as

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

and sought to preserve traditional

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

Growth

In 1988 the APK set up a seminary so its pastors could be trained independently, the Afrikaanse Protestantse Akademie, which is based in

. The seminary became independent in 1999, although still trains APK pastors. In 1990 ''Church and Society'' was revised by the NGK to indicate that "any attempt by a church to try to defend a system of separation, biblically and ethically must be seen as a serious errancy; that is to say, it is in conflict with the Bible." From the APK's point of view that was not acceptable; it continued its support of apartheid. The decision of the NGK widened the schism and led to an increase in conservative NGK congregations that joined the APK.

Theology

The Church holds to the Bible as the infallible Word of God and the sole authority in all matters of faith. Like most offshoots of the DRC, the APK focuses its theology around the

Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by man ...

and is

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

in doctrine. It believes the biblical faith to be accurately summarised in the ecumenical confessions (the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

, the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

, the

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed—also called the ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes"—is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christolo ...

), the

Belgic Confession The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a confession to which many Reformed churches subscribe as a doctrinal standard. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity, which are the official subordinate st ...

, the

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

and the

Canons of Dordt The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled ''The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands'', is an exposition of orthodox Reformed soteriology against Arminianism, by the Nati ...

. The church also holds to the traditional, pre-1986 views of the DRC in that it believes that the Bible not only condones, but actively prescribes, racial segregation. Its foundation in 1987 was precisely to uphold the traditional, racist theology of the DRC. It thus does not consider the 1986

as a creed of the church.Die NG Kerk en Belhar
/ref> This belief is traditionally justified on their interpretation of God's commandment to the Israelites in the Old Testament to separate themselves from the heathen nations.

Motto

The church's official motto is ''lig in duisternis'' (meaning ''light in the darkness'') from 1 John 2:9-11 and also from John 12:35–36:

Church Publications

* Die Boodskapper * Basuingeklank * Redakteursforum * 7-Voor-7 * Lig in Duisternis Produksies

References

External links

* {{Authority control Protestantism in South Africa Reformed denominations in Africa 1987 establishments in South Africa Calvinist denominations established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 1987 Christianity and race Religious nationalism