The Reformed Old Apostolic Church is a

chiliastic Millennialism () or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief which is held by some religious denominations. According to this belief, a Messianic Age will be established on Earth prior to the Last Judgment and the future permanent s ...

denomination with roots in the

Catholic Apostolic Church The Catholic Apostolic Church (CAC), also known as the Irvingian Church or Irvingite Church, is a Christian denomination, denomination in the Restorationist branch of Christianity. It originated in Scotland around 1831 and later spread to Germa ...

and the

Old Apostolic Church The Old Apostolic Church (OAC) is a church with roots in the Catholic Apostolic Church. History The Old Apostolic Church's roots are found in the Catholic Apostolic Church that was established in 1832 as an outflow of the Albury Movement. Estab ...

. It is part of a branch in Christianity called Irvingism with membership throughout South Africa. It has approximately 180,000 members.

History

The Reformed Old Apostolic Church broke away from the

. It was founded in 1972 by Robert Lombard, a former Helper

Apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

of the

of Africa.Unknown
/ref> Robert Lombard had been ordained as an Apostle in the Old Apostolic Church in 1958 by Apostle William Campbell, to assist in the

coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

congregations of the Cape church. Lombard was the first coloured, and the second non-

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

Helper Apostle of the Old Apostolic Church. The ROAC was initially called the Non-White Old Apostolic Church but was forced to change its name after a 1975 court case ''Old Apostolic Church of Africa v. Non-White Old Apostolic Church of Africa'' which decided in favour of the Old Apostolic Church, on the basis of the law of

passing off Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trade mark rights. The tort of passing off protects the Goodwill (accounting), goodwill of a trader from misrepresentation. The law of passing off prevents one trader f ...

.{{cite journal , last1=van der Vyver , first1=Johan D. , title=Equality and Sovereignty of Religious Institutions: A South African Perspective , journal= Santa Clara Journal of International Law , date=2012 , volume=10 , issue=1 , page=161 , url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/149266508.pdf , access-date=17 May 2023

References

Christian denominations in South Africa Catholic Apostolic Church denominations Christian organizations established in 1972 1972 establishments in South Africa