What New Apostolic Christians believe, and how they worship

What New Apostolic Christians believe

The New Apostolic Church grew out of the Catholic Apostolic Church in 1863, when congregations in Hamburg came to believe that the office of apostle, which the earlier movement had held could no longer be filled, should be continued. Its members confess the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the church’s own ten-article creed follows the shape of the Apostles’ Creed, adding articles on the apostolate, the sacraments and the return of Christ. The Bible is regarded as the church’s foundation, understood through the teaching of the living apostles.

Three sacraments are central: Holy Baptism with water, Holy Sealing, in which an apostle lays hands on a baptized person to impart the Holy Spirit, and Holy Communion, celebrated with wafers into which wine has been dropped. The church places strong emphasis on the imminent return of Christ and on preparing believers for it, and it holds services for the departed three times a year, in which sacraments are dispensed on behalf of the dead. Its worldwide leader is the Chief Apostle, based in Zurich; District Apostles lead regions such as Canada.

Worship: what a service is like

The weekly gathering is called a divine service and is usually held on Sunday morning, with a second, shorter service midweek. It consists of hymns sung by the congregation, prayer, a Bible reading and a sermon, and it closes with Holy Communion, which is celebrated at every service. Ministers are volunteers who serve alongside their ordinary jobs, and the atmosphere is quiet and orderly. Congregations in Canada are often small and gather in modest, purpose-built halls.

How New Apostolic churches are organized

Congregations are grouped into districts under a district elder, districts into apostle areas, and the whole under the Chief Apostle and the District Apostles who meet as the church’s leadership. Ministers are ordained by apostles and are not paid. New Apostolic Church Canada is headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, and the church counts several million members worldwide, most of them in Africa.

Compared with Reformed churches

Both churches confess the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, his death and resurrection and his return, and both baptize infants. Reformed churches hold that the office of apostle belonged to the founding of the church and is not continued, that the Bible alone is the church’s authority, and that there are two sacraments rather than three; they do not practise sacraments for the departed. A New Apostolic visitor to a Reformed service would recognize the hymns, the prayers, the sermon and the reverence, and would notice that the Lord’s Supper is celebrated less often and that the sermon is longer and is preached from a passage of Scripture or the Heidelberg Catechism.

Further reading

• New Apostolic Church International
• New Apostolic Church Canada
• The New Apostolic Church’s creed and catechism (nac.today)