From pivotal moments in church history to musical highlights and major transitions, the Silvertown congregation has long been—and remains—a centre of New Apostolic life in South Africa.
“As far as I know, this building is currently the largest New Apostolic church in the world,” said Chief Apostle Ernst Streckeisen. He was referring to the new building of the Silvertown congregation in Cape Town, South Africa. Only 19 years earlier, the congregation had moved into its first own church building, offering seating for about 700. However, the membership continued to grow and before long the church was too small.
A place of farewells and new beginnings
When Chief Apostle Streckeisen arrived at what was then DF Malan Airport in early November 1978, thousands of brothers and sisters lined the streets. On 4 November 1978, he dedicated the new church building in Silvertown and, the following day, conducted the first divine service for the departed in South Africa. Prior to this, he had complained of pain in his leg, where he had suffered a severe blood clot years earlier—yet he insisted on conducting the service. Three days later, he died following complications from a stroke.
At the time of its dedication, Silvertown was the church building with the largest seating capacity in the Cape and was therefore often used for festive divine services to which members from various congregations were invited. The church building was also instrumental in blazing the trail for today’s transmission network. In 1988, the first video transmission from Silvertown took place.
Three District Apostles retired in Silvertown, and three successors took over the baton from their predecessors here. District Apostle Karl Gut passed the baton to his successor, Ernst Graf, in 1985. Noel Barnes was ordained a District Apostle here in 1996, succeeding District Apostle Graf. And in 2016, District Apostle Helper John Kriel assumed leadership of the district, succeeding Noel Barnes.
At Pentecost 2010 in Cape Town, nearly three hundred men in black suits were photographed in front of a pipe organ. It was a historic moment. Nearly all the Apostles from the around the world were there at the time.
A church with a soundscape
Silvertown is not just a church, but also a concert hall. From the earliest planning stages, the church building was designed to offer outstanding acoustics. This is reflected in the shape of the nave, the absence of supporting pillars for the gallery, and the multi-layered roof beams. To ensure the structural design would deliver optimal sound quality, a sound engineer from the University of Cape Town was consulted.
Following remodelling in 2004, the auditorium now offers seating for 1,600 and features a retractable altar that creates a platform to accommodate a choir of 150 and an orchestra of 80. The church also features an organ with 2,600 pipes and 45 computer-controlled registers, special theatre lighting, and state-of-the-art audio-technology for DVD and CD productions. Even the air-conditioning system was specially designed to operate quietly so as not to interfere with recordings. Silvertown also served as a recording studio for the choir which recorded the church’s first LP, entitled The Lord God reigneth. The album cover features a photo of the choir standing in front of the altar.
The Silvertown Auditorium continues to resonate
Over the years, the church building has hosted many musical highlights, ranging from charity concerts and Christmas concerts to Pentecost concerts of the New Apostolic Church, as well as public concerts for which tickets can be bought. This has fostered collaboration with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and, over time, with other guest choirs and ensembles.
The last two Pentecost concerts took place in 2010 and 2023, and the next one is just around the corner: Saturday, 23 May 2026. The concert will be broadcast live from the Silvertown Auditorium and can be followed via livestream.
Photo: NAC Southern Africa