History

Eighty years ago: the bombing of Dortmund

The name Magney is well-known in New Apostolic circles in Germany: there were two Apostles with that name. The younger of the two was confirmed by the older one some eighty years ago. And the older Magney died in a bombing raid eighty years ago today. Today we pay tribute to a pioneer. More


In word and deed and a good dose of humour

He was a man of words and action. Who this was? District Apostle Karl Kühnle. Today he would have been one hundred years old. Today we pay tribute to a Swabian who set out to bring his faith to Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Arabian Peninsula. More


Pioneers with priorities

From Germany via Canada to Venezuela, and from there through Central and South America: this is the story of Apostle Lorenz Hans Muth. He was a pioneer in the classical sense and would have been one hundred years old today, 30 January 2023. More


They risked their own lives

He lost everything and found refuge with brothers and sisters in faith: Ernst Kaufmann, who was of Jewish descent, survived because people in his New Apostolic environment hid him from the Gestapo. Here is a short biography of him to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, which is observed annually on 27 January. More


The sacraments (67): A story behind every sentence

Three years and 66 parts later… The series on the sacraments has given us a lot of food for thought on theology and history in general and on New Apostolic specialties in particular. As a final instalment, here is an overview with dozens of links. More


The mysterious Apostle

One hundred years ago today, Apostle Sadrach is believed to have retired. This is not verified information though. What we do know is that the Europeans at the time were a little suspicious of the Javanese Apostle, and today we cannot say with certainty whether he held divine services until shortly before his death in 1924 or retired on 5 December 1922. More


Twenty years ago: a far too early death

Apostle Albert Mendy died just a few days before his 44th birthday. That was exactly 20 years ago. Time to look back and pay tribute to the Apostle. More


First yes, then no: all beginnings are difficult

Already the name itself is a little unusual, but even more so the man’s actions: Rudolf Rosochacky was invested with the ministry of an Apostle 160 years ago today. Interestingly, he only took up his tasks publicly three months later, only to resign it again after a week. From the beginnings of the apostolic movement. More


Fellowship in name, doctrine, and structure

The "father of unity" was followed by the organiser and protector of New Apostolic unity, namely Chief Apostle Hermann Niehaus. On 23 August 2022, we mark the 90th anniversary of his passing. This is the story of how the erstwhile farmer cultivated the church field. More


A church’s struggle to survive dark times

The New Apostolic Church in the Nazi era: recent research refutes previous misconceptions and standard platitudes. So say proven experts who have critically monitored the Church for quite some time. Four reactions to two current publications follow. More


The sacraments (60): An order for the beyond

Things got off to a turbulent start. But step by step the New Apostolic Church has put order into its sacraments for the departed. Once the practical part had been brought into line, the theory followed suit. Here is the history in fast-forward mode. More


The sacraments (59): For the departed under the hands of the Apostles

Can the departed receive salvation too? The question is as old as Christianity itself. The answer of the New Apostolic Church is not even all that new—and nevertheless, it is unusual. Here is the story of how the sacraments for the departed came to be dispensed. More


The sacraments (58): Because corpses cannot eat

Vicarious baptism is a biblical pillar that supports the New Apostolic Church’s conception of salvation for the departed. An episcopal council is said to have forbidden it. This is how the story usually goes, but it is not quite correct. Here is the background and how it came to the decision. More


WASH cleans up everyday school life

Schools without toilets? Days of instruction without drinking water? In some places this is completely normal. However, it does make learning more difficult than it needs to be, especially for girls. One way of combatting the problem is called WASH. More


The sacraments (56): The rise of Christ’s descent into hell

God wants to help all human beings, both the living and the dead. This conviction can already be found among the earliest Christians and is confirmed by the biblical motif of Christ’s descent into the realm of the dead—and corroborates the New Apostolic concept of the departed. More


One of the first

A life for the Church. This is not quite how Johann Christoph Leonhard Hohl envisaged his life. And yet he followed God’s call as one of the first. Apostle Hohl was born 200 years ago today. More


The beginnings of a smooth transition

At the end of May ten years ago, Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber commissioned his designated successor Jean-Luc Schneider as a Chief Apostle Helper. Here are excerpts from the 2012 Pentecost service held in Cologne, Germany. More


When the form of divine service changed

A church? Well, it was rather two centres with very different cultures. One man brought the two ends together and laid many additional foundations. Friedrich Wilhelm Menkhoff was called as an Apostle 150 years ago. More


“Do not hinder me!”

Apostle Albert Güldenpfennig passed away a hundred years ago, on 13 May 1922. He was the 33rd Apostle in the New Apostolic Church and always there for his flock. Join us as we pay tribute to the Apostle by looking at his eventful life. More


The sacraments (53): On the way to immortality

Sacraments for the dead? It would be unthinkable without the immortality of the soul. Yet this notion is only beginning to evolve in the Bible. Here is how today’s understanding of an afterlife came into being. More


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