A voice in the chorus of Christians

Standing up for Christ together. In April this year, the New Apostolic Church in Germany will be admitted to the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (CCCG). It already has a similar status in other countries.

The Council of Christian Churches in Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland, ACK) will award associate status to the New Apostolic Church in Germany. This was announced by the CCCG and the New Apostolic Church International in a joint press release.

In a written procedure, the leaders of the 17 member churches in Germany have validated the candidacy of the New Apostolic Church with the required two-thirds majority. The admission will take place at the upcoming meeting of the CCCG member churches on 3 and 4 April 2019. The main emphasis of the collaboration are common prayer, theological reflection, a commitment to justice and peace, and protection of the environment.

The Church leadership mandates delegates

“I am very happy about this positive result considering the challenges along the way!” Apostle Volker Kühnle, the chairman of the Working Group Contacts with Denominations and Religions (WG CDR), says. His gratitude goes to the Church leaders for their support over the past 20 years, but also to the many partners from CCCG member churches.

Apostle Kühnle was officially elected by the New Apostolic Church International to represent the New Apostolic Church in the council. Bishop Peter Johanning will act as his deputy. Both men were already members in the Project Group Ecumenism—the predecessor of the WG CDR—which Chief Apostle Richard Fehr founded in 1999.

Across the world

Regular dialogue has been taking place between the New Apostolic Church and the Council of Christian Churches in Germany on a regional level since 2001, and on the national level since 2008. In the meantime, nearly 150 congregations in Germany are active in well over 60 regional committees.

The New Apostolic Church has associate status in the Association of Christian Churches in Switzerland. In India it is represented in the National Council of Christian Churches. And in Argentina it holds observer status in the Ecumenical Commission of Christian Churches.

The New Apostolic Church is a full member on three national ecumenical councils: in Austria, in the Ecumenical Youth Council; in Luxembourg, in the Council of Christian Churches; and in the Netherlands, also in the Council of Churches.

“We are aware that we are all Christians”, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider said in an interview in 2013 already. “We must fight for the gospel together because the voice of the gospel must be heard in today’s society. And this is what we are working on together.”


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Andreas Rother
07.02.2019
Denominations