A leadership personality with his own unique profile: that was District Apostle Ernst Hermann Graf. He passed away recently at the age of 95. Following is a look back on his life.
Ernst Hermann Graf was born on 20 April 1931 in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1954, a transfer by his employer brought him to South Africa, where he initially settled in Johannesburg. In the scope of his ministerial activity, he worked as a rector and district rector in Cape Town, and as a Bishop in Johannesburg and Switzerland.
In the year 1981, Graf returned to Zurich, where he worked at the head office of the New Apostolic Church Switzerland. In 1985, he returned to South Africa, where he was ordained an Apostle and appointed a District Apostle. In so doing he took over the leadership of the Cape Regional Church from District Apostle Karl Gut. His area of responsibility also extended to the Eastern Cape, Namibia, as well the islands of St. Helena and the Falkland Islands in the Atlantic.
His eleven-year ministerial activity as District Apostle was defined by strong growth in membership. And for this reason, more than 100 new church buildings were dedicated over this period. Beyond that, the number of ministers doubled.
A heart full of love, a head with vision
“District Apostle Graf was a visionary leader,” relates the New Apostolic Church of Southern Africa. “Behind the somewhat austere exterior was a genuine heart of love. He had a unique way of serving in the divine services, which were characterised by a deep connection and humble submission to the Holy Spirit.”
‘To illustrate the visionary character of his leadership, his pastoral integration across racial lines was initiated ahead of South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994,”says the website in reference to his endeavours to overcome the racial separation that still existed prior to the official end of the Apartheid regime. “The fulfilment of the demands of the gospel had priority over the prevailing views of the time.”
Looking back in gratitude
After his retirement in the year 1996, District Apostle Graf returned to Switzerland, and then later moved to New Zealand and then finally to Australia. On Wednesday, 16 September 2026, he passed away at the age of 95. The funeral service will be conducted by District Apostle Schulte on Sunday, 27 September 2026.
The obituary on the website of NAC Southern Africa concludes as follows: “With gratitude we remember District Apostle Graf and the contribution he made to the Lord’s work. The benefits of his leadership continue to be experienced by hundreds of thousands of members today.”