The Catholic practice of confirmation as a sacrament was only accorded a few quiet centuries. But then the reformers came along and sought to anchor the Christian rite of initiation in the act of baptism alone—and nevertheless instituted their own practice of confirmation in the process.

The fall session of the District Apostle Meeting has ended. Prominent topics were our concept of ministry, biblical authorship issues, and a new Guide for Ministers.

Zero tolerance. This is the stance taken by the New Apostolic Church towards sexual abuse and assault. And this is what Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider made clear at the conference of the District Apostles in Zurich, Switzerland.

Always so many changes! There is hardly any other church that has developed so far in such a short time. For many, the reaction to this is: “I can’t even recognise my own Church any more!” And yet others are happy about the changes. How are we to deal with this?

“Let us be aware that Jesus also looks at the way we behave with children.” — And that was not even the most important message that Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider had to impart in the divine service he conducted in Kabwe, Zambia.

How does the believer receive the Holy Spirit? The Bible remains ambiguous and leaves quite a few gaps with respect to this question. Answers begin to develop of the early church. And this foundation stands to this day.

In 1960 a high school student from Germany wrote to the US Shipping Line in Tokyo. Eleven years later, the first New Apostolic congregation was established in Japan. This year, the New Apostolic Church celebrates its 50-year anniversary in Japan.

In the dark, you can’t see anything, are disoriented, and bump into objects. How wonderful when there is light to help you find the way. Our faith is such a light.

Whether it is considered a rite, a sacrament, or merely a side effect of baptism, the churches have very different ways of understanding how a Christian receives the Holy Spirit. And this diversity of perspectives has a tradition that goes back nearly 2,000 years.

Disasters hit the poor the hardest! Unfortunately, this is all too often true. The past months have shown that disasters increase poverty there where people have always been poor. Some thoughts on World Humanitarian Day.

The great shepherd’s heart has stopped beating. District Apostle (ret.) Markus Fehlbaum of Switzerland passed away yesterday after a long and serious illness with many ups and downs. As a tribute, here is his portrait once more.

Figuring out the correct dates of his life is a challenge. But then the pioneers of those days had more important things to do than writing down numbers for posterity. What matters is the spiritual legacy: Apostle George Henwood Mkandawire would have celebrated his 120th birthday in a few days.

Some look back with gratitude and joy and have happy memories, others look ahead hopefully as they face special challenges. Here is a look at some of the activities in our congregations around the world.

It was 70 years ago, on 5 August 1951, that the then Chief Apostle Johann Gottfried Bischoff retired him. Today, Ernst Güttinger would have been 144 years of age. Who was this man who left behind such a mixed legacy?

This week we take a look at an anniversary in Australia and a campaign for a better future. There certainly are reasons to celebrate, but there are also always moments to pause and reflect and pray for others.

When it comes to its understanding of Holy Communion, the New Apostolic Church is still fairly close to its Catholic Apostolic roots. But it has been quite a journey to get there. Following is an outline of the route.

Benjamin Ohene-Saffo has not been Lead Apostle for very long. He has only been responsible for parts of Ghana and for Benin and Togo since the middle of December 2019. The members in these regions are therefore very curious to get to know him better.

Again the Chief Apostle was hardly able to travel in the first half of the year and could therefore ordain and retire only a few Apostles. Instead, he asked the District Apostles to perform these ministerial acts on his behalf. At the end of June 2021, 337 Apostles were active around the world.