Magazines, hymnals, teaching material: long before Frankfurt, Leipzig was the centre of the New Apostolic publishing world. But this is not the only way the congregation which the Chief Apostle will be visiting this coming Sunday has gone down in history.
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
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The official organ named “New Apostolic Review”
Photo: Oliver Rütten
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
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Photo: NAK Leipzig
When New Apostolic Christians are asked where the publishers of the Church are located, then they say “in Frankfurt”—or, since the recent move, “Neu-Isenburg”. However, that was not always the case. Before Bischoff Publishers, there was another publishing company in Leipzig—nearly one hundred years ago.
“New Apostolic Publishing Company” was the name. For a time, its offices were in the same building as the congregation of Leipzig-Central. Starting in 1908, German-language periodicals such as the Neuapostolische Rundschau, Wächterstimme aus Zion, the first edition of Questions and Answers in the German language, as well as the first New Apostolic hymnal and an address book were published there.
A rift and the reconciliation process
The publishing company in Leipzig was one of the sources of the conflict that arose between Chief Apostle Hermann Niehaus and District Apostle Carl-August Brückner of Saxony. Because of growing differences in the doctrinal position, Chief Apostle Niehaus dismissed Apostle Brückner as well as some other ministers in Saxony in 1921 and expelled them from the New Apostolic Church. They went on to found a denomination of their own, which joined the Apostolische Gemeinschaft (Apostolic Community) in the mid 1990s.
The rift still has not healed. But both sides have been meeting for talks, and a joint reconciliation statement is imminent. In a press release that sounds very promising it says: “Both sides agree that in a next step a ceremony celebrating the reconciliation will be discussed and organized.”
Growth and reconstruction
Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider will therefore visit a congregation on 7 August that is steeped in history. The beginnings of Leipzig go back to the year 1894. Its founder was Chief Apostle Friedrich Krebs. And from here the gospel was spread to Halle, Schkeuditz, and Dresden. In 1911 work began on the church building for Leipzig’s main congregation located at Sigismund Street. It is still there today. It was dedicated on 9 June 1912 by Chief Apostle Hermann Niehaus. In 1922, then, the Apostle district of Leipzig was created. It was a time of growth. In the years 1927 to 1934 alone, five additional congregations developed from the Leipzig-Central congregation.
And then Leipzig saw World War Two. The city was repeatedly attacked. Also our main church was affected. It was hit by bombs in 1943 and repaired that same month. Then it was hit a second time in 1944 and repaired; and damaged a third time in 1945 and rebuilt in 1949. In 1950 the Church had a pipe organ installed by Jehmlich organ builders; it was rebuilt in 1994. The organ now has three manuals and a pedal for 35 registers with 2,422 pipes.
The membership of the congregation today is more than 700, whereby about half are active members. There are 35 ministers. Leipzig is the largest congregation in the district of the same name. The district has a total of 3,000 New Apostolic members.
Joy in the Nehrkorn family
One name in particular is closely tied to Leipzig: Nehrkorn. For seventeen years, Fritz Nehrkorn was the District Apostle in this part of eastern Germany and headed the District Church Saxony/Thuringia. He went into retirement on 16 June 2002, aged 67, after having worked for the Church in various ministries for fifty years. Fritz Nehrkorn and his wife, Liselotte, were married on 12 August 1956. When Chief Apostle Schneider visits this coming Sunday, the couple will receive a blessing through him on their diamond wedding.