General Christian Apostolic Mission
The General Christian Apostolic Mission ( AcaM ), also known as the Geyerianer (after Heinrich Geyer ), was a Christian religious community. In the historical development it is considered the link between the Catholic-Apostolic congregations and the New Apostolic Church .
logo
Several official seals of the AcaM have survived. One representation shows the biblical representation of the four animals assigned to the evangelists. Another already shows the elements of the emblem of the New Apostolic Church sun, cross and waves.
distribution
The AcaM had parishes in Hamburg and the surrounding area, in some places in the Harz Mountains and in Berlin.
history
Early phase (1863–1878)
The majority of the members of the Catholic Apostolic Congregation in Hamburg were excluded (excommunicated) from the congregation of Catholic Apostolic Christians after the recognition of a newly appointed Apostle. The prophet Heinrich Geyer , who made the controversial appointment, and the bishop and angel of the Hamburg congregation Friedrich Wilhelm Schwarz played important roles at that time . The latter was later called to the apostle by a prophecy from the congregation and sent to the Netherlands to plant congregations there. There he founded the "Apostolic Zending"; A substantial part of this community founded the " Hersteld Apostolische Zendingkerk " in 1893 . In the Hamburg congregation further apostles were designated for Germany and Europe, one for North America.
Further development
Due to a follow-up dispute after the death of the apostle Carl Wilhelm Louis Preuss (for Northern Germany) in 1878, the prophet Heinrich Geyer again parted with the majority of the Hamburg congregation at that time while retaining the name "AcaM" from the newly called apostles and the congregations that have now emerged, who today call themselves the " New Apostolic Church ". The "AcaM" was continued under Geyer and the apostle Johann Güldner appointed by him. Geyer died in 1896 and Güldner in 1904, the congregation was headed by Bishop Heinrich Walter Lehsten for almost ten years without an apostolic office, from that time on the congregation was called the General Apostolic Mission. In October 1909 it was joined by a split from the Old Apostolic Congregation under Robert Geyer . In 1913, the prophet Jakob Westphaln from the USA called Robert Geyer as apostle for America and Titus Kopisch as apostle for Germany. Kopisch later seems to have gone its own way. Geyer stayed in Germany because of the war and headed all the “AAM” communities from Jena . After his death (1957) the communities became orphaned and were finally abandoned. The teaching of the AcaM was initially largely based on that of the Catholic-Apostolic communities. Important differences were the introduction of confirmation , the shortening and tightening of the liturgy and the renaming of the angel office to the episcopate. Characteristic were the retention and emphasis of the fourfold office, the calling of officials (with the exception of the deacons) and the endeavor to complete the twelve apostles again.
Worship and practice
The course of the service corresponded to a liturgy published by L. Stechmann in 1864 and probably significantly influenced by H. Geyer, which was revised and published in 1894.
organization
The leadership of the AcaM was incumbent on the apostles, who formed the central board of the general Christian apostolic mission . A certificate of appointment has been handed down from Apostle L. Bösecke, in which the Central board certifies that “the same is a member of the Central board of the general, Christian. Apostolic Church, and in particular for Silesia, Bohemia, Lusatia and Poland, and that it is authorized and commissioned in this capacity to independently preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, thus to perform all functions of our membership rite validly in every respect. "(February 21, 1878, pol. File of the AcaM in Berlin, Landesarchiv)
Ecumenism
Article 3 of the statutes of the AcaM of 1866 read:
"3. Relation to the Christian Confessions in the whole Church. The apostolic mission moves from a general, Christian standpoint, and does not interfere with special confessional matters and differences; it is content with winning souls to Christ and leading them to the true following of Christ. She leaves all confessional matters to God himself, as well as to the confessions and time, and therefore no one seeks to separate from his confession or church fellowship, which can only be part of the whole, as long as such cling to the doctrines and commandments of the holy ones Scripture, as well as those three old confessions of the Christian Church (1. Cor. 1, 10–13. And Ch. 3, 1–23). The position which this missionary activity occupies within the Christian church, vis-à-vis the confessions and their clergy, is therefore decidedly friendly, helping and serving; but by no means an inhibiting and disruptive one; because it promotes the same end, namely sanctification, which these likewise must necessarily pursue. However, this serving position is an independent one and not dependent on the Confession. "
criticism
Whether the general Christian apostolic mission can be considered a link or a direct early form of today's New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a matter of dispute. The AcaM kept the name and liturgy under Geyer after his separation in 1878 . The teaching was not changed initially either. However, the same applies to the early NAK: the changes in teaching began just as slowly but continuously as those of the AcaM. Furthermore, only the minority of the members in Hamburg (around 10%) followed their separation from Geyer, but the majority of the congregations in the Harz region , as well as the congregations under the Apostle Schwarz (so-called Apostolische Zending ) and the congregations founded from there in Westphalia . The question of whether the early NAK von Geyer broke up in 1878 and thus only represents the year of its creation or whether Geyer, despite retaining the name, distanced himself from his religious community and finally separated, can thus be answered differently from different perspectives.
literature
- Schröter, Johannes A: The Catholic Apostolic Congregations in Germany and the Geyer case . Tectum 2004, ISBN 3-8288-8724-4 .
- Eberle, Mathias: The liturgy. - Devotional book for use in all services of the Christian Church . Hamburg, 1864. Annotated new edition with the changes to the second edition from 1894, the Lectionarium from 1864 and the tables of the Psalter from 1863. Edition Punctum Saliens, Nürtingen 2008
See also
- The Apostolic in Germany - a simplified overview (PDF document)
Web links
- Network of Apostolic History , interdenominational and independent community of interests for the history of the apostolic denominations.
- APwiki , Free Encyclopedia on Apostolic Faith Communities