Doctrine of the New Apostolic Church

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Book cover of the Catechism of the New Apostolic Church published in 2012.

The New Apostolic Church ( NAK ) is a Christian , Trinitarian and pre-millennial religious community that regards itself as the restoration of primitive Christian conditions at the time of the biblically traditional apostles . Consequently, the NAK claims to be led by new apostles. She derives her teaching from the Bible , whereby her interpretation corresponds in several points to that of other Christian teachings . Characteristic differences exist in the understanding of the sacrament of the Holy Sealing , in the binding of the sacrament and the forgiveness of sins to the “salvation-necessary” Apostle ministry, in the associated eschatological expectation as well as in the dormant being . The NAK distinguishes itself from other apostolic communities in particular by the office of chief apostle , which is the supreme authority in the reoccupied apostle office. The NAK differentiates between the Church of Jesus Christ , the community of all believing Christians, and itself as the Lord's work of redemption .

The apostles of the NAK open up "divine revelations" on the basis of the Bible according to their own ideas, with the Chief Apostle as the highest authority over the New Apostolic teaching being responsible for "keeping it clean and developing it". The basic work for New Apostolic teaching is the Catechism of the New Apostolic Church , published in 2012 . Before that, at least formally, the textbook Questions and Answers about the New Apostolic Faith , published in 1992, was still valid .

Origin of the New Apostolic Doctrine

The most important pioneers of New Apostolic teaching were the Apostle Friedrich Wilhelm Schwarz , who was excluded from the Catholic Apostolic Congregation, and later the first Chief Apostle of the NAK, Friedrich Krebs . While the previous congregation, the general Christian apostolic mission , pursued a strongly ecumenical approach to reform and unification of all Christian churches, an independent doctrine with an exclusivist character was formed, above all through the stronger emphasis on the Holy Sealing up to Chief Apostle Bischoff .

The main milestones in the creation of a uniform teaching were:

  • The first sacraments to be given to the souls of the deceased between 1872 and 1874
  • The proclamation of the chief apostle office in 1897, which from then on held the exclusive qualification for the ordination of new apostles, as part of the doctrine of the New Light
  • The further influence of the doctrine of the New Light on the understanding of the ministry of the "salvation necessary" Apostle ministry as "Christ in the flesh" at the expense of the importance of the prophetic office
  • The reorientation towards the greater expectation of the return of Christ at the time of the First World War and under the leadership of Chief Apostle Bischoff
  • The final definition of the exclusivist doctrine of spiritual rebirth as we see it today in the New Apostolic Creed from 1951

The New Apostolic Creed

The New Apostolic Creed summarizes the principles of doctrine that are binding for the New Apostolic Church in the following ten articles of faith:

  1. I believe in God the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth.
  2. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, buried, entered the kingdom of death, rose on the third day of the dead ascended to heaven; he sits at the right hand of God the Almighty Father, from there he will return.
  3. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the one, holy, universal and apostolic Church, the communion of saints, forgiveness of sins, resurrection of the dead and eternal life.
  4. I believe that the Lord Jesus rules his church and has sent his apostles for this purpose and will still send until his return to teach with the commission to forgive sins in his name and to baptize with water and the Holy Spirit.
  5. I believe that those appointed by God for office are only appointed by apostles, and that the apostleship gives rise to authority, blessing, and sanctification for their service.
  6. I believe that holy baptism with water is the first step towards the renewal of man in the Holy Spirit and that through it the person being baptized is accepted into the community of those who believe in Jesus Christ and confess him to be their Lord.
  7. I believe that Holy Communion is instituted by the Lord Himself as a reminder of the once brought, fully valid sacrifice, of the bitter suffering and death of Christ. The dignified enjoyment of Holy Communion guarantees us communion with Christ Jesus our Lord. It is celebrated with unleavened bread and wine; both must be sorted out and donated by a minister authorized by the apostle.
  8. I believe that those who are baptized with water must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through an apostle in order to be children of God and the qualifications for firstfruits .
  9. I believe that the Lord Jesus will return as surely as he went to heaven, taking the firstfruits from the dead and living, who were hoping for his coming and being prepared; that after the wedding in heaven he will come back to earth with them, establish his kingdom of peace and rule with him as royal priesthood. After the end of the kingdom of peace, he will hold the final judgment. Then God will create a new heaven and a new earth and dwell with his people.
  10. I believe that I am obliged to obey the worldly authorities, unless divine laws oppose it.

The first three articles essentially correspond to the apostolic creed (Apostolicum), the further articles to the specific teachings of the New Apostolic Church.

The creed has no use in the liturgy . It is conveyed to the New Apostolic Christians in particular in confirmation classes.

Theological positions

The Bible

The Bible (including the Apocrypha ) is ascribed a special authority as the highest revelation of God because it was written and compiled by people inspired by the Holy Spirit. However, this must be distinguished from the belief in direct inspiration, the so-called “ verbal inspiration ”, which is particularly widespread among evangelical Christians . The New Apostolic Church consequently also rejects the literal interpretation of the Bible and does not see it in contradiction to scientific knowledge. On the other hand, the NAK is cautious about the historical-critical interpretation of the Bible . It is the responsibility of the apostles to watch over the correct interpretation which the Holy Spirit enables them to do.

Above all, the statements of the New Testament set norms . Statements about individual books of the Bible or biblical passages, but also the statements of all ministers of the church must be anchored in the Holy Scriptures and must not contradict it. The NAK does not recognize any extra-biblical revelations as being on an equal footing with the Bible, nor does it undertake its own translations of the Bible .

In German-speaking countries, as in the Evangelical Church, the Luther Bible is used. Since January 1, 2019, the Luther translation 2017 has been binding for all German-speaking congregations (previously the version from 1984 and until 2001 the version from 1912 ), which was published on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation . The New King James version is used in English-speaking communities .

Church of Jesus Christ

The ecclesiology of the NAK, which it recorded in detail for the first time in its catechism in 2012 , is borrowed from the general Christian creeds and especially from the Unitatis redintegratio of 1964 from the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church .

The Church of Jesus Christ , in older treatises the “ body of Christ ” (according to 1 Cor 12.2  EU or Eph 4.13–15  EU ), from the New Apostolic point of view is the unity established by Jesus Christ for all who are called to redemption through God . It is the one, holy, universal and apostolic Church that is led by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit . Parallel to the Christological doctrine of two natures , according to which Jesus of Nazareth was “true man” and at the same time “true God” in the Christian-ecumenical consensus, the Christian Church from the New Apostolic point of view has an imperfect “visible” and a perfect “invisible” side .

Their "invisible" side, which is revealed in God's expressions of will and sacraments, includes all people who are baptized in the name of the triune God, who truly believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and who confess to him as their "Lord". Whether or not this is true of the individual is reserved for God alone. Accordingly, divine salvation can be experienced to varying degrees throughout the Church of Jesus Christ. According to its own opinion, the NAK has a special position as the Lord's work of redemption within the Church of Jesus Christ thanks to the living apostles . In this context, the New Apostolic Church is regarded as as imperfect as any other Christian community - together with their outward appearance they are part of the "visible" side of the Church of Jesus Christ. Through its apostles, however, the NAK held all the necessary means to fully prepare people for the second coming of Christ, which was not the case outside of the NAK. As a result, the New Apostolic understanding of the church can be classified as exclusivist , but not as absolute .

Formally, until 2006 at the latest, there was an absolute understanding of the church, according to which the NAK was the only and solitary Church of Jesus Christ until the Parousia. This was made clear with the reference to the interpretation of the boy and the sun woman ( Revelation 12  LUT ), after which the latter was identified with the NAK. Other Christian communities were therefore regarded as "secular", " fallen away " and consequently standing outside the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Understanding of ministry

From the point of view of the New Apostolic Church, the sending of apostles through Jesus Christ means the establishment of the highest office in the Church of Jesus Christ , which must be filled again until the Second Coming and which is transferred from person to person on behalf of Jesus Christ. As a result, today's apostles of the NAK see themselves as successors of the early Christian apostles and as messengers from Jesus Christ himself. The apostleship is also the "source" of all offices within the NAK: They all act exclusively on behalf of the apostles who send them. The apostles impart salvation, which is only possible to man through Jesus Christ, through the following powers: the preaching of rightful doctrine, the administration of the three sacraments and the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins. The NAK's understanding of ministry thus forms a clear antithesis to that of other Christians, e.g. B. the priesthood of all believers in evangelical theology . The NAC also relates the mission command of Jesus Christ ( Mt 28 : 19-20  LUT ) to the apostles alone.

The Apostle ministry regards the New Apostolic Church as "necessary for salvation" insofar as only the apostles of the NAK had the divine mandate to dispense the Holy Sealing . Only through the sealing in connection with baptism, however, will a person be "born again " ( Jn 3,5  LUT ) - d. H. becomes a “child of God” in the New Apostolic style - which also enables the “firstfruits” ( Rom 8:23  LUT ) and thus the salvation through Christ at the rapture. The sacrament of Holy Communion also only came to full development through the apostles. It is true that divine salvation can also be conveyed in other ways, but the sheer existence of the re-established apostolic office is essential for the history of salvation up to the Parousia .

A constitutive feature of the New Apostolic office is the existence of the Chief Apostle office , which the NAK primarily justifies with the "key power" ( Mt 16,19  LUT ) of Apostle Peter . The Chief Apostle is thus the core of the New Apostolic ministry and head of the NAK. It is theological as well as a formal requirement for all apostles of the New Apostolic Church to submit to the Chief Apostle and his leadership and to “be one with him”. The chief apostle is the supreme spiritual authority of the New Apostolic Church, with which he ordains new (district) apostles, “keeping doctrine pure and developing”, “opening up new knowledge”, “uniformly spreading” doctrine and interpreting church rules incumbent.

According to the New Apostolic understanding, the ministry combines both spiritual and administrative functions, which means that ministers also have representative, managerial and regulatory powers.

Sacraments

Host with three dried drops of wine, as used for Holy Communion. As a connection between bread and wine, it stands for the body and blood of Christ, Alpha and Omega are imprinted .
Example of a New Apostolic Last Supper ID with instructions in seven languages ​​that entitle the holder to participate in Holy Communion in a community other than the home community until the abolition of the same.

The New Apostolic Church knows three sacraments : Holy Baptism with water , Holy Communion and Holy Sealing .

Baptism and sealing are performed once on each member and are considered necessary for salvation, subject to the sovereign decision of God. Both sacraments together bring about the so-called " rebirth out of water and the Spirit " or "filiation with God". According to the New Apostolic understanding, water baptism carried out in the name of the Triune God carries out "the first and fundamental communication of grace to the person who believes in Christ". A cross is drawn three times on the forehead of the person to be baptized with a finger that is wet in a bowl of water. It also has the effect of washing away original sin and is an important prerequisite for becoming part of the Church of Jesus Christ . It can be performed by any minister starting with a priest. Holy sealing as such convey to the believer the gifts of the Holy Spirit , which were first poured out at Pentecost . In its biblical justification, the sacrament is similar to Catholic Confirmation and the Orthodox anointing of myron , but not in all aspects of their interpretation. The donation of the seal is reserved exclusively for the apostles of the NAK.

Holy Communion is celebrated in every service; hosts with three dried drops of wine are used for this. The NAK represents the doctrine of consubstantiation and, like Lutheran Christians, assumes the real presence of the body of Christ during the implementation, but not of a material transformation , as believed in the Roman Catholic Church . As a result, New Apostolic Christians also consider regular participation in Holy Communion to be “necessary for salvation”. In principle, all baptized New Apostolic Christians, including children, are entitled to participate in Holy Communion. Appropriately baptized people from other denominations may take part in the Lord's Supper celebrations as guests. Former members - excluded or resigned - are not allowed to participate in the NAK Holy Communion. Until Chief Apostle Urwyler changed his teaching (introduction of "personal responsibility"), participation in Holy Communion was temporarily or permanently prohibited as a sanction if one seriously evaded the morality or instructions of the Church (e.g. through homosexuality or adultery ) . Until the 1990s, participation in Holy Communion was often tied to a specific location for members.

Sin and forgiveness of sins

The New Apostolic understanding of faith distinguishes between the terms guilt and sin . In general, everything that is contrary to the will and nature of God is sin. This will of God becomes clear in the Ten Commandments and in general in the commandment to love one's neighbor . In addition, whoever does not believe in Jesus Christ sins ( Joh 16,9  LUT ) and who knowingly fails to do good ( Jak 4,17  LUT ).

Sin in turn results in a guilt, the severity of which God alone measures. Decisive factors can include the general life situation, state legal norms or pathological predispositions. In contrast to sin, guilt can therefore be put into perspective; in individual cases it can go to zero or “ cry out to heaven ”.

A specialty of the apostolic communities is the acquittal (proclamation), in which the believers are awarded the forgiveness of sins (absolution) in the divine service. A confession of guilt is not required and also not part of the liturgy. The forgiveness of sins is not a sacrament, the lawful acquittal (not the act of forgiveness of sins by God himself) is nevertheless dependent on the apostles or the officials acting on their behalf. A personal confession is only possible in well-founded exceptional cases.

Eschatology

The end-time conceptions of the New Apostolic doctrine represent another of its core features and are fed by contemporary interpretations of Christian revival movements of the 19th century, including the dispensationalism of the free church brothers' movement (darbysm) and German pietism . Despite changes in its eschatology towards the end of the 20th century, the New Apostolic Church can still be clearly added to the spectrum of premillenarianism .

The New Apostolic Christians are in constant expectation of the return of Christ (according to Mt 24,32-51  LUT ) and the rapture of all true Christians, the "bride community" ( Rev 21,2  LUT ). Other images from the Revelation of John for the raptured are: the "first fruits", the 144,000 or the "boy". Although New Apostolic Christians believe that only the apostles of their church can prepare them for participation, final affiliation will only be revealed on the day of the Second Coming itself. According to the NAK, the rapture is shaped by the resurrection of all “firstfruits” who have already died and the physical removal of all still living within the “bride community” from earth. The NAK does not believe in a second coming of Christ that is visible to other people.

The raptured then come into eternal communion with Jesus Christ (the “ Lamb of God ”) and experience their final redemption, which is referred to as the “marriage of the Lamb” based on ( Rev 19 : 6-9  LUT ). The “ great tribulation ” begins on earth at the same time . Afterwards Jesus Christ visibly returns to earth with all those who were raptured before and ends the rule of Satan . The Christian martyrs of that time will then be resurrected from the dead while those who have chosen against God will be judged. At this time the Millennial Kingdom of Peace begins . Christ would rule the earth with the raptured, who form the “royal priesthood”. At the end of the Millennial Kingdom of Peace, Christ releases Satan one last time and lets him deceive people again. After that, God would finally destroy Satan, hold the final judgment on all people (unless they were raptured or were martyrs during the great tribulation) and create a new world . The raptured and redeemed in the last judgment will live with God forever, while all condemned people go to “eternal death” ( also called the “ second death ” based on Rev 21,8  LUT ).

In contrast to apostolic predecessors and earlier chief apostles, the NAC today refuses to determine the time of the second coming of Christ (see “ Message time ”). In earlier sermons there are in some cases analogies between current events and biblical prophecies for a more precise definition of the biblical chronology. Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider , for example, set a counterpoint in a publicly broadcast internet service at Easter on April 12, 2020, in which he stated that the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic was from a spiritual point of view, even against different opinions in the church to be valued neither as a “ sign of the (end) times ” nor as “ God's punishment ”.

Dormant being

A denominational peculiarity is the teaching about the deceased (idiomatic “those who have fallen asleep”). Three times a year there is a “divine service in memory of those who have fallen asleep”, in which the sacraments of the souls of deceased people, represented by two ministers, by a district apostle or the Chief Apostle will be donated. In the same way, Holy Communion is given to deceased “authorized persons” (who have found grace before God) every Sunday in divine services led by District Apostles or the Chief Apostle. New Apostolic Christians cultivate the active intercession for the souls of the “unredeemed” departed so that they can possibly receive the sacraments of the NAC. The NAK, on ​​the other hand, regards the attempt to communicate directly with the deceased as a sin.

The central biblical basis for the belief in the administration of the sacrament for the dead is their interpretation of a statement of the apostle Paul on the belief in the resurrection in his first letter to the Corinthians ( 1 Cor 15:29  LUT ). The practice differs from that in Mormonism in that the deceased are baptized anonymously and with indeterminate personnel, which is why no previous genealogical research is necessary.

In contrast to other Christians, the NAK does not speak of an immediate presence with God after death. All living and deceased people who did not receive the sacraments of the NAC and who lived according to their beliefs are in a "god-distant state" before the rapture. With regard to the parable of poor Lazarus , the New Apostolic Church assumes various areas in the hereafter, in which the deceased sometimes, depending on their lifestyle, in places of security or torment. Unlike chiliastic communities such as Jehovah's Witnesses or the Seven-Day Adventists , the NAK does not adhere to annihilationism , but believes in hell as the "eternal separation from God" and in an immortal human soul .

"Contemporary" proclamation of the word

One element that springs from the NAK's charismatic past is belief in the inspiration of the preaching by the Holy Spirit . This assumes that the preacher (almost subconsciously) gives divine revelations from the gospel to the preacher during the service and thus has a direct effect on what is being preached. This makes the preached “ Word of God ”, on which the Bible is supposed to be the basis, “timely”. This is another central statement of New Apostolic teaching about how the Holy Spirit reveals the will of God to the Church of Jesus Christ and guides it spiritually through the restored apostolic ministry and the subordinate clergy .

The NAK contradicts the view that the preacher can therefore make a claim to infallibility and distinguishes between divine inspiration and human restrictions.

In the past, this teaching was accompanied by references to Bible quotations such as B. Mt 10.19-20  LUT or Lk 10.16  LUT justified, whereby this interpretation is viewed critically today and no longer represented in the catechism.

Church morality

Creation

The NAK does not see a suitable or complete explanation for the origin of the earth and mankind in the theory of evolution . On the other hand, it recognizes the scientific knowledge of evolution itself and does not see it as contradicting the Bible.

The NAK rejects a literal interpretation of the creation account and is therefore to be distinguished from Christian communities that adhere to creationism .

Sexual morality

The individual homosexual person is ethically accepted as a creature of God, but homosexual acts are not condoned because of Christian traditions. Against this standpoint of the church there is resistance within the church (see Rainbow-NAK ). Since the end of 2011, blessing prayers outside of a divine service have been allowed in the New Apostolic Church for same-sex couples . However, members who live out their homosexuality (e.g. live in a same-sex partnership) cannot carry out any official or teaching activities.

Furthermore, the New Apostolic Church does not approve of premarital sexual intercourse , petting , “marriage on trial” or cohabitation . Men who live in cohabitation cannot exercise official or teaching functions either. Contraception is accepted as long as fertilized egg cells are not killed (see Interfering with human life ). The NAK states that the guilt of sexual misconduct lies at the discretion of God and depends on individual living conditions.

Masturbation is not considered a sin.

Interference with human life

The NAK defines the beginning of human life in successful fertilization of the female egg cell , ie in procreation . The Church subscribes to the common medical view that human death occurs with brain death .

From this point in time, the organs can be removed, provided the patient or his relatives have given their consent. The NAK has a positive view of organ or blood donation , as it potentially saves human lives. The Church rejects the cloning of human life for ethical reasons; it can be used for therapeutic purposes as long as embryonic stem cells are not used.

The New Apostolic Church advises against abortion , but in some circumstances sees this as less culpable action (e.g. if the mother is at risk in the event of a continued pregnancy or regular delivery ). In any case, the Church requires officials and members to respect the individual's autonomous decision.

Euthanasia in terms of euthanasia or assisted suicide rejects the NAK categorically, the renunciation of which life-prolonging measures wills is excluded; The Church is well known for palliative medicine .

Controversy

Claim to exclusivity

The New Apostolic Church has been repeatedly criticized by representatives of other religious communities, interest groups, and critical and former members for its exclusivist (i.e., exclusive) self-image. In public, this often serves as a legitimation to designate the NAK as a “ sect ” or “ special community ”, although this perception has decreased in the years of the ecumenical opening process .

The following dogmas are usually subsumed under the exclusivity of New Apostolic teaching :

So far, the NAK has defused an absolute stance from the past with references to the sovereignty of God, the recognition of Trinitarian water baptism and the redefinition of the concept of the Church of Jesus Christ , but basically retained the exclusivity. Against this background, the NAK is accused of (partially) excluding other Christians from salvation through faith in Jesus Christ or the grace of God - especially with regard to the expectation of the rapture . Among other things, there are allegations of a "two-class Christianity".

In the past few years there has been controversy about the claim to exclusivity, including within the NAK. As a result, New Apostolic ecumenical advocates repeatedly distanced themselves in recent years by resigning from office and leaving the church.

Bible interpretation

On the part of other Christians and former members, some doctrinal statements of the New Apostolic Church are viewed as biblically unfounded, including

The core of most of the critical statements is the understanding of ministry and the Christology of the NAK; It is stated that the early Christian apostles were not bearers of an institutionalized, transferable office, but were personally called through Jesus Christ to this personal and time-bound service. Furthermore, the first apostles and those called by Christ would be directly different from others who are referred to in the New Testament in the broader sense as apostles (in specialist literature also as community apostles ). The combination of this understanding of ministry with the exclusive commission to impart the Holy Spirit through the sealing and to forgive sins is seen by some as contradicting the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the meaning of his one-time sacrificial death ; Annette Kick, Weltanschauung commissioner for the Evangelical Church in Württemberg , also concludes that the theology of the NAK places its apostles in the position of Christ. The allegations can be summarized under the term Eisegesis , according to which the NAK tries to justify the basic assumptions of the historical self-image as a re-occupation of the early Christian apostleship with a selective, context-free interpretation of the Bible .

As a reproach for the controversial interpretation, the evangelical apologetics repeatedly raised the question of the historical-biblical justification for the apostle-less time , which is of great importance in New Apostolic teaching due to the “salvation necessity” of the apostleship. Accordingly, it is questioned why the early Christian apostles did not want to establish a succession or would have been unable to do so until God himself should occupy the apostleship again with the revival movements in the 19th century . In the past, the NAK used various arguments and speculations on this, such as the consequences of the persecution of Christians , the influence of the Roman Church or the imminent expectation of the second coming of Christ among the first Christians. Only in 1992 did the church provide biblical attempts to justify the New Apostolic Faith in questions and answers for a predetermined apostle-less time , referring to Rev 2,4-5  LUT and Joh 9,4  LUT . In the 2012 catechism, the NAC dropped these interpretations and limited itself to the statement that the reason for God's willed interruption of the apostolate remained a “mystery”, but that the formal giving of the Holy Spirit to believers was impossible at that time be.

Also in Protestant apologetics there has always been criticism of the primacy of the Chief Apostle's office as “Successor of the Apostle Peter ” or “Representative of Christ on earth”, as the New Apostolic teaching still found during Chief Apostle Fehr's tenure . This runs analogously with another interpretation of the "office of the rocks" ( Mt 16,18  LUT ) and consequently also with the Protestant criticism of the papacy .

The fact that New Apostolic ministers often have no theological training is sometimes viewed as problematic. The religious scholar Georg Schmid sees the sermons as monotonous with little depth, practically without exegesis and a very narrow theological range.

literature

Publications of the New Apostolic Church

  • Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Bischoff Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-943980-00-4 .
  • Teaching and knowledge . by the "Doctrine and Knowledge" working group on behalf of the New Apostolic Church International, Zurich / Switzerland; through by Reinhard Kiefer, Bischoff Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-943980-21-9

Statements of the New Apostolic Church

External publications on New Apostolic teaching

  • Katja Rakow: Recent developments in the New Apostolic Church. Documentation of the opening process. Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-89998-036-0 .
  • Tobias Mai: The teaching of the New Apostolic Church in the light of Holy Scripture . Hünfeld 2010, ISBN 978-3-939833-29-1 ( online, pdf ).
  • Kai M. Funkschmidt (Ed.): Preservation and Renewal. Ecumenical analyzes of the new catechism of the New Apostolic Church (= EZW texts 228). Berlin 2013 ( table of contents ).

Individual evidence

  1. Jump up ↑ New Apostolic Church International (2012): Catechism of the New Apostolic Church - Section 7.4.1 Characteristics of the Apostle Ministry
  2. ^ New Apostolic Church International (2012): Catechism of the New Apostolic Church - Section 7.6.6 The Chief Apostle Office
  3. ↑ MÜNCH, P. (2013). ... given for the entire Church of Christ ...: Baptism theology and understanding of the New Apostolic Church in the past and present. MD. Material service of the denominational institute Bensheim , 64 (3), 47–52.
  4. ↑ Müller-Bahr, Sebastian: Sacramental acts on the dead in the apostolic congregations , in Eberle, Mathias [ed.] Construction, expansion, separations - The development of the apostolic communities in the first third of the 20th century , Nürtingen, 2009, p. 190 -227, ISBN 978-3-939291-04-6
  5. ↑ Fruit, Helmut. New Apostolic Church: the exclusive end-time church? . Friedrich Bahn Verlag, 1996; P. 41
  6. ↑ Mathias Eberle (Network Apostolic History): "You, Jesus in the Apostle, ..." - the teaching of the New Light. Lectures on Church History - Part 6, held on February 21, 2013 in Brockhagen
  7. ↑ Helmut Obst: Apostles and prophets of the modern age. Founder of Christian religious communities in the 19th and 20th centuries. 4th edition. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000, ISBN 3-525-55438-9 , pp. 132-133.
  8. ↑ a b Explanations see: Explanations to the ten articles of the New Apostolic Creed
  9. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): '' The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. '' Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2012, Section 1.2 - The Holy Scriptures
  10. ↑ Wilhelm Leber: How do we understand the Holy Scriptures? In: Word for the month. New Apostolic Church International, March 2009, accessed on August 22, 2019 .
  11. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2012, Section 1.2.5.1 - Interpretation of the Holy Scriptures by the Holy Spirit
  12. ↑ Official announcements. Announcement: The Bible is the basis of New Apostolic teaching. In: nak.org. October 22, 2004, accessed April 16, 2014 .
  13. ↑ Luther 2017 - a new Bible translation is arriving. In: nac.today. Retrieved January 6, 2018 .
  14. ↑ a b Dr. Harald Lamprecht: Ecumenical. The New Apostolic Church according to the Catechism. In: confessio. July 24, 2013, accessed August 7, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Helmut Obst, Prof. Dr .: On the ecumenical ability of the New Apostolic Church. In: Materialdienst 3/2013. Denominational Institute, January 29, 2015, accessed on August 22, 2019 .
  16. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2012, Section 6.5 - The Church of Jesus Christ and the Churches as Institutions
  17. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): Catechism of the New Apostolic Church in questions and answers. Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2015, question 406 - Do all the baptized belong to the Church of Jesus Christ?
  18. ↑ Peter Johanning: Churches should show solidarity with one another. In: nac.today. January 15, 2018, accessed August 22, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Andreas Rother: The Church of Christ - each part has its function. In: nac.today. March 13, 2018, accessed August 24, 2019 .
  20. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2012, Section 6.5 - The Church of Jesus Christ and the Churches as Institutions
  21. ^ NAK International: New teaching statement: The sun woman is not to be interpreted as the New Apostolic Church. In: nak.org. May 31, 2006, accessed August 8, 2020 .
  22. ↑ Helmut Obst: New Apostolic Church - the exclusive end-time church? In: Series of Apologetic Topics . tape 8 . Friedrich Bahn Verlag, 1996, p. 115-119 .
  23. ↑ ibid. Section 7.5.3 Re-occupation of the apostleship
  24. ↑ ibid. Section 7.4 The Apostle Ministry
  25. ↑ ibid., Section 7.6.5 - The Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ
  26. ↑ ibid, section 7.4.2 - Equipping and sending out the apostles
  27. ↑ ibid., Section 8.3.9 - Effects of the Holy Sealing
  28. ^ NAK International: New Apostolic Church International (NAKI) - Statutes. (PDF) In: nak.org. September 29, 2010, accessed on August 25, 2019 (Vow of Loyalty, Section 4.3).
  29. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2012, Section 7.6.6 - The Chief Apostle Office
  30. ↑ Statement: Understanding Baptism and Sealing in the New Apostolic Church. (PDF) In: nak.org. January 24, 2006, accessed April 15, 2014 .
  31. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2012, section 3.5.2 - The Holy Spirit as power - the gift of the Holy Spirit
  32. ↑ ibid., Section 8.3.9 - Effects of the Holy Sealing
  33. ^ Ibid, section 8.2 - Holy Communion
  34. ↑ ibid, section 8.2.21 - Entitlement to participate in Holy Communion
  35. ↑ Andreas Rother: The father of the principle of "personal responsibility". nac.today, February 20, 2015, accessed on August 11, 2019 .
  36. ↑ For many decades it was customary in the NAK that participation in Holy Communion had to take place in the home parish. In order to take part in the sacrament elsewhere, a “sacrament card” should often be issued beforehand. The practice was finally abolished by a District Apostle meeting in late 2002.
  37. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Bischoff, Frankfurt am Main 2012, Section 4.3.1 - Sin
  38. ↑ ibid., Section 4.3.2 - Guilt
  39. ↑ ibid., Section 12.1.8 - Forgiveness of sins in worship
  40. ↑ Andreas Rother: Not the only, but the safe way. In: nac.today. April 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2019 .
  41. ↑ ibid., Section 6.4.2.3 - The Church of Jesus Christ after the reoccupation of the apostleship ; see also question 649 of the Catechism in Q&A format
  42. ↑ ibid, section 12.4.4 - Confession
  43. ^ Ibid, section 10.1.3 - The Bride Congregation
  44. ↑ ibid., Section 10.1.2 - Events at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
  45. ↑ ibid., Section 10.2 - Marriage of the Lamb
  46. ^ Ibid, section 10.3 - The Great Tribulation
  47. ↑ ibid., Section 10.4 - The coming of the Lord with power and glory
  48. ↑ ibid, section 10.6 - Progress in the history of salvation
  49. ↑ Chief Apostle Bischoff analogized to a church service on May 20, 1945, the Allied air raids in World War II with the seventh bowl of wrath ( Revelation 16.17 to 21  LUT ); quoted from Michael Koch (2010), The emergence of the dogma that the Lord would come during Johann Gottfried Bischoff's lifetime - A consideration of the years 1945–1952. In: Conference proceedings “Treffen in Bielefeld 2010” (Ed. Mathias Eberle), p. 172.
  50. ↑ Andreas Rother: Experience the future forces today. In: nac.today. New Apostolic Church International, April 12, 2020, accessed on April 13, 2020 .
  51. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Bischoff, Frankfurt am Main 2012, Section 9.6.1 - Intercession
  52. ↑ ibid, section 9.4 - Beyond
  53. ↑ ibid., Section 9.6.3 - Mediation of salvation to the deceased
  54. ↑ ibid., Section 9.5 - state of souls in the hereafter
  55. ↑ ibid, section 9.4 - Beyond
  56. ↑ Frank Schuldt: Chief Apostle celebrates divine service in Leeuwarden. New Apostolic Church West Germany, December 22, 2017, accessed on August 11, 2019 .
  57. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2012, paragraph 9.1 - The immortality of the soul
  58. ↑ Ibid, Section 12.1.6.3.3 - levels of the proclamation of the Word
  59. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): Catechism of the New Apostolic Church in questions and answers. Friedrich Bischoff Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2015, question 626 - What is the main content and aim of the sermon?
  60. ↑ Frank Preusse: Excerpt for workshop GK January 24, 2009. (PDF) Glaubenskultur.de, January 24, 2009, accessed on September 22, 2019 .
  61. ^ NAK International: Announcement on the theory of evolution. (PDF) April 29, 2004, accessed August 25, 2019 .
  62. ^ New Apostolic Church: Blessing prayer for registered partnerships
  63. ^ NAK International: Statement of the New Apostolic Church on certain questions of sexual behavior. (PDF) In: blickpunkt-nak.de. January 2005, accessed August 25, 2019 .
  64. ^ NAK International: Abortion. (PDF) April 21, 2017, accessed on August 25, 2019 (2nd revised edition).
  65. ^ NAK International: Statements on euthanasia and palliative medicine. (PDF) April 21, 2017, accessed on August 25, 2019 .
  66. ↑ Prof. Dr. Friedrich Weber: Free Churches: The New Apostolic Church. In: Material service of the denominational institute 3/2013. January 29, 2015, accessed August 30, 2019 .
  67. ↑ Thomas Gandow: Old being in new tubes. (PDF) On the ecumenical capacity of the NAK according to the new catechism. In: Berlin Dialog. 2014, accessed August 29, 2019 .
  68. ↑ Folkmar Schiek: The Apostle Ministry in the Catholic-Apostolic Congregations and in the New Apostolic Church. In: EZW Berlin. Material Service, 2007, accessed August 30, 2019 .
  69. ↑ Andreas Fincke: The Apostle Ministry: helpful, necessary for salvation or imperious? In: EZW Berlin. Material Service, 2007, accessed August 30, 2019 .
  70. ↑ EZW (2017). Compact information: New Apostolic Church (PDF).
  71. ^ NAK International: New Apostolic Church specifies its doctrine of salvation: Exclusively yes, but without any claim to absoluteness. In: nak.org. January 24, 2006, accessed August 30, 2019 .
  72. ↑ MÜNCH, P. (2013). ... given for the entire Church of Christ ...: Baptism theology and understanding of the New Apostolic Church in the past and present. MD. Material service of the denominational institute Bensheim , 64 (3), 47–52.
  73. ↑ Dominik Schmolz: Brief history of the New Apostolic Church . 1st edition. Edition Punctum Saliens, Heidelberg 2013, p. 245-250 .
  74. ↑ Michael Koch: “Unintentionally ventured too far”. Chief Apostle withdraws Osnabrück's statement on the forgiveness of sins. In: faith culture. December 11, 2008, accessed September 1, 2019 .
  75. ↑ Michael Utsch: Chief Apostle intervenes in discussions about the understanding of the church. In: naktuell.de. March 1, 2011, accessed September 1, 2019 .
  76. ^ Georg Schmid : Churches, sects, religions. 2003, p. 181 f.
  77. ↑ Tobias Mai: The teaching of the New Apostolic Church in the light of Holy Scripture . 2nd Edition. CMDH, 2011, ISBN 3-939833-29-0 .
  78. ↑ Werner and Monika Deppe: WAYS OUT OR WAYS INTO OUT? World religions, esotericism, sects. (PDF) Christian Literature Distribution (CLV), 2002, accessed on August 30, 2019 .
  79. ↑ Lutz Jusko: Are you a New Apostolic? I was too! In: nak-info.de. 2004, accessed August 30, 2019 .
  80. ↑ The New Apostolic Church and the Dead: Interview with a Former Member. (PDF) In: BWgung. Seven-day Adventisen in Baden-Württemberg, February 2016, accessed on August 24, 2019 .
  81. ↑ z. B. in Siegfried Dannwolf, God's lost children (1996)
  82. ↑ Reinhard Hempelmann: How ecumenical is the New Apostolic Church? (PDF) In: EZW Berlin. Materialdienst, Zeitschrift für Religions- und Weltanschauung, 2010, pp. 5–10 , accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  83. ^ Oswald Eggenberger: The New Apostolic Congregation. Their history and teaching are presented and assessed. Kaiser (Contributions to Protestant Theology 18), Munich 1953, p. 110-123 .
  84. ^ Lothar Gassmann: New Apostolic Church (NAK). Section 2 - Are There Apostles Again? In: bible-only.org. Retrieved August 24, 2019 .
  85. ↑ The New Apostolic Church: Way to Salvation or Dead End? - Lutz Jusko, an ex-New Apostolic, reports on the reasons for his departure. (Audio) In: sermon-online.de. Retrieved August 24, 2019 .
  86. ↑ Annette Kick: Biblical Hermeneutics , Christology and New Apostolic Faith in the Catechism of the NAK . In: Kai Funkschmidt (ed.): Preservation and renewal. Ecumenical analyzes of the new catechism of the New Apostolic Church (= EZW-Texte 228/2013), pp. 46–63, here p. 58.
  87. ↑ Agnes Slunitschek: New Apostolic Church: From strong isolation to easy opening. In: kathisch.de. May 1, 2019, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  88. ↑ Wolfgang Voigt: New Apostolic Church, what is it? The research of a NAK dropout. 2008, accessed August 24, 2019 .
  89. ↑ Obst, H. (1996). New Apostolic Church: the exclusive end-time church? . Friedrich Bahn Verlag. Pp. 189-193
  90. ↑ Hutten, Kurt (1982): Seher - Brooders - Enthusiasts: The book of sects. Stuttgart, Quell-Verlag der Evang. Society, p. 490f
  91. ^ New Apostolic Church International (2012): Catechism of the New Apostolic Church - Section 7.5.2 Interruption of the Apostle Work
  92. ^ New Apostolic Church International (ed.): The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church. Bischoff, Frankfurt am Main 2012, Section 6.4.2.2 - The Church of Jesus Christ after the death of the first apostles
  93. ↑ Helmut Obst: New Apostolic Church - the exclusive end-time church? Bahn, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1996, ISBN 3-7615-4945-8 , p. 195-196 .
  94. ↑ Tobias Mai: The teaching of the New Apostolic Church in the light of Holy Scripture . 2nd Edition. CMD, Christian Media Service, Hünfeld 2011, ISBN 978-3-939833-29-1 , p. 135-151 .
  95. ↑ Questions and Answers about the New Apostolic Faith, Friedrich Bischoff-Verlag 1992, Question 177
  96. ↑ Department for Weltanschauung questions: New Apostolic Church ( Memento of the original from January 10, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.weltanschauungsfragen.at
  97. ^ Georg Schmid: Dignified and pathetic. Comments on the NAK church service 2007. In: Relinfo. Retrieved June 14, 2014 .