A handbook of councils and churches profiles of ecumenical relationships

Church Family: Anglican

Membership: 2,300,000

Dioceses: 24

Parishes: 938

Bishops: 30

Priests: 705

Member of: WCC (1948) – AACC – SACC – ACC – CAPA

Periodicals: Church newspaper – Southern Anglican

Website: www.cpsa.org.za

The Anglican Diocese of Cape Town was established in 1847. It included the Cape, the Free State, Natal and the Island of St Helena. By 1870 several dioceses had been formed and organized into a self-governing Province of the Anglican Communion. In 1955 the dioceses of Mashonaland, Matabele, and the southern part of Botswana left the Province of South Africa when the Church of the Province of Central Africa was formed. The Province is now composed of 24 dio­ceses in the Republic of South Africa, the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Angola and the Island of St Helena with Ascension Island. The name of the church was changed in 1982 to the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. The church forms the fourth largest Christian community after the Dutch Reformed Churches, the Methodist Church of South Africa and the Roman Catholic Church.

The church works in several countries and each has its own characteristics. In some countries it is the development of agriculture and the need to make people self-sufficient with regard to food; in others it is the need to empower people, pro­viding them with skills to enable them to take their rightful place in the economic environment. In all instances education and schooling are of primary importance as a basis for social development. Not only is the church concerned with school­ing for children, it is also looking carefully at improving and enhancing theologi­cal education.

The main priorities in the years ahead are renewal and evangelism, unity between people across barriers of work, class, status, race, political views and national boundaries, and a ministry relevant to the emerging society, in short, the strengthening and further development of a democratic society. The major pro­grammes are eradication of poverty, working towards an HIV/AIDS-free genera­tion as well as combating malaria and tuberculosis and the attainment of the Mil­lennium Development goals.

The United Evangelical Church “Anglican Communion in Angola” has become the Angola Diocese of the CPSA since 2002.

Church Family: African Instituted

Membership: 3,000,000

Member of: WCC (1998) – OAIC – SACC

The Council of African Instituted Churches (CAIC) is a federative body made up of ten member associations. Each association groups a number of member churches. Some of these are denominations, others are single, independent con­gregations. Together the member associations of CAIC cover the whole of South Africa. The CAIC is governed by an annual conference composed of representa­tives of the associations, and an executive committee.

The CAIC does not have a statement of faith or creed to which the member bodies must subscribe. The preamble to the constitution speaks of “propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ by the African Independent Churches to the Black African masses”, and the main constitutional objectives are: creating fellowship, fostering theological education, promoting unity, and mutual assistance. The churches belonging to the CAIC adhere to the basic doctrines of the Christian faith: the Nicene and Apostolic Creeds, the Holy Trinity, the lordship of Jesus Christ as Son of God and Saviour. They accept the authority of the scriptures and practise baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These churches celebrate holy communion, but not very often. Their great strength is their spirituality, and their closeness to African cultures. Prayer, singing and danc­ing are prominent in the worship services. Healing through prayer and the use of blessed water is a powerful ministry of these churches. In the townships and rural areas, the independent churches meet the spiritual and physical needs of the people, and empower them to face the problems of their daily life, which is marked by poverty and hardship.

The CAIC member churches have archbishops, bishops, pastors (or priests), evangelists, deacons, etc. These ministers or spiritual leaders are people chosen by the community. There are no requirements in terms of theological formation or standards of education. Some churches admit women as spiritual leaders, others not. Almost all the bishops, pastors, etc., have a secular job and exercise their ministry in the evenings and during the weekends. Only a few of them have had some formal theological training. There are no reliable statistics on the number of churches, clergy, and Christians represented through the CAIC. The figure of three million members is an estimation.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa

Church Family: Lutheran

Membership: 589,502

Dioceses: 7

Parishes: 423

Congregations: 2,300

Pastors: 460

Evangelists: 26

Deaconesses: 24

Member of: WCC (1976) – SACC – AACC – LWF – LUCSA

Lutheran mission work in South Africa started at the turn of the 19th century, from Europe and the USA. The ELCSA evolved from five regional churches within South Africa, reflecting various mission influences and traditions. The regional churches united to form one church in 1975, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa. During the mission era, the then cooperating Lutheran regional churches in South Africa had many institutions in the areas of health and education, built and run by the churches. These institutions have since been taken over by the government. Presently the ELCSA is active in mission out­reach work and is involved in new urban areas, including informal settlements. It has a very active Women’s Prayer League in all its congregations, doing diako­nia, stewardship and evangelism. A Men’s League and a Youth League are simi­

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The political and socio-economic situation of South Africa has its impact on the life of the church. Since the end of the apartheid regime in 1994 major changes have taken place and new trends are emerging. An important instrument for building a united society of all races has been the Truth and Reconciliation Com­mission. Even though set up by the government, the churches got involved in it by supporting the idea that there could be no reconciliation without confession and forgiveness. More women are holding top positions in society, and this has accelerated the process of ordaining women pastors in the ELCSA. The concept of the African Renaissance has encouraged the move towards africanization or indigenization of worship in many congregations. The new constitution has made South Africa a secular state. While this is normal it also brings new challenges to the church: the Christian communities are fast being secularized and the Christ­ian ethos which used to be held up in all the schools has declined. There is a grow­ing trend towards urbanization. The country is facing social problems such as poverty, crime and the breakdown of the moral fibre, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, etc. The general economic decline is adversely affecting the contributions from the parishes, some of which are no longer able adequately to support their pastors.

The unity discussions between the ELCSA and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (UELCSA), which is mainly and originally German-speaking, have not as yet yielded their fruits. The main partners of the ELCSA outside South Africa are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Church of Sweden, the Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-West (Ger­many) and the Hermannsburg Evangelical Lutheran Mission (Germany).

Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 48,000

Presbyteries: 7

Congregations: 42

Preaching stations: 249

Pastors: 46

Elders: 2,320

Member of: WCC (1983) – AACC – SACC – WARC – ARCA

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa, formerly known as the Tsonga Presbyterian Church, is the result of the work of the Swiss Mission in South Africa which began in 1875 in Northern Transvaal. The gospel was first proclaimed to the Shangaan people by two Basotho evangelists seconded by the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society. A network of mission stations was estab­lished in the northern and eastern parts of the Transvaal. As the rapid growth of the mining industry drew many people to the towns, congregations were estab­lished in the Pretoria Reef, in Orange Free State and also in Zululand. The church became autonomous in 1962, but still relied for financial support on the Swiss churches. Tsonga is the official language of the EPCSA.

The church confesses the one faith held by the church universal, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world in whom God revealed himself. The church therefore worships the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Under the guidance of the Spirit she strives to foster the advent of the kingdom of God on earth and to prefigure God’s new creation. She acknowledges her dependence on the word of God, as contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament, which stands in judgment over the church and constitutes the only foundation of faith and life. She confesses the faith proclaimed by the early church as embodied in the declarations of the ecumenical synods and represented by the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

The synod is the supreme body of the church. An executive committee acts on its behalf in between sessions of the synod. Several committees assist the synod,

e.g. education, health, youth, literature, ecumenism, women’s guild, men’s guild. The EPCSA is a member of the Church Unity Commission. The activities and pri­orities of the EPCSA include evangelism and planting of new churches, promot­ing the spiritual growth of the church, playing a frontier role in the battle against HIV/AIDS, the empowerment of ministers, lay preachers and administrative staff with management skills, and improving the financial situation of the church.

Methodist Church of Southern Africa

Church Family: Methodist

Membership: 1,700,000

District Synods: 12

Congregations: 338

Pastors: 750

Member of: WCC (1948) – AACC – SACC – WMC

Periodical: New Dimension (monthly, in English)

Methodism arrived in South Africa with British soldiers in 1806 but the mis­sion began in 1816. Missionaries ventured across the Orange River into present-day Namibia and what are now the northern provinces of South Africa. In the late 19th century the work was extended into the gold mining area in Gauteng and north through modern Limpopo into Zimbabwe. Six missionary districts of the Wesleyan Methodist church became an affiliated conference in 1883. An inde­pendent conference was constituted in 1927 and enlarged in 1931 to include the Transvaal Missionary District of the British Conference and the small Primitive Methodist Mission. The connexion operates today in six countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

The mission statement of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa is: “God calls the Methodist people to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ for healing and trans­formation”. Its vision is: “A Christ-healed Africa for the healing of nations”. The continuing goals of transformation are: a deepening spirituality; resolve to be guided by God’s mission; a rediscovery of the priesthood of all believers; a com­mitment “to be one so that the world may believe”; a re-emphasis of servant-lead-ership and discernment as our model for ministry; a redefinition and authentica­tion of the vocation of the clergy in the church. The MCSA rejected the apartheid ideology from the beginning and was a vocal critic of government policy through­out the nationalist supremacy. Faced by government pressure to divide along racial lines, the 1958 conference declared its “conviction that it is the will of God

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for the Methodist Church that it should be one and undivided, trusting to the lead­ing of God to bring this ideal to ultimate fruition”. Six years later the first African to serve as president of conference was elected. The life of the MCSA reflects the strains and tensions of an apartheid society. In spite of this, the conference, con­nexional executive and synods have long since been non-racial. The ideal of a one and undivided church has still to be realized at the congregational level.

The direction of mission in the MCSA has been greatly influenced in recent years by a number of convocations, which have brought together laity and clergy to seek God’s will for the church. “Obedience ’81” set the church’s course in South Africa’s most troubled decade. “The Journey to a New Land” in 1992, followed by the 1995 Convocation and the 2004 Mission Congress, have shaped its mission policy in the challenging context of the new South Africa.

Church Family: Free Church

Membership: 80,000

Congregations: 84

Pastors: 59

Evangelists: 14

Member of: WCC (1961) – AACC – SACC – MUB

Periodical: “Die Huisvriend/Umhlobo Wekhaya”

(quarterly, in Afrikaans and Xhosa)

The history of the Moravian Church in South Africa goes back to the founding of the first Protestant Church in Bohemia (now Czech Republic) as a breakaway from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1467 they met in the first synod as the Unitas Fratrum. The thirty years of religious wars (1620-1650) almost wiped out the church. Only a “hidden seed” remained who worshipped secretly in caves and forests. The church was renewed in 1727 after finding asylum in 1722 on the estate of Count Zinzendorf, a Pietist within the Lutheran Church. Many fugitives, mostly from Moravia, came to live at Herrnhut. Zinzendorf started to minister to them and later became a bishop of the Renewed Moravian Church. From 1732 to 1737 the Moravian Church became the first Protestant church to send out mis­sionaries.

In 1737 Georg Schmidt was sent to South Africa to convert the Khoi-Khoi. The government of the Dutch colony opposed his work. Because of his success in teaching the Khoi-Khoi and the baptism of five converts he was obliged to leave in 1744. During the fifty years after his departure the work was continued by the converts. In 1793 the mission enjoyed official recognition and a hopeful new beginning was made. The mission settlement flourished with people from differ­ent tribes joining. An educated Xhosa woman, Wilhemina, fervently desired that the missionaries would proclaim the gospel among her people, in the Eastern Cape Colony. In 1828 the Moravians extended their missionary activities. The work expanded tremendously in the Western and Eastern Cape. At a general synod at Herrnhut in 1868 it was decided to divide the work into two provinces, South Africa West & South Africa East. Language, distance and effective administration were some of the reasons mentioned. The decision had far-reaching implications for the work in South Africa.

Following the introduction of the apartheid policy and the homeland structures by the South African Nationalist government in 1948, an increased awareness developed among members that the division into two autonomous regions, pre­dominantly developed along racial lines, was irreconcilable with the rich Mora­vian heritage and the biblical foundation of the church. Although the 1869 deci­sion to divide was well-founded, the division caused deep-rooted long-term problems of alienation, separate structures, suspicion, etc. From 1969 the two boards mapped out a unity plan. In 1986 a unity commission was appointed and in 1991 the synods accepted the resolution for “one Moravian Church in South Africa”, one province of the Unitas Fratrum. In 1998 a new constitution was accepted and since then the Moravian Church operates as one church with the fol­lowing structures: synod, provincial board and twelve districts represented on the provincial board. Each district consists of a number of congregations. The provin­cial board has an executive composed of a president and two vice-presidents. The bishops fulfill a pastoral and oversight role. Synods are held every four years.

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 3,381,000

Presbyteries: 9

Congregations: 242

Pastors: 175

Member of: WCC (1981) – AACC – SACC – WARC – ARCA

The Presbyterian Church of Africa was founded in 1898 by the Rev. James Phambani Mzimba, who broke away from the Free Church of Scotland because of a misunderstanding between the black and white clergy. It is one of the oldest independent churches in South Africa. Initially the new church was a small group of two presbyteries and four ministers but it grew steadily. Fifteen candidates for ministerial education were sent to the USA in 1915. At a later stage institutions for theological training in South Africa were used. The church has consistently stressed that all ministers must be trained before ordination. Since the church was all black, it had limited funds. Like other independent churches of its time it had to struggle with lack of financial backing and government recognition. The PCA has grown without any outside help. Several of its younger ministers have opted for a tent-making ministry, pursuing other professions along with their pastoral work.

In 1973, the general synod of the PCA accepted that there was no scriptural ground for remaining an exclusively black church. The synod decided that the PCA as an independent community should not remain isolated from the rest of the body of Christ. The church has a strong leadership, without being clergy-domi-nated. Its task is seen as belonging to the whole people of God, though it has a sense of its own charismatic gifts. The Young Men’s Christian Association and the Young Women’s Christian Association are active groups in the church. The PCA runs several projects related to agricultural and community development, scholarships, work for the needy, human resource development, etc., without any outside assistance. Of the nine presbyteries, one is in Malawi, one in Zambia and one in Zimbabwe. In 2008, the Presbyterian Church of Africa will be celebrating its 110th anniversary.

Africa

Church Family : United and Uniting

Membership: 450,000

Congregations: 350

Preaching Stations: 2,400

Ministers: 300

Member of: WCC (1968) – AACC – SACC – WARC – ARCA

Periodical: Congregational Chronicle

The Congregational Church was established in Southern Africa by the London Missionary Society (LMS) which started work in Cape Town in 1799. Within a few years mission stations had been established throughout the Cape Province, in present-day Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. At the invitation of the LMS, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) came to South Africa in 1835 and commenced work in Natal and Mozambique. During the 19th century English-speaking congregations were also established in the major cen­tres of South Africa. After the withdrawal of the LMS from the Cape, the churches it had established, together with the English-speaking congregations, formed the Congregational Union of South Africa in 1859. This church united in 1967 with the Bantu Congregational Church (ABCFM) to form the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, incorporating the work of the two bodies in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. A further merger took place in 1972 when the UCCSA was reconstituted to include the congregations of the South African Association of the Disciples of Christ.

Theologically the UCCSA traces its roots back to the Reformation teachings of John Calvin. It also stands in the radical Anabaptist tradition that developed on the European continent and in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. The UCCSA governs itself in the belief that each local church is a “gathered” company of Christian believers, whose only credal statement is the biblical affirmation: “Jesus is Lord”. Each local church retains the right to govern itself in all matters that affect its life and work, but is inter-dependent on all other churches in the denomination, as they voluntarily pool resources and work to do together what they cannot do apart. The UCCSA is divided into regional councils composed of ministers and lay delegates from each local church. The regional councils have been organized to form synods in the different countries in which they are situ­ated: Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The high­est governing body of the church is the assembly, which meets biennially and con­sists of ministers and lay delegates elected by the regional councils and synods. It is presided over by a president who serves for two years. An executive committee which is representative of the synods is in charge in between meetings of the assembly.

Until the implementation of the Bantu Education Act in 1953, the UCCSA and its precursors were responsible for widespread educational work in Southern Africa. Since 1954 it has maintained one private school in South Africa, the his­toric Inanda Seminary, near Durban. The church is still responsible for two high schools in Botswana and two in Zimbabwe. Ministers are trained at the Univer­sity of the Western Cape, Fort Hare University, Natal University and the Evan­gelical Seminary of South Africa, the United Theological College in Zimbabwe, Ricatla Seminary in Mozambique, and Paulinum Seminary in Namibia.

Itself the product of church union, the UCCSA is deeply committed to ecu­menical endeavour. It is a founding member of the South African Council of Churches and the Church Unity Commission and is fully involved in their activ­ities. It is equally active in the Christian Councils of Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Church Family: United and Uniting

In 2004 the UPCSA celebrated its fifth anniversary after having spent much of that time in forging structures of union. Like any other church of Christ, the UPCSA in its efforts to create a new ethos and in response to her mission calling, envisions its journey beyond union negotiations through this vision statement:

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  • In obedience to its sovereign Lord.
  
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  • In celebrating its living heritage as a Reformed Church in Southern Africa.
  
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  • In celebrating its cultural diversity.
  
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  • In addressing injustices and poverty in church.
  
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  • In providing a model of racial reconciliation.
  

To achieve this wonderful dream the UPCSA has set itself a synergy of three priorities: evangelism, with a focus on training; stewardship also focusing on training; and HIV/AIDS with special focus on the caring of widows and orphans. Indeed, with the union willed by God as the church does believe, “the burning bush that was not consumed” is the source of its fiery zeal for mission as a church of Christ.