User:Jesuit222/nac
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The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a chiliastic church, numbered to Protestantism as a free church of the Catholic Apostolic Churches or Irvingism. The church has been existing since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands. It came forth from the Hamburg schism in 1863 in the Catholic Apostolic Church, which was founded in 1847 in England and started in the 1830s as a renewal movement in, among others, the Anglican Church and Church of Scotland.
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New Apostolic Church (NAC) | |
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Classification | Chiliastic, partily Restorationist |
Orientation | Irvingian movement Christianity |
Polity | Apostolic Hierarchical |
Leader | Chief Apostle Wilhelm Leber |
Distinct fellowships | International Apostles's Meeting District Apostles's Meeting Project Groups: -Faith Questions -Ecumenism -Music -Communication -Youth Committee for special affairs and others |
Associations | Consortium of Christian Churches, Germany and Switzerland |
Region | 181 nations, divided into 18 District Apostle areas, Int. headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland |
Origin | 4 January 1863 Hamburg, Germany |
Separations | Restored Apostolic Mission Church, United Apostolic Church |
Congregations | 66,388 (12/31/2007)[1] |
Members | 11,239,935 (12/31/2007)[2] |
Ministers | 259,515 (12/31/2007)[3] |
Aid organization | NAK karitativ, Germany |
Official website | www.nak.org |
Premillennialism and Second Coming of Christ are to the fore of the New Apostolic doctrines. Most of its doctrines are akin to Christian mainstream, and especially its liturgy, to Protestantism, whereas hierarchy and organisation could be compared with the Roman Catholic.
The church considers itself to be the re-established continuation of the Early Church, and led by the successors of the twelve apostles. This doctrine resembles Restorationism in some aspects.
The official abbreviation in English states is NAC for New Apostolic Church, whereas it is NAK in German, ENA in French and INA in Portuguese and Spanish.
The emblem of the church portrays a white Latin cross, hovering above stylized waves on blue background. The sun rises at the horizon of those waves, symbolized by 10 rays. There is not any definite interpretation of its meaning. According to Peter Johanning, spokesman of the church, the various elements can be interpreted as Crucifixion of Jesus Christ (cross), Holy Baptism (water) and as Holy Sealing (sun), referring to the three sacraments of the church. Sunrise or sunset in the emblem could also be regarded as the immediate Second Coming of Christ. The first official emblem was set up by chief apostle Schmidt in 1968, which may still be found on many church buildings, although it was changed by chief apostle Richard Fehr in 1995.