| Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk (APK) | |
|---|---|
 Official Logo of the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Theology | Reformed, conservative, separatist |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Region | South Africa,Namibia[1] and England |
| Origin | 1987 Pretoria, South Africa |
| Separated from | Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) |
| Congregations | 193 |
| Members | 35,000 |
| Ministers | 75 plus 55[2] |
| Official website | http://apk.co.za/ |
TheAfrikaanse Protestantse Kerk (APK;Afrikaans Protestant Church), also known asAP Kerk, is a South African conservativeReformed Church federation with about 35,000 adherents.[citation needed] The federation consists of 103 congregations, mostly in South Africa, although the APK also includes 7 congregations in Namibia.
In 1982 theWorld Alliance of Reformed Churches' General Council declaredapartheid to be a sin and its theological justification aheresy, in the process expelling from its membership theDutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK), the major branch of theDutch Reformed Church (DRC) in South Africa and the traditionalmother church of South Africa'sAfrikaner population.[3] The shock of this isolation from other branches of the Reformed Churches worldwide led to the adoption in 1986 of theBelhar Confession by some branches of the DRC; the NGK, while stopping short of adopting the Belhar Confession, retracted its 1976 defence of apartheid as a biblical imperative, instead releasing a "more nuanced" document calledChurch and Society that provided "qualified support for separate development."[4]
However, the document "reflected the new majority consensus within the NGK which rejected the older,Kuyperian theology"[5] and thus outraged the more conservative clergy within the NGK: as a "direct result"[6] the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk was founded inPretoria on Saturday, 27 June 1987 by 3000 dissidents, together with conservative elements from other branches of the DRC in South Africa.[7]
Members of the APK also cited the influence ofArminian andliberal theology in the NGK as a reason to split off. The new church opposed the use of the1983 Afrikaans Bible translation during worship services, preferring to use older translations. The APK opposed reforms it considered asmodernist and sought to preserve traditionalCalvinism.
In 1988 the APK set up a seminary so its pastors could be trained independently, the Afrikaanse Protestantse Akademie, which is based inPretoria.[8] The seminary became independent in 1999, although still trains APK pastors.
In 1990Church and Society was revised by the NGK to indicate that "any attempt by a church to try to defend a system of separation, biblically and ethically must be seen as a serious errancy; that is to say, it is in conflict with the Bible." From the APK's point of view that was not acceptable; it continued its support of apartheid. The decision of the NGK widened the schism and led to an increase in conservative NGK congregations that joined the APK.[9]
The Church holds to the Bible as theinfallible Word of God and the sole authority in all matters of faith. Like most offshoots of the DRC, the APK focuses its theology around theThree Forms of Unity and isCalvinist in doctrine. It believes the biblical faith to be accurately summarised in the ecumenical confessions (theApostles' Creed, theNicene Creed, theAthanasian Creed), theBelgic Confession, theHeidelberg Catechism and theCanons of Dordt.[10]
The church also holds to the traditional, pre-1986 views of the DRC in that it believes that the Bible not only condones, but actively prescribes, racial segregation. Its foundation in 1987 was precisely to uphold the traditional, racist theology of the DRC.[11] It thus does not consider the 1986Belhar Confession as a creed of the church.[12] This belief is traditionally justified on their interpretation of God's commandment to the Israelites in the Old Testament to separate themselves from the heathen nations.
The church's official motto islig in duisternis (meaninglight in the darkness) from 1 John 2:9-11
If we say that we are in the light, yet hate others, we are in the darkness to this very hour. If we love others, we live in the light, and so there is nothing in us that will cause someone else to sin. But if we hate others, we are in the darkness; we walk in it and do not know where we are going, because the darkness has made us blind.
and also from John 12:35–36:
So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."
(the APK) ... was founded in June 1987 to defend the traditional racist theology of the DRC
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