African Apostolic Orthodox Church
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WHO ARE WIE? WIE IS ONS?
The early Church gathered around the Holy Apostles in worship of the Risen Lord: "Many of them believed his (Peter's) message and were baptised...They spent their time in learning from the Apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers"(Acts 2:41-42).
It was the custom from the early days of the Church to record the names of those who had been authorised, in the Name of Jesus Christ, to continue His ministry on earth (Matt. 10:1-4 - the Holy Apostles; Acts 6:5-6 - the Deacons). This Apostolic authorisation is known as the "Apostolic Succession" and is a prerequisite for being a Successor of the Apostles, known as a "Bishop".
In addition, a Bishop is expected to live by a moral code that demonstrates the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ: "If a man is eager to be a Church leader (Bishop), he desires an excellent work. A Church leader must be without fault; he must be married only once, be sober, self-controlled, and orderly; he must welcome strangers in his home; he must be able to teach; he must not be a drunkard or a violent man, but gentle and peaceful; he must not love money; he must be able to manage his own family well and make his children obey him with all respect...He must be mature in the faith...He should be a man who is respected by the people outside the Church" (1 Tim. 3:1-7).
In union with our Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, we find our spiritual purpose in worshipping and proclaiming the Good News: "...let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy Priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ...you are a chosen race, the King's Priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into His own marvellous light" (1 Pet. 2:4-10). Thus, in addition to preserving and transmitting the Holy Apostolic Succession, the preservation of the Teaching of the Apostles is maintained in our jurisdiction. These two requirements (Apostolic Succession and keeping the Faith of the Apostles) are core-requirements for being a constituent member of the one, holy, catholic and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ. Both these requirements are met in our jurisdiction. In the Primary Apostolic Succession of our Presiding Bishop, there are 261 Bishops between him and the Apostle Peter, the Rock. This connects our jurisdiction historically with Jesus Christ and His Holy Apostles.
We engage ourselves actively in fulfilling the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus Christ: "I have made You known to those You gave me out of the world...They have obeyed Your Word...I gave them the message that You gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from You, and they believe that You sent me...I sent them into the world...I pray not only for them (the Holy Apostles), but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one, Father!"(John 17:1-23). We, who are generations removed from the Holy Apostles, are those for whom Jesus also prayed: "...those who believe in me because of their message...".
So, who are we? We are Orthodox Christians who are not formally in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. We are Western Rite Orthodox Christians (we use the Old and New Catholic Liturgies as well as the Saint Tikhon Liturgy) although we are not formally in communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Our primary and essential communion is with Jesus Christ, our High Priest (Hebrews 4:15), and our secondary communion is with those who also preserve the Holy Apostolic Succession and who keep in tact the Faith of the Apostles.
We are a Sacramental and Liturgical community. We administer the following Holy Sacraments: Holy Baptism, Holy Chrismation, the Holy Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, Holy Matrimony.
All Orthodox Christians in our communities actively engage in the parish organisation and the liturgical life and worship of the Church.
We have chosen the name "African Apostolic Orthodox Church", and in this name we find our vision and mission.
AFRICAN
We are a community of believers that are African. We strive to express our Apostolic Faith in the idiom and languages of this blessed continent. We celebrate the Holy Liturgy in English and Afrikaans, and we hope to soon be able to extend it to the other official languages of our country. Our spirituality is characterised by Ubuntu, an authentically African connectedness with self and with others, in the spirit of humility, service and simplicity.
APOSTOLIC
We preserve and transmit the Holy Apostolic Succession in union with all Apostolic jurisdictions so that the Good News of Redemption in Jesus Christ will be made known to all peoples and in all ages. You can see the Apostolic Succesion of our Presiding Bishop, Haaike + Barnard at: www.angelfire.com/nt2/jmj/apos.html
ORTHODOX
The word "Orthodox" refers to "right worship and right belief". We confess union of faith with the historical Churches that have preserved and transmitted the Holy Apostolic Succession: the Roman Catholic Church, the Canonical Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican communion. It is our conviction that the fullness of the faith had been preserved in the Orthodox Churches. However, we do not arrogate unto ourselves an exclusive territory in the Body of Christ. Instead (and without compromising our Apostolicity in any way), we take great joy in the diversity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are present outside of our community in the Churches of the Reformation, and those who have different historical ties to Jesus Christ and His Holy Apostles.
Our primary mission, derived from the the Great Commission that Jesus gave His Holy Apostles, is to: evangelise, sacramentalise, and teach. This Great Commission is authorised by the Holy Trinity. We echo the words of Saint Paul:
"When I came to you...to preach God's secret truth, I did not use big words and great learning. For while I was with you, I made up my mind to forget everything except Jesus Christ and especially His death on the Cross. So when I came to you, I was weak and trembled all over with fear, and my teaching and message were not delivered with skillful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God's Spirit. Your faith, then, does not rest on human wisdom but on God's power"(1 Cor. 2:1-5).
We are a new Apostolic jurisdiction on the continent of Africa, and we desire to share the Good News on this continent. If you have a poineering spirit, and if you are called by God to share in our Apostolic mandate, then contact our Presiding Bishop to discuss the options that are available.
The Canonical requirements for Ordination to the Priesthood in our jurisdiction do not discriminate against applicants in terms of race, sexual orientation or gender. We invite those who seek ordination to the Holy Priesthood and who wish to associate themselves with us in our Apostolic jurisdiction to contact us for a consideration of their application.
We have fellowship with the Apostolic Society of Franciscan Communities (ASFC) and with the Apostolic Vicar and Bishop Elect, the Very Reverend Dr. Francis Maria G. Salvato, SFI, ThD, MSc. If you are called to the Franciscan lifestyle in our jurisdiction, you can read more about our relationship with the ASFC at http://franciscanlife.org and you can contact the Presiding Bishop to explore your vocation.
We also have an intercommunion agreement with the Franciscans of Divine Providence, under the jurisdiction of Bishop + Russel Coates, FFP, Guardian General. You can read more information about this jurisdiction at www.franciscansofdivineprovidence.com
Our jurisdiction is in intercommunion with His Eminence, Mar + Joseph Vredenburgh of the Federation of Saint Thomas Christians and the American Church of the East. You can read more about our sisters and brothers in this jurisdiction at: www.geocities.com/TheTropics/8371/ and at www.tanaya.net/rvmother/fstc.html
Our Presiding Bishop, + Haaike Barnard, serves on the College of Councellors of the National Conference of Independent Catholic Bishops (NCICB). For more information on the Conference: http://ncicb.org
We are also in intercommunion with Bishop +Mark Pultorak of the National Orthodox Communion. (You can read more about this jurisdiction at http://fathermark.tripod.com/theamericanorthodoxcatholicchurchprophetajurisdiction/ Our Presiding Bishop is a member of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the National Orthodox Communion.
For a copy of our Code of Canon Law and our Apostolic Succession, e-mail the Presiding Bishop at: haaikeb@outlearning.co.za
BISHOP'S MESSAGE - BISKOP SE BOODSKAP
KNOCKED DOWN, BUT NOT DEFEATED
Grace and peace!
My dear brothers and sisters, allow me to share an experience with you that has had an enormous effect on my life. The saga starts on 30 December, last year. As this year, 2004, wraps up speedily, my thoughts naturally gravitate toward that experience. Let me turn to my spiritual diary entry for that day:
"I saw a remarkable thing today and, somehow, I think it has invited itself into my diary as an interlude to the year that is ahead of me by a day and a couple of hours. I saw a pigeon being knocked down by a car, right in front of me, as I was waiting for a friend at his work. It flapped its wings helplessly after it got hit. Its wings clearly broken, it tried in vain to cover its head instinctively in an attempt to protect itself from the violence of the incident. I felt utter sickness well up in me. I felt just as helpless, and unable to move a muscle to help it. I did not want to see the look of desperation in its eyes. The feelings hit too close to home! I saw it bend over forward and lay motionless like a dirty rag on a busy road. I wondered why it was so stupid to have been in that road in the first place. The world seemed to not have noticed a most brutal and awful event: the unexpected, violent death of a peaceful and innocent creature. The horror of the moment sickened me again. Then the scene replayed itself, almost identical to the first time. A second car drove over the pigeon, at great speed. The pigeon seemed to have been lifted off the road like a weightless piece of paper when a car drives over it. The poor thing! Was it still alive after the first horror? Certainly not after the second? Death filled my view. The tragedy was unbelievable. That pigeon was me. I have been hit off my feet by a violent year, and I did not expect it to end this way. I was left on my own…Too paralysed to move, I made the sign of the Cross over the bird, mentally. I blessed its passing, and I marked and sealed an acknowledgement of its unexpected death. I imagined that this act would help its life essence to pass freely from its now squashed and mutilated body, and ascend like a bright light to unite with God and its own place with Him. I had to get away from there, or risk yet another violent act. Suddenly, it spread its wings and half-circled the spot, and carelessly took to the sky and out of harm's way. I was stunned. It could not be possible! Immediately, my spirit received the hopeful message from the Spirit: it's time to get up, against all odds, to spread my wings, and take to the skies!"
Sometimes, life seems to knock us down, like the pigeon, and circumstance seems to immobilise and paralyse us. We feel the violence and brutality of betrayed trust, a broken heart, the struggle and pain. We seem not to be able to rise again. The Word of God has life-giving hope for us: "…we are knocked down, but still have some life in us" (2 Cor. 4:9), and again: "…those who hope in Yahweh will regain their strength, they will sprout wings like eagles" (Isi. 43:30-31).
I share these words of hope with you in sincere humility, as one who also knows the day-to-day struggles we sometimes have. Let us never give up on our commitment to Christ and His Church. Ours is the joy to "still have some life in us" when nobody expects us to rise above circumstance and struggle! Ours is the hope that never wavers! Ours is the God who hears and answers our cries for help when our prayers reach His Presence (Psalm 88:1).
Let us lift our heads high, and embrace The Beloved with every fibre of our beings, with every breath that we take. May this Advent be to you a time of prayerful reflection and growth in holiness.
Irini pasi!
+HAAIKE
Ons is ook tans besig om die Heilige Liturgie te vertaal in Afrikaans, so ons Afrikaans-sprekende susters en broers sal binnekort kan deel in ons aanbidding. Dit is ons visie om 'n eg Afrika-charisma te ontwikkel in ons Kerk. As jy die inspirasie voel om deel te wees van die werk wat ons in die Koninkryk doen, kontak ons beslis en deel met ons jou behoeftes en belangstellings. Dit is 'n ongelooflike eer en voorreg om God te aanbid in die Tradisie van Ortodoksie. In Calitzdorp het ons Vader Noel-Jean Kriel wat jou kan bystaan. Moenie huiwer om hom direk te kontak nie.
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