Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk
Overview
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n conservative Reformed Church federation with about 44,000 adherents. The federation was formed by 240 congregations, including some in Namibia, and has ecumenical ties with the Afrikaans Protestant Church in England and Wales.
Its official motto is lig in duisternis (meaning light in the darkness) from Job 26:10: "He has described a boundary on the waters until light and darkness comes to an end".
In 1982 the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
World Alliance of Reformed Churches
The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin...
's General Council declared Separate Development to be a sin and its theological justification a heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
, in the process expelling from its membership the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk
Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk
The Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighboring countries, such as Namibia, Swaziland, and parts of Botswana and Zimbabwe...
(NGK), the major branch of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in South Africa and the traditional mother church
Mother Church
In Christianity, the term mother church or Mother Church may have one of the following meanings:# The first mission church in an area, or a pioneer cathedral# A basilica or cathedral# The main chapel of a province of a religious order...
of South Africa's Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
population.
