Abstract

VAN WYK, Barry J.. The ecclesiastical debate at the 73 General Church Assembly of the Dutch Reformed Church of Africa. Herv. teol. stud. [online]. 2023, vol.79, n.1, pp.1-9. ISSN 2072-8050.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v79i1.8773.

Reformed churches emerged from the Reformation which commenced in the 16th century because of the input of well-known reformers such as Martin Luther (1483-1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564). Reformed churches are founded on a certain system of church polity known as presbyterial-synodal. This church orderly viewpoint amounts to the fact that it is a church where Jesus Christ is the sole ruler of the church, transforming all meetings of offices of the church to operate on the same horizontal level with Jesus Christ as the only and sufficient authority in the church. This means that such a church is trying to be church of the Word and should take good care to maintain this critical principal position during meetings, as will eventually be reflected in synodal decisions taken. CONTRIBUTION: This article takes a critical look at points of discussion submitted to the meeting, especially those with church orderly implications. Critically spoken, it means that decisions tabled at such meetings should be in the prolongment of the churches' decision to be church of the Word, and therefore presbyterial-synodal. It is therefore also a contribution to church polity as such

Keywords : presbyterial-synodal; church polity; church of the Word; synodal; diaconate; separation; church unity; Jesus Christ.

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