History

In the 19th century Christians in a number of countries of the world were involved in the studies of biblical prophesies and came to the conclusion that the “time of the end“ starts, as it is stated in the Bible. Their persuasion that the second coming of Jesus Christ is near gave rise to the movement which in mid 19th century resulted in the establishment of the church that adopted the professing name “The Seventh-Day Adventists“.This name was adopted in 1860, however the church was officially founded in 1863. In that year, in the U. S. A. it counted 3.500 members in 125 congregations.

The doctrine of the Church of the Seventh-Day Adventists (CSDA) spread fast all over the world. The first congregations of Adventists were being established in Bohemia and Moravia in the 1890s.

Mission

The CSDA is a Christian church, which is an adherent of reformation traditions. It is a world-wide community of Christian, which accepted the Bible (the Old and the New Testaments) as a rule of their faith and life. In accordance to the Scriptures the Adventists confess the faith in God the Father – the Creator, in Jesus Christ  as a personal Saviour in his full divinity and humaneness, and in the divinity of the Holly Spirit. They believe that the Salvation is a gift of God´s mercy, which may be attained through faith only. According to the teachings of the Scriptures they believe in the resurrection of believers and even non-believers, in the judgement and in the eternal life of redeemed people on the restored Earth. On the basis of biblical prophecies they believe that the time in which they live is the “time of the end“. They confess that the second coming of Jesus Christ, which will mean the end of the history of this world, is not only certain but also near. Adventists take Christianity as the following of Christ in his life and  ministry. The measure of such a life is the life of Jesus and his teachings. According to his example  Adventists teach the immutability of the God´s law, including the fourth commandment –  remeberring  the Sabbath day (the seventh day) and celebrating it as the day of community with God and with other believers, as was appointed by God himself. Adventists accept biblical teachings of body as “a temple of the Holy Spirit“ and strive for a healthy life style without voluntary consumption of any intoxicating drinks or drugs, which cause addiction.

They conceive the ministry to their neighbours as evangelisation, catechetic, pastoral or health education activity, or educational, social, cultural and environmental activity. For achieving these aims they created a system of educational institutions from nursery schools to universities. In 1996 their number around the world was 5,478 with 914,789 learners.

In the sphere of health care they stress prevention and therefore health education. They run health care facilities of all types. In 1996 11.104,064 went through them.

Social activity is organized directly by congregations and by a number of charity organizations. Probably the most famous agency is  ADRA, which is designed for aid and development.

These activities and the spreading of gospel are supported by publication activities of the church through press, broadcasting and television (Hlas naděje – The Voice of Hope). Adventists administer 55 publishing houses around the world, which issue publications in 238 languages. In the Czech Republic it is the Advent – Orion s. r. o. publishing house. The most spread periodicals are the “Ministry“, the journal for ministers; “Signs of the Times“(Znamení doby) - a magazine for wide public, and the “Adventist Review“ (Advent), which is an intrachurch magazine.

Adventists consider their mission the proclamation of the gospel about the redemption in Jesus Christ, and joyous hope as well as the preparation for his coming soon.

Organisation

The organisation of the CSDA has a form of representation. In this type of organisation the bearer of authority are all members, though the executive responsibility lies with the representative committees. In this form of church administration is the equality of ordination of all ministers. The basic organisational unit is a congregation The congregations are administered by the associations of congregations. The associations form Unions. The supreme body of the church is the general convention, which is divided according to geographical areas into 12 divisions, which coordinate the activity of individual unions.

The Czech and Slovak Union of the CSDA connects three associations – Czech, Moravian-Silesian and Slovak.

Statistics

In 1996 the number of baptised members of this church achieved 10 million. There are more than 4,000 congregations in 208 countries of the world.

In the Czech Republic there are 7.744 baptised members of 138 congregations. The CSDA in the Czech Republic has 78 ministers.

Address:

Ústředí Církve adventistů sedmého dne

Zálesí 50
142 00 Praha 4 - Lhotka

phone: 02-41 47 19 39, 41 47 19 45
fax: 02-44 47 18 63
e-mail: unie@casd.cz

http://www.casd.cz