THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH
Apoštolská církev

Introduction

The Apostolic Church(AC) in the Czech Republic belongs to Evangelic churches. From the point of view of its doctrine and practice it ranks among Pentacostal churches which are associated in the Pentacostal World Conference, and in the European scale it is a member of the Pentacostal European Fellowship.

History

The first Pentacostal congregation on the territory of the present Czech Republic emerged in North Moravia before 1910. A group of Christians of different denominations started to meet in order to study God´s word and to pray. They prayed for the empowering to spiritual work and God  baptised them in the Holy Spirit. They received a gift of speaking languages. This work was spreading and other groups came to being in Brno, Prague and  other places. Soon they applied with the administrative organs for official registration. In 1910 they were registered under the name The Union of Resolved Pentacostal Christians. During the Nazi occupation their activity was forbidden. After 1948 the Unions were abolished. Therefore the brothers tried to integrate in some church communities, but due to the doctrinal differences it was not possible.

From the 1960s on they were trying to obtain the permission for the establishment of their own church. In 1977 the church was founded on the territory of Czechoslovakia but it was not legalised until 1989.

Mission

The Apostolic Church accepts the Scriptures as a criterion for faith and the Christian life as the only dogmatic basis. It follows Christ´s and the apostles´ way of life. They baptise by immersion those who are able to believe and who confess their faith in Jesus Christ as God´s Son, their Lord and the Saviour.In the doctrine and practice the person of the Holy Spirit, the baptism by the Holy Spirit and an active role of the Holy Spirit in the life of an individual and of the church are emphasised apart from traditional axioms of Christian theology. It aims at the proclaiming of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. As for the relationship to other churches, the AC considers all those who believe in Jesus Christ, have experienced the forgiveness of sins and are followers of Jesus Christ, as the Christ´s Church, which means their brothers and sisters.

Ecclesiology: The Church is a community of all those newly-born believers who live under the authority of Jesus Christ and are connected by the Holy Spirit and through the Word of God.

Christology: Christ is a complete God and a human being, who was born of the Virgin Mary and in his birth he abased himself  in order to fulfil God´s perfect will – the rescue of the man. He came to the world to reveal God the Father, to show us the way of salvation and to take our sins on himself, to break the rule of the Satan and to free us from the power of the death and sin. He died on the cross and resurrected in order to justify all who believe in him. He said:

“It is finished“ – nothing is necessary to add for the salvation. He pleads for us, saves us, and baptises in the Holy Spirit, reigns over the whole Church through the Holy Spirit, the Word and spiritual ministers.

Soteriology: everybody has sinned and turned away from God. An imperfect human beings cannot save themselves. They need to repent their sins and to believe in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

Principally, the AC has two main rites: the baptism by immersion into water and the Lord´s Supper. The Word of God is contained in 66 books of the Bible, without the Apocryphas. This Word is fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, it is infallible, its original version is without mistakes and it is a rule for the Christian life and doctrine.

Organisation

The Apostolic Church is administered in a Congregational-Presbytarian way. The basic unit of the church is a congregation, which is administered by the Elders. The church itself is a union of separate congregations with their stations and diasporas. Head of the church is a Bishop.

The church has established the Missionary and Theological College in Kolín (Central Bohemia), which provides instruction to ministers of the AC.

The church has its publishing house Křesťanský život (The Christian Life) and it issues the magazine Život v Kristu (The Life in Christ).

Further activities of the AC:

- Foundation Nehemia - gathering finances, clothing, and foods. It delivers them by its own van to the areas which need help.

- The Society AC Teen Challenge - works among alcoholics and drug-addicts.

- Royal Rangers - works among children and young people, stressing the balanced development of spirit, soul and body as well as social relations.

- The Diaconia - deals with homeless people and other people in need (the old and the sick)

- The ICI University - the correspondence form of  Christian education, which is organized on several levels, starting from the elementary education up to the Baccalaureate.

- The missionary society Život (Life) proclaims the gospel in towns and villages of the Czech Republic.

- The Women´s Section addresses women in the church as well as outside.

Statistics

The AC has 3350 members on the territory of the Czech Republic, including children and applicants in 30 congregations and 80 preaching stations and diasporas.

Addresses:

The Apostolic Church

Apoštolská církev
V Zídkách 402
280 02 Kolín 2

phone: 0321-720457, 727658
fax: 0321-727668
e-mail: hqbishopac@clever.cz

http://www.betanie.cz

The Central Council of the Elders of the Apostolic Church

Ústřední rada starších Apoštolské církve
Pod Červenkami 504
735 43 Albrechtice

phone: 0659-73 20 66

e-mail: acrc@grendel.cz