What is the Old Apostolic Church?

The Old Apostolic Church (OAC) is an early twentieth-century movement that tried to take Christianity back to the time of the apostles. In the 1800s, many Christians were tired of different denominations arguing with each other about specific doctrines. Some people wished for a church that taught exactly what the apostles in the New Testament believed. A group of Christians in England and Scotland believed Jesus Christ would soon return. They appointed apostles to help lead the church until Christ returned and sent missionaries around the world. Their missionary efforts eventually produced the Old Apostolic Church in South Africa, which focused on leadership from apostles and the Holy Spirit’s ministry of sealing (Ephesians 1:13).

In the 1830s, many Christians wished to put aside denominational differences and return to the simple teachings of Jesus’ disciples. Christians in England and Scotland formed a group called the Catholic Apostolic Church (CAC), which found its greatest success in Germany. The Catholic Apostolic Church believed that Jesus would return in the lifetime of their twelve apostles. Their last apostle died in 1901, and the group splintered. The Old Apostolic Church looked to the Catholic Apostolic Church as an important forerunner. The Old Apostolic Church appreciated the Catholic Apostolic Church’s reinstitution of the offices of apostle and prophet.

Carl Klibbe was an important member of the New Apostolic Church (NAC), which was an offshoot of the Catholic Apostolic Church. Though born in Germany, he joined the New Apostolic Church while living in Australia. Klibbe and his family moved to South Africa in 1889. The church anointed him as an apostle in 1893. The New Apostolic Church preached Jesus’ soon return and the importance of having a church led by an apostle. Klibbe clashed with the other church leaders in South Africa, who kicked him out of the New Apostolic Church. After settling their differences in court, Klibbe renamed his group the Old Apostolic Church. When he died in 1931, the Old Apostolic Church reported more than a million members around Africa.

The Old Apostolic Church had several defining beliefs. The Old Apostolic Church sought to return Christianity to how it was under Peter, Paul, and other apostles in the first century AD. They argued that a true church must be led by an apostle. Also, they emphasized the Holy Spirit’s ministry of sealing. Ephesians 1:13 mentions the sealing of the Holy Spirit, and the Old Apostolic Church placed much emphasis on it. The Old Apostolic Church considered sealing equally important to baptism and the Lord’s Supper for Christians. It taught it happens when an apostle lays hands on and prays for a new believer. The church also used the King James Version of the Bible in English.

The Old Apostolic Church maintained many traditional Christian doctrines, such as the authority of Scripture. However, it looked to their apostles for guidance when passages of the Bible were hard to interpret. The Old Apostolic Church enthusiastically shared its message around Africa, Europe, and North America. Today, they number about two million people.

The Old Apostolic Church’s emphasis on apostles and the sealing of the Holy Spirit anticipated the charismatic movement in the United States. Most Christians believe that these movements err when they appoint apostles. In the New Testament, the apostles were those who studied directly with Jesus. When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He appointed these men to share His message around the world (Matthew 28:18–20). Peter, Paul, and the other apostles selected pastors and elders in the churches they planted to lead future Christians. Thus, the office of apostle was limited to the first century AD.

The Old Apostolic Church sincerely tried to return to the message of the New Testament. However, their quest for doctrinal certainty and appointment of apostles go beyond the teaching of the Bible.