On Saturday, 16 November, we welcome Dr. Burkhard Beyer, an expert on the history of reed organ building in the context of the different apostolic congregations. Dr. Beyer has spent many years researching the history of the Beyer company in Bielefeld-Brackwede and has recorded his findings in a book.
New Apostolic Church
Earliest sheet music edition of a New Apostolic hymnal published!
At the annual meeting of the Network of Apostolic History, the earliest known sheet music edition of a (New) Apostolic hymnal in German was made available to interested researchers. It is the first edition of sheet music for the Apostolic Songbook of 1898, which appeared in 1900 but was not widely distributed. It was intended for four-part choral singing as well as for accompaniment by organ or harmonium.
New apostolic community emerged in Congo – response to NAC women’s ordination
In September 2022, the New Apostolic Church announced its intention to ordain women to all church offices as of 2023. In some countries on the African continent, the decision has led to controversial reactions. Particularly in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, some open protests against the ordination of women are coming to light. In addition, the relevant Facebook groups related to the New Apostolic Church have not stood still since September 21. The pictures and comments there are impressive in the literal sense and illustrate the effects of commercial social media. A full classification and contextualization would require the work of qualified journalists. Nevertheless, some basic narratives can be extracted.
Symposium on apostolic music in Amsterdam
On October 8, 2022, a symposium on apostolic music from 1863 to the present will be held in Amsterdam under the auspices of the J.H. van Oosbreestichting. The initiative for this event came from Edwin Diersmann, Manfred Horstmanshoff and Johan Giskes. The program is the result of a collaboration between the Nieuw-Apostolische Kerk Nederland and the Apostolisch Genootschap. Both a choir of the NAC and a choir of the Apgen will sing. A responsible person from the Apostolisch Genootschap will open the event, and Nico Klene from the Nieuw-Apostolische Kerk Nederland will close the event.
Digital auction of historical materials until July 14th
One of our networkers, Edwin Diersmann, has currently started a digital auction of historical books on apostolic church history, which we would like to draw attention to. A total of 70 books, some of them very rare, are up for auction and can be purchased against highest bid.
Ludwig Hennrich files handed over to the Brockhagen archive
The New Apostolic Bishop Ludwig Hennrich (1894-1949) is still a minister with great charisma for the members of the New Apostolic Church and the Apostolische Gemeinschaft (Apostolic Community). Through his work as a minister in the Rhineland, the song lyrics he wrote, and his work during and shortly after the Second World War, he became known nationwide.
New Apostolic Hymnal from 1925 online again
For many years, the texts of New Apostolic musical literature (such as the choir songbook, the “old” New Apostolic hymnal, the public domain parts of the 2005 hymnal of the New Apostolic Church) could be accessed via the website nak-gesangbuch.de. However, the operator of this site passed away some time ago and the site is now no longer accessible.