The making of the New Apostolic Church 150 years of church history New Apostolic Church 1 2 Eschatological expectation and spiritual gifts In May 1830 the members of the various erecting schools for the children of the poor religious societies congregated in London and many more. Henry Drummond, a wealthy as they had done in the years before. The banker and country gentleman, took a annual conferences were attended by such particular interest in three of those societies. large numbers of people that the hired hall One of them collected money to get Bibles with its 1,600 seats could often barely hold printed, another one to propagate Christianity them. Those who attended were willing to among the Jews. The third one was called the donate considerable sums. Continental Society. There were three competing societies for Calling out of “Babylon” converting the heathen, two for distributing The Continental Society paid so-called agents Bibles, others for printing religious tracts, for who were expected to guide people on the European continent (especially in Switzerland, France and Germany) from the false to the true Content faith. At the annual gathering in May 1825 Eschatological expectation and spiritual gifts . 3 Drummond had already referred to “the sealed Beginnings of a Catholic Apostolic movement . 7 ones” mentioned in Revelation and explained God gives an Apostle . 11 that the agents had to call them out of “the A Church ruled by Apostles . 15 Apostles seeking further light on their mission . 18 mystical Babylon” (cf. Rev 18, 4). The Conti- The Testimony – Admonition and invitation . .22 nental Society defined the mystical Babylon as A crisis and a new beginning . .25 New horizons in northern Germany . 29 Catholicism and new trends in Protestantism Apostles’ Council 1851: Hope and disappointment . 33 that read the Bible as an historical document Changes in Germany . 37 rather than as divinely inspired in all its parts. Hopes raised and dashed . .40 An unceasing urge to complement the College of The agents were told not to lead the newly con- Apostles . .44 verted into a “sect”, but to make them mem- New Apostles called in Germany . .48 First steps under new Apostles . .52 bers of the true church. But where was the true From apostolic congregations to the . .55 church? And who were the “sealed ones”? New Apostolic Church . .55 At the concourses in May Drummond also met about 50 Christians from various denomina- tions who since 1826 had assembled for Cover: one-week conferences at his country house at Marc Dibowski Albury. They assembled to get ready for the Second Advent by studying biblical prophecies relating to it. This time, in spring 1830, a special theme had come to their attention. There were 3 reports from Scotland that God Himself spoke religious tracts they also felt it their duty to through prophets and confirmed their words by convert others and to abstain from sin. Ideally, miraculous healings. They decided to take time they strove to lead a life completely without sin. to discuss this, but they considered the matter too important to delay this until their usual time Can human means further the kingdom in Advent. So they agreed to meet already in of Christ? July. Most Evangelicals believed that, through their various activities, the religious societies were in An invisible church? the process of gradually erecting the kingdom of The Albury circle as they became known was Christ. Soon the missionary societies would part of a larger “awakening” and those who convert all heathen nations; other societies had been drawn into it wanted to lead their would induce people to lead morally unobjec- lives by the principles of the gospel. That is why tionable lives and thus the kingdoms of this they referred to themselves as Evangelicals. world would gradually become the kingdom of They understood themselves as the truly pious Christ. At the close of that kingdom Christ Christians who were united in an invisible would return for judgment. church. To become a member of this church they had to be converted which meant that you Since 1820 James Haldane Stewart, a clergy- experienced a complete change of outlook. man, who afterwards also attended the Albury After this you were a “regenerate” person (or conferences, had published various writings in “born again”) and a “child of God”. To them which he pointed out that human means were leading a new life did not only mean that not sufficient to convert mankind. As a conse- through faith they were saved through the quence he appealed to the Evangelical believers merits of Christ, but they felt that deeds had to to pray for a special “outpouring of the Spirit”. follow. In addition to daily reading the Bible and That would be the means by which God could make the activities of the religious societies more effective. A special hope for the future The members of the Albury circle followed Stewart’s appeals for special prayers. But they went one step further. They taught that human means would remain ineffective and that only a minority would allow themselves to be guided by the Spirit of God. So Christ would soon appear in judgment and only afterwards erect His kingdom. Henry Drummond (about 1835) – instigator of the Albury They believed that a spirit of unbelief had been conferences and Apostle manifested in the French Revolution when 4 Albury Park. Contemporary plate based on a drawing by J. Fletcher churches were desecrated and closed and powers of this world. In their eyes the year believers executed. Napoleon, they thought, 1793 was the key to the prophecies. In that had wanted to subject Britain like other nations year the French king Louis XVI. had been to that antichristian rule. God, however, had executed in the course of the Revolution. They preserved this “sealed nation” for a special task taught that then a new antichristian power – in- in His plan. fidelity or modern unbelief – had begun its reign. On the basis of the seventh chapter of Like many other interpreters of Revelation since the book of Daniel some of them added the Reformation, those who participated in the another 70 years and hoped that in 1863 the Albury conferences believed the Revelation of fall of the mystical Babylon would be complete John to be an encoded description of the and the New Jerusalem built. history of the world and the church. They felt they could now work out when the course of But when would “the voice of the bridegroom history would come to an end. The 1,260 days and the voice of the bride” (cf. Jeremiah 33:11 during which – according to Revelation 12 – the and Revelation 22:17) be audible again? Or woman clothed with the sun took refuge in the had the Bridegroom already raised His voice wilderness were interpreted to mean 1,260 through humble believers in Scotland? years which the true church had to spend in a wilderness condition. Like the Reformers they Spiritual gifts as signs identified the Pope with the Antichrist who During the May meetings in London there were reigned during that period. His fall would not be first reports of events that had happened in brought about by the faithful, but by the Port Glasgow in April 1830. Margaret Mac- 5 donald who seemed to suffer from a fatal illness had prophesied that there would be another outpouring of the Holy Spirit before the return of Christ. Some days later her brother James Macdonald had received power to heal her through a command to rise from her sickbed. On the other shore of the river Clyde, at Fernicarry on the Gareloch, Mary Campbell seemed doomed to die of tuberculosis. Some time before she had felt impelled to speak in an unknown tongue. This encouraged her to hope that God would send her to a people to whom she could proclaim the gospel in that language. James Macdonald sent her a letter command- ing her to rise from her sickbed. His command reached her (as she reported to her pastor) “with power that no words can describe”. She stood upon her feet, leapt about, praised God and on the next morning boarded a paddle Apostles’ chapel at Albury steamer for Port Glasgow to show herself to her benefactor. prophecies agreed with their own findings derived from a study of the Scriptures. Others The Albury Circle disperses thought the events were diabolical miracles In their July meeting the members of the Albury meant to mislead the faithful. circle discussed the reports they had received. Drummond and some others held that the The Albury circle dispersed in disagreement on what to think of the spiritual gifts. There were no more conferences. Henry Drummond had a former coach house next to his mansion converted into a provisional chapel. There he united with some others to pray for more manifestations of spiritual gifts while the rector preached against them in the old village church a few yards away. The same clergyman, Hugh McNeile, had led prayers for a special outpour- ing of the Spirit while he had been moderator of the Albury conferences. Did he mean to assert now, Drummond asked, that God had not Fernicarry House, Mary Campbell’s home fulfilled his prayers? 6 Beginnings of a Catholic Apostolic movement The association of believers from different Theologians utter their doubts denominations dispersed just as they were Her father knew that this was a miracle. Full of starting to receive answers to their prayers joy he reported this in a letter to a religious for an increased activity of the Holy Spirit.