Reformed Old Apostolic Church

The Reformed Old Apostolic Church is a chiliastic denomination with roots in the Catholic Apostolic Church and the Old Apostolic Church. It is part of a branch in Christianity called Irvingism^[1] with membership throughout South Africa. It has approximately 180,000 members.^[2]

History

The Reformed Old Apostolic Church broke away from the Old Apostolic Church.^[3] It was founded in 1972 by Robert Lombard, a former Helper Apostle of the Old Apostolic Church of Africa.^[4] Robert Lombard had been ordained as an Apostle in the Old Apostolic Church in 1958 by Apostle William Campbell, to assist in the coloured congregations of the Cape church. Lombard was the first coloured, and the second non-white Helper Apostle of the Old Apostolic Church.

The ROAC was initially called the Non-White Old Apostolic Church but was forced to change its name after a 1975 court case Old Apostolic Church of Africa v. Non-White Old Apostolic Church of Africa which decided in favour of the Old Apostolic Church, on the basis of the law of passing off.^[5]

References

1. http://ebasic.easily.co.uk/030046/04C059/7%20Testification%202.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
2. "The Apostolic Churches in South Africa" (PDF). Apostolic History Network. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
3. Nzuma, Jonathan Tapera (2010). The Historical Reflection of the Integration of the Minority Groups Within the Adventist Church in Zimbabwe Between 1985 and 1994Within the Adventist Church in Zimbabwe Between 1985 and 1994. Andrews University. p. 102. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
4. http://ebasic.easily.co.uk/030046/04C059/19%20Life%20of%20Apostle%20Lombard.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
5. van der Vyver, Johan D. (2012). "Equality and Sovereignty of Religious Institutions: A South African Perspective" (PDF). Santa Clara Journal of International Law. 10 (1): 161. Retrieved 17 May 2023.