Celebrating 40 years of the Church History Society of Southern Africa in 2010, and 40 years of the journal Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae in 2014

Abstract

In this article, in celebrating the 40-year existence of the Church History Society of Southern Africa (CHSSA) in 2010 and its journal Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae (SHE) in 2014, the focus is on the question whether both of them have developed positively during this time, and especially since 1991. After an introduction, attention is given to some of the major developments in the society between 1992 and 2010, such as the reorganisation of the society into a more inclusive and representative organisation, its conferences, and some of the major tendencies in the history of the CHSSA in the period since 1992. Then the society’s journal, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae (SHE), is examined and its academic accepta-bility is ascertained. Next some perspectives on the road ahead are provided. It is finally concluded from an involved insider perspective, and therefore not providing an official audit of the society, that both the society and its journal SHE have grown towards some level of maturity and that the prospects for the future are relatively positive.