The unity of the church: a South African denominational experience and witness

Abstract

From the time of its inception in 1869, the Moravian Church in South Africa was divided into two provinces along ethnic lines. As the church is the “body of Jesus Christ,” which confesses the one Lord, who has one faith and practices one baptism for membership of the body of Christ, and is of one tradition, the division was questioned from within and without in the time of the apartheid society. How could the church, within the same context, be a witness in a politically divided society if it was also divided? This is the story of the Moravian Church’s attempt to become one church in obedience to the Lord’s High-priestly prayer, “… that they be one (John 17: 11).” The methodology is a descriptive-empirical, analytical approach, followed by a normative evaluation and concluded with an attempt at pragmatic application.