Church of Central Africa Presbyterian
The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) is a
The CCAP is the largest Protestant denomination in Malawi.[1]
History
Following the arrival of
In 1911 the Livingstonia and Blantyre Synods agreed to join together to form the CCAP[3] although, because of World War I, this union did not take place until 17 September 1924.[3] The CCAP at that time had 28 ministers (about half of whom were African) and 32 elders (almost all of whom were African).[3]
In 1926, the formerly Dutch Reformed Nkhoma Synod joined the CCAP.[4] The Harare Synod joined in 1965,[5] while the Lundazi Synod (now called the Zambia Synod) joined in 1984.[6]
In 1993, the Blantyre Synod issued a statement which acknowledged historically close ties with the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) so that "the church gradually lost its ability to admonish or speak pastorally to the government"[7] and indicated that they did "not want to make the same mistake at this time in order to ensure that the church retains its prophetic voice throughout the coming years of our country’s history."[7]
In 1998, some
The CCAP entered into a high-profile public feud with Malawian Second Vice President Chakufwa Chihana in 2004 after Chihana told the church not to "meddle" in politics.[9]
Beliefs
The Nkhoma Synod have adopted the
Synods
- Blantyre Synod (southern Malawi)
- Nkhoma Synod (central Malawi)
- Synod of Livingstonia (northern Malawi)
- Synod of Zambia (Zambia)
- Harare Synod (Zimbabwe)
See also
References
- ^ Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, Operation World: 21st Century Edition (Paternoster, 2001), p. 419.
- ^ Overview of the worldwide reformed church: Malawi (Africa)
- ^ ISBN 90-04-10208-6, pp. 211–213.
- ISBN 0-8108-5807-X, p. 443.
- ^ Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) - Harare Synod
- ^ Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) - Zambia Synod
- ^ ISBN 90-04-10324-4, p. 103.
- ISBN 99908-87-52-7, p. 6.
- ^ "Chakufwa Chihana". The Scotsman. 30 June 2006. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ Walter L. Brown, The development in self-understanding of the CCAP Nkhoma Synod as Church during the first forty years of autonomy: an ecclesiological study,[permanent dead link] University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
- ^ CCAP Zambia - What We Believe Archived 2013-08-27 at the Wayback Machine