Kontrowersje wokół armeńskiej ustawy o wolności sumienia i organizacjach religijnych

The article discusses the basic legal act on the right to religious freedom The Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Organizations, which was enacted in Armenia in the early 1990s and which, in a slightly modified version, is still in force today. In Armenia, the close link between ethnicity and religious affiliation (Armenian Apostolic Church) makes it difficult to adopt legal solutions that would guarantee the full realization of the right to religious freedom. The Armenian Apostolic Church considers religious freedom as an anti-national provision, and therefore qualifies all other religious organizations as "sects" and anti-national structures. The article provides a detailed analysis of the Religious Denominations Act, indicates which of its provisions are most controversial and shows how the adopted legal solutions differ from the international standards.

Liberalising Health-seeking Behaviour of the Johanne Marange Apostolic Sect in Manicaland, Zimbabwe

Religious rights as enshrined in the Zimbabwean constitution are sacrosanct, however, when church doctrine bars followers from seeking modern medical care, they start infringing on health rights especially of the ‘lesser beings’ the women and children who are members of these religious sects. The ‘lesser beings’ are bearing the brunt of high maternal and neonatal mortality as they depend on unsafe traditional birth attendants and unconventional medicine. This study is ethnographic and presents lessons learnt from a programme aiming to improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes among the Apostolic Church of Johanne Marange members in Manicaland province, Zimbabwe. The findings show that despite the stringent doctrine and barriers placed on apostolic members who want to access conventional medicine, the women and children are using clandestine approaches to circumvent the doctrine and barriers. This article argues that a barrage of unconventional and conventional approaches can lead to changes in health-seeking behaviour of the apostolic church and ultimately maternal and child health outcomes. The article argues that the intransigence of the apostolic can only be overcome by covert approaches to providing health services and save lives.

Amos' Call for Social Justice in Amos 5:21-24: A Model for Prophets in The Apostolic Church LAWNA, Nigeria

The book of Amos, particularly his message on social justice, has been of great interest in scholarship in recent times. However, the extent to which social justice issues manifest in the text and how they relate to modern context have not been fully explored. Following a careful reflection on the call for social justice in Amos 5:21-24 and informed by a justice-denying Nigerian context, could the theme of social justice, as reflected in the preceding text, inspire the prophets of The Apostolic Church LAWNA to proclaim a liberating and empowering message to the powers that be (political establishment), in solidarity with the poor and marginalised people of Nigeria? This concern is the main thrust of this article. Over the years, not only has the book of Amos become an inspiration for contemporary struggles against social oppression and injustice, the life and ministry of the prophet himself has become a model for pastors/prophets and crusaders of justice and righteousness today. In view of the prevailing social injustice and oppression in the Nigerian society, can the present-day prophets of The Apostolic Church LAWNA Nigeria be called upon to be as fearless as the eighth-century BCE Israelite prophets were, in raising their voices both within and outside the faith community to demand for a right andjust society?

Subsequence, Prophecy and Church Order in the Apostolic Church, New Zealand

<p>The Apostolic Church of New Zealand forms a distinct group within the pentecostal movement on account of its practice of "divine government." The revelation of the restoration of apostle and prophet ministry, which originally came to the founders in the UK, served to establish a denomination which espoused prophetic guidance in matters of praxis and doctrine. The purpose of this thesis has been to critique the Apostolic Church's understanding of not only the doctrine of subsequence (i.e. Spirit-baptism is logically distinct from and subsequent to salvation) but the function of the prophetic and its effect on the organisational structure and operation of the church. A major focus of the early Apostolic churchmen was a defence of subsequence. Widespread mainstream opposition ensured pentecostals endured an isolation which served to reinforce their determination to validate the empowerment that they had experienced. As the need for polemic reduced, the emphasis shifted to promoting the gift of the Spirit as a missionary endowment. Methodist-Holiness teaching formed the basis for the early influences on pentecostal theology and as such promoted a verifiable work of the Spirit given in response to seeking. The challenge and influence from the Latter Rain and Charismatic movements saw the bestowal of the gift without an attendant period of tarrying. While this brought a universality to the experience, it did so at the expense of depth or intensity, with a resulting weakening in the expression of prophecy. An assessment of the view of prophecy held by the early Apostolic churchmen shows that too high a level of inspiration was often credited to prophetic utterance. The possibility of human frailty corrupting the purposes of God was not countenanced to any great degree, with the result that flawed or outright erroneous decisions proceeded unchallenged: in this the role of the apostle was under-exercised. The combination of a high view of prophecy and a decreasing quality of utterance over time affected the level of guidance available to the movement. The operation of the apostle necessarily changed: previously concerned with outworking the "Word of the Lord," the function of the apostle became limited to that of superintendent minister. The inability of the first and second generation Apostolics to recognise their schismatic origins perpetuated the rigid adherence to centralism, believing it to be the divine pattern. Centralised control manifested in two spheres: finance and personnel. Initially, when the movement was small, centralism was an expedient philosophy; however, its usefulness was soon outgrown. A retarding factor for the Apostolic Church has been the lack of autonomy afforded local assemblies and the ineptitude of the centralised government, which frequently mismatched men and their roles. Currently, there exists a trend towards relationship-based apostleship, utilising the concept of networks. A particular subset of this system is the church plant where a natural line of authority exists between it and the parent church. Prophecy operating in this situation confines itself to expansion, and avoids the problem, evident in previous years, of centralised revelation initiating the relocation of personnel. The Apostolic Church will survive the 21st century by allowing greater autonomy, with the apostolic function and the prophetic voice finding expression primarily through the local assembly.</p>

Subsequence, Prophecy and Church Order in the Apostolic Church, New Zealand

<p>The Apostolic Church of New Zealand forms a distinct group within the pentecostal movement on account of its practice of "divine government." The revelation of the restoration of apostle and prophet ministry, which originally came to the founders in the UK, served to establish a denomination which espoused prophetic guidance in matters of praxis and doctrine. The purpose of this thesis has been to critique the Apostolic Church's understanding of not only the doctrine of subsequence (i.e. Spirit-baptism is logically distinct from and subsequent to salvation) but the function of the prophetic and its effect on the organisational structure and operation of the church. A major focus of the early Apostolic churchmen was a defence of subsequence. Widespread mainstream opposition ensured pentecostals endured an isolation which served to reinforce their determination to validate the empowerment that they had experienced. As the need for polemic reduced, the emphasis shifted to promoting the gift of the Spirit as a missionary endowment. Methodist-Holiness teaching formed the basis for the early influences on pentecostal theology and as such promoted a verifiable work of the Spirit given in response to seeking. The challenge and influence from the Latter Rain and Charismatic movements saw the bestowal of the gift without an attendant period of tarrying. While this brought a universality to the experience, it did so at the expense of depth or intensity, with a resulting weakening in the expression of prophecy. An assessment of the view of prophecy held by the early Apostolic churchmen shows that too high a level of inspiration was often credited to prophetic utterance. The possibility of human frailty corrupting the purposes of God was not countenanced to any great degree, with the result that flawed or outright erroneous decisions proceeded unchallenged: in this the role of the apostle was under-exercised. The combination of a high view of prophecy and a decreasing quality of utterance over time affected the level of guidance available to the movement. The operation of the apostle necessarily changed: previously concerned with outworking the "Word of the Lord," the function of the apostle became limited to that of superintendent minister. The inability of the first and second generation Apostolics to recognise their schismatic origins perpetuated the rigid adherence to centralism, believing it to be the divine pattern. Centralised control manifested in two spheres: finance and personnel. Initially, when the movement was small, centralism was an expedient philosophy; however, its usefulness was soon outgrown. A retarding factor for the Apostolic Church has been the lack of autonomy afforded local assemblies and the ineptitude of the centralised government, which frequently mismatched men and their roles. Currently, there exists a trend towards relationship-based apostleship, utilising the concept of networks. A particular subset of this system is the church plant where a natural line of authority exists between it and the parent church. Prophecy operating in this situation confines itself to expansion, and avoids the problem, evident in previous years, of centralised revelation initiating the relocation of personnel. The Apostolic Church will survive the 21st century by allowing greater autonomy, with the apostolic function and the prophetic voice finding expression primarily through the local assembly.</p>

Armenian Apostolic Church Under Bolshevik Ideological and Political Pressure Between 1920 and 1922

This article presents the ideological controversies that arose between the Armenian Apostolic church and the bolshevik regime following the invasion of soviet troops into Armenia. From its first days in power bolshevik authorities implemented radical steps against its ideological rival – the armenian church. Following the harsh anti-church political line of Russian bolsheviks, the soviet authorities in Armenia started a massive appropriation of Armenian church properties. The article mentions also the first attempts of the soviet administration to organize state institutions for the preservation and study of national cultural heritage.

Menuju Gereja Apostolik Transformatif

Peter Wagner, as an expert on church growth, stated that the Apostolic church is a church that is experiencing rapid growth. This claim is made because many Apostolic churches have been built around the world. The church continued the spirit of the apostles at the time of the early church's birth. However, it is important to conduct an in-depth study regarding the realization in the field; whether a thriving Apostolic church is carrying out God's mission or the personal ambition of a charismatic church leader. This study analyzes how the church which is said to be an Apostolic church runs its organization so that it experiences significant growth. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The researcher tries to explore the phenomena and data obtained through respondents about the transformative apostolic church that was developed in the ministry of the Indonesian Bethel Church of Gatot Subroto. In conclusion, GBI Gatot Subroto is a transformative apostolic church, because of several things, such as a visionary church, senior pastors or mentor pastors as apostolic leaders, divine authority and the work of the Holy Spirit have an impact, the church as a center for leadership training and discipleship across generations implements apostolic ministry followed by other gifts/services, prioritizing mission, and focusing on the Kingdom of God.AbstrakPeter Wagner, sebagai salah satu ahli pertumbuhan gereja, menyatakan bahwa gereja Apostolik adalah gereja yang mengalami pertumbuhan secara pesat. Klaim ini disampaikan karena banyak-nya terbangun gereja-gereja beraliran Apostolik di seluruh dunia. Gereja tersebut melanjutkan semangat para rasul pada masa lahirnya gereja mula-mula. Namun, penting untuk dilakukan kajian mendalam terkait realisasi di lapangan; apakah gereja Apostolik yang berkembang menja-lankan misi Allah atau ambisi pribadi dari pemimpin gereja yang berkharismatik. Penelitian ini menganalisis bagaimana gereja yang dikatakan sebagai gereja Apostolik menjalankan organisa-sinya, sehingga mengalami pertumbuhan yang signifikan. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif deskriptif. Peneliti berusaha mengeksplorasi fenomena dan data-data yang diperoleh melalui responden tentang gereja apostolik transformatif yang dikembangkan dalam pelayanan Gereja Bethel Indonesia Gatot Subroto. Kesimpu-lannya, GBI Gatot Subroto adalah gereja apostolik transformatif, karena beberapa hal, seperti: gereja yang visioner, gembala senior atau gembala pembina sebagai pemimpin kerasulan, otoritas Ilahi dan pekerjaan Roh Kudus berdampak, gereja sebagai pusat pelatihan kepemimpinan dan pemuridan lintas generasi, menerap-kan jawatan rasuli diikuti karunia-karunia/jawatan lainnya, memprioritaskan misi, dan berfokus pada Kerajaan Allah.