Browsing by Author "Ekitala, Luka Ariko"

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    Constitution or church order? : a church judicial analysis of the church documents in the Reformed Church of East Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Ekitala, Luka Ariko; Plaatjies-Van Huffel, Mary-Anne; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA) was founded by the Dutch Reformed Church in 1944. The RCEA however deviates in its church governance from Reformed/Presbyterian church polity principles ordinarily embraced by Reformed churches across the globe. The church judicial development of the RCEA has been influenced on the one hand by the mission agencies for example the Dutch Reformed missionaries as well as the Reformed Mission League and on the other hand by the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). The researcher assessed the Constitution of the RCEA in this dissertation against the Reformed/Presbyterian church polity principles (see Chapter 3 and 5). The research tries to determine to what extent the Constitution of the RCEA is grounded in reformed church polity principles, namely: a)Self-government under the sole headship of Christ, b)The limited autonomy of the local congregation, c)The denominational ties serve the well -being of the Church, d)The restricted power and responsibilities of ecclesial assemblies, e)The necessity and nature of Christian discipline, f)Right of appeal, g)The power of the major assemblies with regard to misconduct. Three phases of the church judicial developments of the RCEA can be discern, namely i.Dependency to “mother church” 1905-1963, ii.RCEA as semi-autonomous church 1963-1991, iii.RCEA move towards self-governance 1982-1992. The researcher proposes in the dissertation amendments based on Reformed/Presbyterian church polity principles, as well as provision being made of in reformed church orders from different contexts inter alia the Church Order of Dordt (1619), the church order of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PCN), the church order of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) as well as the church order of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) which the RCEA might take into account when the denomination embark on the drafting of a new church order. The researcher concluded at the end of the dissertation that the RCEA should make provisions in the envisaged church order regarding: The ordination of women, The authority and responsibilities of the ecclesial assemblies, The confessional basis of the RCEA, The necessity and nature of Christian discipline and the right to appeal.