South African Council of Churches
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The South African Council of Churches (SACC) is an interdenominational forum in South Africa. It was a prominent anti-apartheid organisation during the years of apartheid in South Africa. Its leaders have included
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbish ...
,
Beyers Naudé Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (10 May 1915 – 7 September 2004) was a South African Afrikaner Calvinist Dominee, theologian and the leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist. He was known simply as Beyers Naudé, or more colloquially, ...
and
Frank Chikane Frank Chikane (born 3 January 1951 in Bushbuckridge, Transvaal) is a South African civil servant, writer and cleric. He is a member of the African National Congress and moderator of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs for th ...
. It is a member of the
Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa The Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa (FOCCISA) is an international ecumenical organization. Founded in 1980 as the Fellowship of Christian Councils in East and Southern Africa, it changed to its current name in 1999. It is a memb ...
.


Values

“The South African Council of Churches exists to lead common Christian action that works for moral witness in South Africa, addressing issues of justice, national reconciliation, integrity or creation, eradication of poverty, and contributing towards the empowerment of all those who are spiritually, socially and economically marginalised.”


Leadership

The SACC is governed by a national conference that meets once every three years. The resolutions of the conference are implemented by a central committee that meets annually. The committee is chaired by either the president or a vice-president of the Council. An executive committee is elected by the central committee and meets at least four times a year. The officers of the Council include a president, vice-presidents, and a general secretary who acts as executive officer.


General Secretaries

ates need verification* Bishop
Malusi Mpumlwana Malusi Mpumlwana is a bishop of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church. Along with Steve Biko, he and his wife Thoko Mpumlwana were activists in the anti-apartheid Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republi ...
( Ethiopian Episcopal Church), 2015 – Current * Rev Mautji Pataki ( Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa), 2011– 2014 * Mr Edwin Makue (
Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa () was formed by the union of the black and coloured Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk mission churches. Main markers in the URCSA'S history In 1652 the Dutch formed a halfway station at the Cape, which ...
), 2006-2011 * Dr Molefe Tsele ( Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa), 2001–2006 * Rev Charity Majiza (
Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
), 1998–2000 * Ms
Brigalia Bam Brigalia Bam (born 1933) is an Anglican women's and social activist and writer. Personal life Brigalia Ntombemhlope Bam was born in 1933 in the former Transkei, in the Eastern Cape. Although Bam trained and worked as a teacher, she received furth ...
(
Church of the Province of South Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are loc ...
), 1994–1998 * Rev
Frank Chikane Frank Chikane (born 3 January 1951 in Bushbuckridge, Transvaal) is a South African civil servant, writer and cleric. He is a member of the African National Congress and moderator of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs for th ...
( Apostolic Faith Mission), 1987–1994 * Rev Dr CF
Beyers Naudé Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (10 May 1915 – 7 September 2004) was a South African Afrikaner Calvinist Dominee, theologian and the leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist. He was known simply as Beyers Naudé, or more colloquially, ...
(Reformed Church in Africa), 1984–1986? * Archbishop
Desmond Mpilo Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
(
Church of the Province of South Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are loc ...
), 1978–1984 * Rev John Thorne (United Congregational Church), 1977 (3 months) * Mr John Rees (
Methodist Church of Southern Africa The Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) is a large Wesleyan Methodist denomination, with local churches across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini, and a more limited presence in Mozambique. It is a member church of ...
), 1970–1977 * Archbishop Bill Burnett (
Church of the Province of South Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are loc ...
), 1967–1969


Presidents

ates need verificationBishop Ziphozihle Siwa ( Methodist Church of Southern Africa) 2014+ Current * Bishop Jo Seoka (
Anglican Church of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are l ...
), 2010–2014 * Prof. Tinyiko Sam Maluleke (Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa), 2007-2010 * Prof. Russel Botman (Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa), 2003–2007 * Presiding Bishop
Mvume Dandala Mvumelwano Mvume Dandala (born 26 October 1951 as Mvumelwano Umdandalaza) is a former presiding bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and a former head of the All Africa Conference of Churches. He was the presidential candidate of ...
(Methodist Church of Southern Africa), 1998–2003 * Bishop Sigqibo Dwane (
Order of Ethiopia The Order' of Ethiopia (''iBandla lamaTopiya'') was an African religious group from the Methodist Church which originated from the Ethiopian movement started by 18th century African theologians such as Tiyo Soga, Nehemiah Tile, Mzimba, Mangena Mok ...
), 1995–1998 * Dr Khoza Mgojo (Methodist Church of Southern Africa), 1990–1995 * Dr Manas Buthulezi (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa), 1983–1990 * Bishop Peter Storey (Methodist Church of Southern Africa), 1981–1983 * Rev SPE Sam Buti (Reformed Church in Africa), ca. 1979 * Rev John Thorne (United Congregational Church), ca. 1975–1976 * Rev A.W. Habelgaarn (
Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...
), 1971–? * Archbishop
Robert Selby Taylor Robert Selby Taylor (1 March 1909 – 23 April 1995) was an Anglican bishop in the 20th century. Selby Taylor was educated at Harrow and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Ordained in 1933, his first post was a curacy at St Olave's Church, Y ...
(
Church of the Province of South Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are loc ...
), 1968


History of the SACC


1988 bombing of Khotso House

The SACC headquarters at Khotso House in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
were destroyed by a
bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...
on August 31, 1988. The
Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
later found that State President
P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and ...
had personally ordered the bombing. Former Minister of Law and Order
Adriaan Vlok Adriaan Johannes Vlok (born 11 December 1937) is a South African former politician. He was Minister of Law and Order in South Africa from 1986 to 1991 in the final years of the apartheid era. Facing increasingly intense opposition and political ...
and several senior policemen applied for and were granted
amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...
for the bombing. The bombing party was directed by
Eugene de Kock Eugene Alexander de Kock (born 29 January 1949) is a former South African Police colonel, torturer, and assassin, active under the apartheid government. Nicknamed "Prime Evil" by the press, De Kock was the commanding officer of C10, a counterins ...
, then commander at Vlakplaas, a secret facility of the security branch of the
South African Police The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the ''de facto'' police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South Af ...
force.


Alliance with the ANC

During the anti-apartheid struggle, the SACC was in alliance with liberation movements such as the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
(ANC). In recent times, there have been claims that the ANC has marginalised the Council in favour of Pastor Ray McCauley's National Interfaith Leadership Council which the SACC was excluded from and that there are also tensions between the two organisations. The SACC has also been extremely critical of the ANC for its role in the September 2009 militia attacks on
Kennedy Road informal settlement Kennedy Road is an informal settlement in Durban (eThekwini), in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Formed in the late 1970s or early 1980s, the settlement was mentioned by the African National Congress (ANC) after the end of apart ...
calling for an independent investigation into police inaction and the release of community leaders associated with
Abahlali baseMjondolo Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, , in English: "the residents of the shacks") is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which organises land occupations, builds communes
and the Kennedy Road Development Committee.


References


External links

*
Come celebrate! 25 years of the SACC, 1968–1993


{{Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa) National councils of churches Opposition to apartheid in South Africa Organisations based in Johannesburg Religion in South Africa