New Apostolic Church

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New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic church hall with emblem
Classification	Christian
Orientation	Irvingian
Theology	Restorationist
Polity	Apostolic Hierarchical
Leader	Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider
Distinct fellowships	International Apostles' Meeting District Apostles' Meeting Project Groups: -Faith Questions -Ecumenism -Music -Communication -Youth Committee for special affairs and others
Associations	Consortium of Christian Churches, Germany and Switzerland
Region	181 nations, divided into 18 District Apostle areas, Int. headquarters: Zurich
Origin	1863 Hamburg, Germany
Branched from	Catholic Apostolic Church
Separations	Restored Apostolic Mission Church, Old Apostolic Church, United Apostolic Church,
Congregations	59,816 (01/01/2016)[1]
Members	8,923,420 (01/01/2016)[1]
Ministers	256,812 (01/01/2016)[1]
Aid organization	NAK karitativ, Germany
Official website	nak.org

The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian church of the Irvingian tradition. Its origins are in 1863, in the split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during a schism in Hamburg, Germany.^[2]

The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands. It came about from the schism in Hamburg in 1863, when it separated from the Catholic Apostolic Church, which itself started in the 1830s as a renewal movement in, among others, the Anglican Church and Church of Scotland.

The Second Coming of Christ is at the forefront of the New Apostolic doctrines. Most of its doctrines are akin to mainstream Christianity and, especially its liturgy, to Protestantism, whereas its hierarchy and organisation could be compared with the Roman Catholic Church. It is a central church in the Irvingian orientation of Christianity.

The church considers itself to be the re-established continuation of the Early Church and that its leaders are the successors of the twelve apostles. This doctrine resembles Restorationism in some aspects.

The official abbreviation in English-speaking countries is NAC (for New Apostolic Church), whereas it is NAK in German (Neuapostolische Kirche), ENA in French (Église Néo Apostolique), and INA in Portuguese (Igreja Nova Apostólica) and Spanish (Iglesia Nueva Apostólica).