Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: This article retrieves the historical ecumenical endeavours of David Du Plessis – the South African who ended being an American citizen and the Assemblies of God credentialed minister. From the Afrikaans community of the Apostolic Faith Mission to the World Pentecostal Fellowship, Du Plessis laboured extensively for the acceptance of the Pentecostal and Charismatic faith into the world ecumenical formations such as World Council of Churches, mainline Protestantism and the Catholic Church. Rejected by his own denomination for ecumenical engagement, he blazed the way for the current Pentecostal ecumenical participation and ecumenism. He built the legacy that has enhanced Pentecostal and Charismatic experience and made it accommodated and understood in different ecumenical formations. The legacy he left behind includes opening doors for dialogues between Pentecostals and other Christian formations, demystifying Pentecostal fears of Christian brotherhood on a global scale, and creating some synergy between Pentecostals and nonPentecostals as the fulfilment of Christ’s desire that ‘They might be One.’ Although not a theologian, Du Plessis paved the way for theology of dialogue as a way of enforcing Christian fraternity especially in impacting communities with the love of Christ.
Source: Pharos Journal of Theology
Author: Dr. Kelebogile Thomas Resane
Institution: University of the Free State
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $375
OpenAlex ID: W3202261584