Abstract:
The Church Unity Commission (CUC) was established in 1968 by a group of mainline
English-speaking churches and two black churches in order to participate in the search
for union. They were the Church of the Province of Southern Africa the United
Congregational Church of South Africa, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South
Africa, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, the Presbyterian Church of Southern
Africa and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. These CUC churches
have long since given up the prime goal of full organic unity. One constant difficulty,
related to the polity issue of ministry, has overshadowed attempts at union. Five
denominations had a conciliar system, while the other was episcopal. One of the five has
subsequently adopted episcopacy. Despite this, significant advances have been made in
attitudes towards ministry in recent years. The purpose of this article is to investigate the
role of denominational differences in ministry practice during the first 15 years of the
CUC’s existence, discuss how these have shaped current practice and assess how they
can determine future developments.
