Abstract:
This article investigates the theoretical and practical effectiveness of the Uniting
Reformed Church in Southern Africa’s (URCSA) ministerial formation of the
Northern Synod. The URCSA is part of the Reformed Movement (Calvinism) that
was established by the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) of South Africa that mainly
came from the Netherlands to establish itself in South Africa and later established
ethnic churches called daughter churches into existence in terms of a racially designed
formula. After many years of the Dutch Reformed Church missionary dominance, the
URCSA constituted its first synod in 1994 after the demise of apartheid. It was only
after this synod that the URCSA through its ministerial formation tried to shake off the
legacy of colonial paternalism and repositioned itself to serve its members; however,
it fell victim to new ideological trappings. This article is based on a study that traces
some basic Reformed practices and how the URCSA Theological Seminary of the
Northern Synod dealt or failed to deal with them in its quest for the ideal theological
ministerial formation.
