Fonds AG3215 - Koinonia records

Identity area

Reference code

ZA HPRA AG3215

Title

Koinonia records

Date(s)

  • 1984 - 1994 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

Context area

Name of creator

Administrative history

The roots of the Koinonia movement lay in the South African Christian Leadership Assembly (1979) and in the meal groups organized by Dr Nico Smith, a Dutch Reformed minister, when he went to minister to a black congregation in Mamelodi in 1982. The Koinonia movement in South Africa began in Pretoria in 1986 when Dr Nico Smith challenged a group of concerned white Christians in Pretoria to initiate a movement that would bring about reconciliation between the alienated races in Apartheid South Africa. Koinonia South Africa came into being as a result of this challenge, and the Rev. Ivor Jenkins was appointed as its first full-time national coordinator. Initial funding came from the Swiss-based organization, Christian Solidarity International.

Koinonia is a Greek word meaning "fellowship" and this was the central tenet of Koinonia's mission - to encourage "fellowship" between white and non-white Christians. The effort centered on the "meal group" concept - small, racially mixed groups would meet in each others' homes to share a meal and thus begin to break down the barriers that had grown up between the races.

Theologically, Koinonia was predicated on the belief that justice, equality and reconciliation are central tenets of Christianity, and that each individual needed to be treated with dignity and respect irrespective of race. Politically, Koinonia was dedicated to the pursuit of a non-racial, democratic dispensation for all the peoples of South Africa.

The records in this collection reflect the workings of Koinonia throughout South Africa and abroad as it sought to achieve the following aims:

On the spiritual level, to integrate believers of all races into one body

On the family level, to promote the practice of fellowship and mutual support

On the leadership level, to facilitate cooperation between religious leaders of the different race groups

On the social-structural level, to explore non-violent means of effecting reconciliation

On the ideological level, to address the problems faced by the oppressed on the basis of Christian principles

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Preferred citation: Copyright Historical Papers Research Archive, The Library, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related genres

Related places