South African church and mission leader.

Born in Roodepoort, Transvaal, in a Dutch Reformed parsonage, Naude studied theology at the University of Stellenbosch. He served as pastor in various prestigious congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), was a prominent member of the secret Afrikaner Broederbond, and was elected moderator of the Transvaal Synod of the DRC. After founding the Christian Institute (CI) at Johannesburg in August 1963, he was forced to resign as moderator, and his clergy status was denied. The CI became very influential in the struggle against apartheid, especially through its Study Project on Christianity in an Apartheid Society. In October 1977 Naude and the CI were banned by the South African government. The banning order was lifted in 1984, after which he served a term as general secretary of the South African Council of Churches.

Willem Saayman

Bibliography

An appraisal of Naude’s work with full bibliography appears in Charles Villa-Vicencio and John W. De Gruchy, eds., Resistance and Hope: South African Essays in Honor of Beyers Naude (19685). An evaluation of the important role played by the CI appears in Peter Walshe, Church Versus State in South Africa (1983). See also P. Randall, ed., Not Without Honor: Tribute to Beyers Naude (1982).

This article is reproduced, with permission, from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, copyright © 1998, by Gerald H. Anderson, W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. All rights reserved.