Communio sanctorum – gereformeerde kerkreg versus kerklike geskeidenheid:’n biografiese bibliografie van W. D. Jonker, 1955-1968.

English: This study describes and assesses the written legacy of William Daniel Jonker between 1955 and 1968. It intended to detect and examine critically the trajectory underlying his theology and thought. The rationale for the research is that Jonker, in questioning the theological justification of apartheid, took a unique position that still has not lost its actuality. The sources indicate that Jonker challenged the accepted theological justification of ecclesiastical separation in terms of the notion that Christ rules his church. In other words, a reformed church order, and reformed church polity in general, cannot provide for the kind of separation of churches as was believed and practiced by the DRC. It runs as a golden thread through all his publications between 1955 and 1968. Before a study visit to Europe at the end of 1960 Jonker, as young reformed pastor, critically addressed the people-centered denominational nature of the DRC on the basis of reformed church political principles. Crucial in this regard was his thesis: Mistieke liggaam en kerk in die nuwe Rooms-Katolieke teologie (1955: Kampen: Kok). The emphasis was on reformed ecclesiology. After the 1960/61 research visit, a shift in his thinking occurred. Jonker was now equipped with first-hand knowledge about the extensive history of theological reflection on the church government. He critiqued the structure, rules and regulations of the DRC's policy of ecclesiastical separation in terms of the rule of Christ in his church. This was the crux of the matter: the rule of Christ do not provide for ecclesiastical separation. The shift from ecclesiology to Christology in this regard is fundamental. The 1965 publication Om die regering van Christus in sy kerk (Pretoria: Unisa), based on his 1960/61 research, embodied a wholly exceptional theological contribution to the debate on how the true church should be structured with integrity in South Africa. Jonker thus made a significant contribution to the history of the reformed theology in South Africa.