Other players still need to be brought into peace talks among the divided St John Apostolic Faith Mission Church, according to the South African Council of Churches (SACC).
The church and two splinter groups, which are the result of feuding that has gone on for about 30 years, met SACC peace brokers, led by former Truth and Reconciliation Commission chairperson Archbishop Desmond Tutu, on Tuesday.
SACC programme director for reconciliation Reverend Luke Pato said Tuesday’s meeting has started the process of resolving the feud.
”It will involve a meeting of parties that were not here today and any other stakeholders within St John.”
Pato would not elaborate on who the stakeholders might be.
The next meeting is set for September 13.
Meanwhile, one of the splinter groups had spent the day in the Pretoria High Court having taken legal action against another.
Pato called Tuesday’s meeting ”amicable” and said delegates were appreciative of the attention of a high-profile personality such as Tutu.
Pato added that the SACC has held three meetings with the splinter groups this year.
”We are constructing the background for ourselves. It is complex,” he said.
The church experienced its first split in 1970, resulting in Archbishop Petrus Masando becoming its president, a position regarded within the church hierarchy as superior to that of archbishop.
”Since then, the church has experienced a number of disputes, culminating in the recent tensions that have seen property being destroyed and lives threatened,” read a SACC statement. — Sapa