Panafrican Association of Catholic Exegetes
The Association Panafricaine des Exégètes Catholiques (APECA) / Pan-African Association of Catholic Exegetes (PACE) , active since 1978 and formally established in 1987, is a Panafrican Catholic association for the study of the Bible.
History
The Jerusalem Congress of 1972 first drew attention on the study of the Bible in Africa. The origins of APECA-PACE can be traced back to a workshop Journéess Bibliques Africaines subsequently held in Kinshasa in 1978. The Association was formally founded in Yaoundé (Cameroon) in 1987.
"APECA-PACE pursues mainly two different, but inseparable objectives:
- To do scientific exegesis, by means of a rigorous application of the universally recognized methods of biblical studies;
- To do contextualized exegesis in order to answer the questions that African Christians pose to the Word of God in their particular contexts.
PACE aims thus to serve the Church of Africa in her commitment of being witness to the risen Christ, God's Word become flesh. These objectives are pursued through study congresses that are held after every two years."
Meetings
- The Jerusalem Congress on "Black Africa and the Bible / L'Afrique Noire et la Bible" (Jerusalem, Israel; April 24-30, 1972)
- 1 (1978) - APECA-PACE Congres, 1st: "Christianisme et identité africaine" (Kinshasa, Congo; December 26-30, 1978)
- 2 (1984) - APECA-PACE Congres, 2nd: "Actes des Apôtres et jeunes Eglises" (Ibadan, ; July 31 - August 3, 1984)
- 3 (1987) - APECA-PACE Congres, 3rd: "Paul et les Eglises" (Yaoundé, Cameroon; 1987)
- 4 (1989) - APECA-PACE Congres, 4th: "Communautés johanniques" (Nairobi, Nigeria; 1989)
- 5 (1991) - APECA-PACE Congres, 5th: "Universalisme et mission dans la Bible" (Abidjan, ; 1991)
- 6 (1993) - APECA-PACE Congres, 6th: "Royaume de Dieu dans les synoptiques" (Accra, ; 1993)
- 7 (1995) - APECA-PACE Congres, 7th: "Salut et révélation" (Nairobi, Nigeria; 1995)
- 8 (1997) - APECA-PACE Congres, 8th: "Eglise-Famille de Dieu et perspectives bibliques I" (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; 1997)
- 9 (1999) - APECA-PACE Congres, 9th: "Eglise-Famille de Dieu et perspectives bibliques II" (Abuja, ; September 24-30, 1999)
- 10 (2001) - APECA-PACE Congres, 10th: "Cieux nouveaux et terre nouvelle (Rev. 21:1)" (Dakar, ; 2001)
- 11 (2003) - APECA-PACE Congres, 11th: "Prophétie et prophètes dans la Bible" (Le Caire, Egypt; 2003)
- 12 (2005) - APECA-PACE Congres, 12th: "Sagesse humaine et sagesse divine dans la Bible" (Kinshasa, Congo; September 4-10, 2005)
- 13 (2007) - APECA-PACE Congres, 13th: "Poverty and Riches in the Bible: Exegetical Readings in the Context of the Church as Family of God in Africa" (Johannesburg, South Africa; September 2-8, 2007)
- 14 (2009) - APECA-PACE Congres, 14th (2009)
- 15 (2011) - APECA-PACE Congres, 15th: "Women in the Bible: Exegetical Readings in an African Context" (Lusaka, Zambia; September 5-12, 2011)
- 16 (2013) - APECA-PACE Congres, 16th (2013)