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Joseph W. Tkach (; March 16, 1927 – September 23, 1995) was the appointed successor of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God. Tkach became President and Pastor General of the church upon the death of Armstrong in 1986. Tkach spearheaded a major doctrinal transformation of the Worldwide Church of God, abandoning Armstrong's unconventional doctrines and bringing the church into accord with mainstream evangelical Christianity. His son, Joseph Tkach Jr., continued his work and in 1997 the Worldwide Church of God became a member of the National Association of Evangelicals. During Tkach's tenure, the changes that he implemented stirred much controversy and significant dissent among those who continued to follow Armstrong's theology. The dissenters labeled the changes as heresy and many left to form new church organizations. Within the mainstream Christian community, some have hailed Tkach's reforms, which brought a church from the fringe to orthodoxy, as unprecedented.〔Ruth Tucker, "From the Fringe to the Fold", ''Christianity Today'', July 15, 1996, pp. 26–32.〕 ==Background== Joseph W. Tkach was born March 16, 1927, in Chicago, the youngest of five children and the only son of Vassil and Mary Tkach. The name Tkach 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=A Brief History of the Worldwide Church of God )〕 is of Carpatho-Rusyn (Ukrainian) origin though his parents were originally from Czechoslovakia.〔Telephone interview with Anna Bregin, sister of Joseph W. Tkach, as quoted in John Trechak, ("Joseph W. Tkach - God's New Rep on Planet Earth (Part 1)" ), ''Ambassador Report'', Issue 41, March 1989. See also John Trechak, ("Joseph W. Tkach... (Part IV)" ), ''Ambassador Report'', Issue 44, June 1990.〕 The neighborhood where he grew up was composed mainly of blue-collar working people of Russian origin.〔John Trechak,( "Joseph W. Tkach - God's New Rep on Planet Earth (Part 1)" ), ''Ambassador Report'', Issue 41, March 1989.〕 He graduated from Tilden High School in southwest Chicago. He then served a short term in the U.S. Navy near the end of World War II and afterward returned to his native Chicago.〔Joseph Tkach Jr., ''Transformed by Truth'', Chapter 6, Multnomah, 1997.〕 On March 31, 1951, Tkach married Elaine Apostolos; they had three children: Joseph Jr., Tanya, and Jennifer.〔Jeff Zhorne and Michael Snyder, "Passing the Baton", ''The Worldwide News'', January 27, 1986, as quoted in John Trechak, ("Joseph W. Tkach - God's New Rep on Planet Earth (Part 1)" ), ''Ambassador Report'', Issue 41, March 1989.〕 Tkach grew up in the Russian Orthodox faith, but eventually his family, including his parents, became interested in the Radio Church of God through the radio broadcast of Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the church.〔 The Radio Church of God would eventually change its name in 1968 to the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), the church that Tkach would lead. It was a church characterized by the strong influence of its founder and his unique doctrines based on his own interpretation of the Bible. Initially Tkach was the only member of his family who was not interested in listening to the radio broadcasts. However, a purportedly miraculous event was to change him. At the time, Tkach suffered from severe ulcers and was required to stay on a special diet. His wife then suggested that God would heal him if he were to become a minister in Armstrong's church. Although skeptical, he accepted the suggestion of becoming a minister and he found himself cured, never again to suffer from the ulcers.〔 He was baptized by Radio Church of God minister, Dean Blackwell, on March 1, 1957. On June 7, 1961, Blackwell ordained him a deacon in the Chicago congregation, and on June 3, 1963, Roderick C. Meredith, who would eventually lead a breakaway church from the WCG, ordained him as an elder.〔Jeff Zhorne and Michael Snyder, "Passing the Baton", ''The Worldwide News'', January 27, 1986, as quoted in John Trechak, "Joseph W. Tkach - God's New Rep on Planet Earth (Part 1)", ''Ambassador Report'', Issue 41, March 1989.〕 In 1966 Tkach moved his family to Pasadena, California, where he enrolled in classes at Ambassador College, a state-approved, but not regionally accredited, college that was sponsored by the WCG. In 1974 he was ordained to the rank of preaching elder.〔John Trechak, ("Joseph W. Tkach - God's New Rep on Planet Earth (Part II)" ), ''Ambassador Report'', Issue 42, September 1989.〕 Armstrong taught that the Bible endorsed "ranks" in the ministry, and elders could progress up the ladder from local elder to preaching elder to pastor to evangelist. The highest rank, apostle, was reserved for the leader of the church.〔John Robinson, "How WCG's Top-Down Rule Evolved" In Transition, December 16, 1996, 7, as quoted in Joseph Tkach Jr., ''Transformed by Truth'', Chapter 7, Multnomah, 1997.〕 In the late 1970s a period of financial and leadership disputes occurred within the church hierarchy, with church treasurer, Stanley Rader, at the center of many of the disputes. The gravest incident was when the church was placed in financial receivership by the Attorney General of California, George Deukmejian, an action that was later disallowed in court. During this period Tkach took an active role in the defense of Armstrong, Rader, and the church headquarters' operations. He rallied the WCG membership to take action against the court proceedings. Armstrong recognized his effectiveness and subsequently, he ordained him to the rank of evangelist on September 27, 1979.〔〔"Evangelists ordained in Tucson", ''The Worldwide News'', October 29, 1979, p. 3.〕 See Evangelists of the Worldwide Church of God. In March 1981 Armstrong appointed him to the WCG's advisory council of elders, and eventually Armstrong named him Director of Church Administration, one of the most prominent administrative positions under Armstrong himself.〔John Trechak, "Joseph W. Tkach - God's New Rep on Planet Earth (Part II)", ''Ambassador Report'', Issue 42, September 1989.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Joseph W. Tkach」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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