Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (more commonly known as Beyers Naudé or simply Oom Bey (Uncle Bey) in Afrikaans) (10 May 1915 - 7 September 2004) was an Afrikaner-South African cleric, theologian and anti-apartheid activist. Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Afrikaners are white South Africans of predominantly Calvinist Dutch, German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloon descent who speak Afrikaans. ... A cleric is: A member of the clergy of a religion, especially one that has trained or ordained priests, preachers, or other religious professionals; or A member of a character class in Dungeons & Dragons and similar fantasy role-playing games. ... Theology is literally reasonable discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Apartheid (International Phonetic Alphabet or in English and in Afrikaans) is the policy and the system of laws implemented and continued by White minority governments in South Africa from 1948 to 1990; and by extension any legally sanctioned system of racial segregation. ...

One of eight children, he was born in Roodepoort, Transvaal but grew up in Cape Town. He was named after a general his father had served under during the second Anglo-Boer War. Naudé studied theology at the University of Stellenbosch, where one of his teachers was the future prime minister (and driving force behind so-called grand apartheid) H.F. Verwoerd. Roodepoort is a city in Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... Flag of Transvaal The Transvaal was one of the provinces of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. ... Missing image The central area of Cape Town as seen from Table Mountain. ... Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War There were two Boer wars, one in 1880-81 and the second from October 11, 1899-1902 both between the British and the settlers of Dutch origin (called Boere, Afrikaners or Voortrekkers) in South Africa that put an end to the two independent... Stellenbosch University is an internationally recognised university which is situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. ... Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (8 September 1901 - 6 September 1966) was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1958 to 1966, when he was assassinated. ...

Beyers Naudé's father was an Afrikaner cleric and a founder of the Broederbond ("Brotherhood" or "League of Brothers" in Afrikaans), a powerful Afrikaner male secret society which played a dominant role in apartheid South Africa. The Broederbond became especially synonymous with the Afrikaner-dominated National Party that won power in 1948 and started to implement the racial segregation policy of apartheid. The Afrikanerbond or, formerly, the Afrikaner Broederbond, is an organisation which promotes the interests of the Afrikaners. ... The National Party (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of South Africa from 1948 until 1994, and was disbanded in 2005. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Like his father, Naudé became a cleric in the South African Dutch Reformed Church and joined the Broederbond, preaching a religious justification for apartheid. However, he began to doubt the religious justification for apartheid after attending interracial church services in the 1950's. After the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960 (during which the South African police killed 69 blacks protesting restrictions on their freedom of movement), his faith in his church's teachings was completely shattered; he was alone among his church's delegates in supporting a landmark proclamation in the same year by the World Council of Churches that rejected any theological basis for apartheid. The Dutch Reformed Church or Netherlands Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (NHK)) is a denomination of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin. ... The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, when South African police opened fire on a crowd of black protesters. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The World Council of Churches (or WCC) is the principal international Christian ecumenical organization. ...

As a result of his actions, Naudé was put under enormous pressure by the Afrikaner political and church establishment and he thus subsequently quit both his church post and Johannesburg congregation as well as resigned from the Broederbond in 1963. The Dutch Reformed Church later left the World Council of Churches. In 1980, Naudé was admitted as a cleric to the Dutch Reformed church's black African affiliate. 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

During the three decades subsequent to his resignation, Naudé's vocal support for racial reconciliation and equal rights led to upheavals in the Dutch Reformed Church as well as police surveillance of his private life. He became an underground supporter of the anti-apartheid resistance and helped to move its members in and out of the country. From 1977 to 1984, the South African government declared him a "banned person" (which meant a de facto form of house arrest), that severely restricted his movements and interactions with others. 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After his unbanning in 1985, he succeeded Archbishop Desmond Tutu as chairman of the South African Council of Churches. Naudé was also the only Afrikaner member of the African National Congress delegation during the negotiations in the early 1990's with the National Party government which led to the transition to democracy. 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Archbishop Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born October 7, 1931) is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s through his opposition to apartheid. ... The African National Congress (ANC), originally (until 1923) South African Native National Congress, has been South Africas governing party since the establishment of majority rule in May 1994. ...

Despite his long association with the African National Congress, Naudé never actually joined the party. This fact, as well as the constant ill health he suffered from during the last few years of his life, caused him to be politically sidelined.

His official state funeral took place on Saturday 18 September 2004, with President Thabo Mbeki and other dignitaries and high-ranking ANC officials in attendance. Naudé's ashes were scattered in the township of Alexandra, just outside Johannesburg. A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The President of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africas Constitution. ... President Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (born June 18, 1942) is the President of the Republic of South Africa. ... The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. ... Alexandra (sometimes nicknamed Alex) is a township located in Gauteng province, South Africa. ... Johannesburg skyline at night with the Crown Interchange in the foreground Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa and the second most populous city in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind Lagos. ...

He was survived by his wife Ilse and four children.

In 2004 he was voted 36th in the Top 100 Great South Africans (see List of South Africans) Top 100 Great South Africans In September 2004, thousands of South Africans took part in an informal nationwide poll to determine the 100 Greatest South Africans of all time. ...