Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé was born in Roodepoort, Transvaal, on May 10 1915. He was the son of a Dutch Reformed Church Minister who fought in the Anglo-Boer War. He studied at the University of Stellenbosch before proceeding to the Theological Seminary of the NGKerk (DRC) in that same town in preparation to serve that Church. He became a minister of the Church in 1940 and married Ilse Weder that same year. He served as a minister of the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (DRC) and was soon expected to assume high office. By the late fifties the future looked bright for him in Church and in politics.

In 1960, two events changed his life's path. The Sharpeville massacre of March 21 forced him to question apartheid and the Cottesloe Consultation between the DRC and representatives of the World Council of Churches in December of that same year strengthened his opposition to his Church's support of apartheid.

He became the first editor of a new ecumenical monthly magazine, Pro Veritate in 1962. The main contribution of Dr Naudé and the paper was the opposition to the policy of apartheid and to promote the growth of the ecumenical movement in South Africa. In 1963 the Dutch Reformed Church removed his status as a minister of the church when he accepted the position of first and only Director of the multi-racial organisation the Christian Institute. In October 1977 the South Africa Government declared Pro Veritate and the Christian Institute unlawful and placed severe restrictions on Dr Naudé by means of a "banning" order. The banning order was only lifted in 1984.

Dr Naudé served as General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches from February 1985 to June 1987. In 1995 he was elected as Honorary Life President of this body. He continued as long as he was able to be active in the ecumenical field in South Africa and acted as advisor and consultant of various bodies.

Dr Naudé is known throughout the world as a fearless opponent of apartheid, a courageous man who sought justice for all people regardless of colour. He had compassion for the poor and a passion for the cause of harmony among all the people of our land. We salute his memory in commitment to the cause of reconciliation and unity.