in 1917 and remains to this day. While the Holy Communion had originally been celebrated separately with bread and wine, the current practice uses unleavened bread wafers which are manufactured with three drops of wine trickled onto each. The name Neuapostolische Kirche (New Apostolic Church) came into use in North America as early as 1918. A variety of names had been used there previously, including German Apostolic Church and Apostolic Church. This name was uniformly adopted in Germany in the late 1920s as well. On 25 January 1930, the day before his 25-year anniversary as Chief Apostle, he fell down the stairs in an accident and was pressed to give up his duties. He remained diligent but was finally retired by the council of apostles on 21 September 1930. He died on 23 August 1932 at the age of 84 years. In 1905, Chief Apostle Niehaus oversaw six Apostle Districts with 488 congregations. At the end of his tenure, there were twelve European Apostle Districts with about 1,600 congregations and further 200 congregations overseas. The New Apostolic Church in Germany counted 138,000 members in 1925. The initially deep ecumenical conviction, which was cultivated in the Catholic Apostolic Church and then by Heinrich Geyer, had declined over time due to heavy conflicts with other Christian denominations, perhaps because the theologian education of ministers in the Catholic Apostolic Church may have been lacking (only a few had been Catholic Apostolic ministers before), or there may have been rejection by the national churches. The lower social classes, from which important ministers were drawn, were essential for the growth of the church. Nationalistic appeals can be found in hymnaries and theological scriptures from that time. Also, significantly for that period, the church's structure became increasingly hierarchical. The most charismatic element of the Catholic Apostolic Church, prophecies, became rarer (the last oral lore dates from the 1980s) and the Prophet Ministry disappeared. In fact, a total reform of the evangelical pattern can be observed and which became apparent by expelling Catholic Apostolic influences. Setbacks in Nazi Germany The New Apostolic Church, like many other small organizations and societies, had to accept compromises with the Nazi regime to avoid being prohibited or persecuted and the New Apostolic Church was not prohibited, unlike a number of other religious communities or sects. The extent which Nazi views and attitudes were spread within the church, and whether this happened