The Catechism in Questions & Answers

607. How did the New Apostolic Church come into being?

On 10 October 1862, Priest Rudolf Rososchacky (1815-1894), the rector of the Catholic Apostolic congregation in Königsberg, was called to be an Apostle by Prophet Geyer. The Apostles of the Catholic Apostolic Church did not acknowledge this calling.
Prophet Geyer and the leader of the Catholic Apostolic congregation in Hamburg, Friedrich Wilhelm Schwartz (1815-1895) were, however, convinced that this calling had been the work of the Holy Spirit.
The congregation in Hamburg thus acknowledged the calling of this Apostle on 4 January 1863, and was excommunicated from the Catholic Apostolic Church as a result.
Thus the beginning of the New Apostolic Church dates back to January 1863. Even after Apostle Rososchacky resigned from his ministry a short time later, Geyer, Schwarz, and the Hamburg congregation remained firmly convinced that his calling had been a divine one.