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Church of God and Saints of Christ

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The Church of God and Saints of Christ is a Black Hebrew Israelite new religious group established in Lawrence, Kansas, in the United States, by William Saunders Crowdy in 1896.[2] William Crowdy began congregations in several cities in the Midwestern and Eastern United States, and sent an emissary to organize locations in at least six African countries. The congregation later established locations in Cuba and the West Indies.

Church of God and Saints of Christ
Prophet[1] and founder, Crowdy, in 1907
ClassificationAbrahamic:
OrientationBlack Hebrew Israelite
Scripture
Chief RabbiPhillip Eugene McNeil
HeadquartersBelleville, Virginia, United States
TerritoryUnited States, Africa, Cuba, West Indies
FounderWilliam Saunders Crowdy
Origin1896
Lawrence, Kansas, United States
Separations
  • Church of God and Saints of Christ
  • Church of God and Saints
Tabernaclesc. 70 (as of 2005)
Official websitecogasoc.org
A current local branch of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, in Washington, D.C., known as "First Tabernacle." The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Soon after Crowdy's arrival to Washington, D.C., this building was purchased by the congregation in 1903.

Religious beliefs

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Described as keys, the religious beliefs are drawn from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament:[3]

  1.   The Church of God and Saints of Christ (I Corinthians 1:2)
  2.   Wine is forbidden to be drunk in the Church of God forever (Leviticus 10:9)
  3.   Unleavened bread and water for Christ's body and blood (Matthew 26:26–28)
  4.   Foot-Washing is a commandment (John 13:1-8)
  5.   The Disciple's Prayer must be taught (Matthew 6:9–14)
  6.   You must be breathed upon and saluted into the Church of God with a holy kiss.  (John 20:22, Romans 16:16)
  7.   The Ten Commandments must be kept forever (Exodus 20:1–18, Revelation 22:14)

Crowdy believed and taught that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God and messiah. Presently, different beliefs are practiced by other organizations who claim to be followers of William Crowdy. The main branch of the organization, headquartered in Belleville, Virginia, gravitated toward Judaism after the death of William Crowdy. Another branch, headquartered in Cleveland, OH, claims adherence to the founder's original teaching of Jesus Christ as Son of God.

The Church of God and Saints of Christ, headquartered in Belleville, describes itself as "the oldest African-American congregation in the United States that adheres to the tenets of Judaism."[4][5] The congregation subscribes to the belief in one God, love for all mankind, and the Ten Commandments as the basis for ethical and moral living.[6] It further teaches that, among the descendants of the biblical Israelites, there are peoples of African descent.[7][8] The congregation believes "in the equality of all men, and the equality of the sexes.[9] Members believe that Jesus was neither God nor the Son of God, but rather a strict adherent to Judaism and a prophet. They also consider William Saunders Crowdy to be a prophet.[1]

Religious rituals

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The Church of God and Saints of Christ synthesizes rituals drawn from both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Some of the movement's observances, such as circumscision; use of the Hebrew calendar; the wearing of kippot by men; Sabbatarianism, and celebration of Passover and other religious holy days, are loosely based on the Torah.

Its rites based on the New Testament include baptism (immersion), the consecration of bread and water as Christ's body and blood, and footwashing.[8]

Facilities

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The group established its headquarters in Philadelphia in 1899, and William S. Crowdy later relocated to Washington, D.C., in 1903.

In 1906, Crowdy named Joseph Wesley Crowdy, William Henry Plummer, and Calvin Samuel Skinner as leaders of the congregation.[10] Led by these three individuals, the organization continued to grow in membership.[11]

In 1921, William Henry Plummer moved the organization's headquarters to its permanent location in Belleville (city of Suffolk), Virginia, which was purchased by William S. Crowdy in 1903 as the intended headquarters for the organization.[12]

Howard Zebulun Plummer was consecrated by Calvin S. Skinner as head of the organization in 1931, and served for over 40 years until 1975.[13]

By 1936, the Church of God and Saints of Christ had more than 200 "tabernacles" (congregations) and 37,000 members.[12][14]

Levi Solomon Plummer became the church's leader in 1975.[15] Under the leadership of Levi Solomon Plummer, the congregation constructed a temple at its headquarters, Temple Beth El, in two phases, the first in 1980 and the second in 1987.

Afterwards, the congregation began to rebuild the headquarters land in Virginia originally purchased by William S. Crowdy.[15] In 2001, the Church of God and Saints of Christ was led by Rabbi Jehu A. Crowdy, Jr., a great-grandson of William Saunders Crowdy.[16] After the death of Crowdy, Jr., on April 10, 2016, aged 46 years,[17] Chief Rabbi Phillip Eugene McNeil took over leadership of the Church.[18]

As of 2005, it had fifty tabernacles in the United States, dozens in Africa, and one in Kingston, Jamaica.[2] The organization also manages businesses and residential properties at its headquarters in Suffolk, Virginia, including a hotel and two living communities for senior citizens.[15]

Independent branches

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As early as 1909, local branches of the organization severed their ties with the congregation, forming their own organizations.[19][20] The first of these was headed by Malinda Morris, an early and favored follower of Crowdy, and based in Newark, New Jersey (where it still exists).[21]

Today, two of the groups not affiliated with Chief Rabbi McNeil are also called the Church of God and Saints of Christ, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio,[22] and another group headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Gallagher, Eugene V. (2004). The New Religious Movements Experience in America. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 146. ISBN 0-313-32807-2.
  2. ^ a b Fox, Andrew (September 29, 2005). "Sons of Abraham". The College Hill Independent. Archived from the original on 2006-03-10. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  3. ^ "FAQ". Church of God and Saints of Christ. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Church of God and Saints of Christ". Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  5. ^ Singer, Merrill (2000). Yvonne Patricia Chireau; Nathaniel Deutsch (eds.). Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 30–31. ISBN 0-19-511257-1."The founding dates of the earliest Hebrew Israelite congregations are in dispute. Shapiro notes that F.S. Cherry's Church of God was organized in Tennessee in 1886, but other sources do not confirm this date. Another group, the Moorish Zion Temple, founded in 1899 by a Rabbi Richlieu of Brooklyn, New York, was one of the earliest Black Jewish congregations that did not combine Jewish and Christian beliefs, as did the Church of God and the Saints of Christ."
  6. ^ "Doctrinal Summary of the Church of God and Saints of Christ". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  7. ^ Kidd, Colin (2006). The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600-2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 264. ISBN 0-521-79324-6.
  8. ^ a b Singer, Merrill (2000). Yvonne Patricia Chireau; Nathaniel Deutsch (eds.). Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-19-511257-1.
  9. ^ "This we believe C". Retrieved 2017-07-22.
  10. ^ Walker, Beersheba Crowdy (1955). Life and Works of William Saunders Crowdy. Philadelphia: E.J.P. Walker Press. pp. 59–60. This book cites the appointment of William Crowdy's three successors (J. Crowdy, W. Plummer, C. Skinner) as the most significant event to take place at the nationwide Passover in 1906 held in Plainfield, NJ.
  11. ^ "Joseph Wesley Crowdy - bio". Church of God and Saints of Christ. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  12. ^ a b Wynia, Elly M. (1994). The Church of God and Saints of Christ: The Rise of Black Jews. New York: Routledge. pp. 31–34. ISBN 0-8153-1136-2.
  13. ^ Greene, Lorenzo Johnston (1996). Arvarh E. Strickland (ed.). Selling Black History for Carter G. Woodson: A Diary, 1930–1933. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-8262-1068-6.
  14. ^ Hudson, Peter (1999). "Black Jews". In Kwame Anthony Appiah; Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (eds.). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. New York: Basic Civitas Books. p. 1050.
  15. ^ a b c "Historical Timeline". Church of God and Saints of Christ. Archived from the original on 2007-08-01. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  16. ^ "Rabbi Jehu August Crowdy, Jr". Church of God and Saints of Christ. Archived from the original on 2007-08-01. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  17. ^ Kestenbaum, Sam. "When Passover Is About American Slavery". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  18. ^ "Chief Rabbi Phillip E. Mcneil". Church of God and Saints of Christ. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  19. ^ Walker, Elfreth J. P. Sr.; William S. Crowdy (1948). James M. Grove as I Knew Him. Philadelphia: E.J.P. Walker Press. This book was published from an interview the authors conducted with James M. Grove, an early follower of William S. Crowdy. Walker's wife was a granddaughter of William S. Crowdy. William "Bill" Crowdy was a grandson of "Prophet" William S. Crowdy. In this account, Grove, ordained bishop of the western district by the organization's founder, details his involvement at the center of several actions made by some to take over the congregation after the death of William S. Crowdy. Grove cites in this book that following a lawsuit pursued by Grove against Joseph Wesley Crowdy for control of the entire church, Pennsylvania courts awarded the entire congregation to Joseph W. Crowdy, and Grove as bishop of the western district, both appointments originally designated by the founder. Grove further commented that as a result of the verdict, Grove and other ministers formed their own congregation, separate from Joseph Crowdy and the leadership set up by William S. Crowdy. Grove also cited his regret for his involvement in the schism of 1909, and made an attempt to mend the ties of his organization with the parent organization in 1930 under William H. Plummer, but his plans were impeded by an automobile accident near Alexandria, VA.
  20. ^ "'Chief' J.W. Crowdy Accepted as Logical Head of Church of God and Saints of Christ". The Philadelphia Courant. Philadelphia, PA. June 28, 1913. No longer circulated. Archived at Temple University Libraries in The Urban Archives section. http://library.temple.edu/collections/urbana/?bhcp=1
  21. ^ Miller, Michael (2023). "Bishop Allan Wilson Cook (Rabbi Haling Hank Lenht), Queen Malinda Morris, and the Independent Church of God: A Missing Piece in the History of Hebrew Israelite Black Judaism". Black Theology. 21 (3): 257–274. doi:10.1080/14769948.2023.2256597. S2CID 261848365. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  22. ^ "Home". Church of God and Saints of Christ.
  23. ^ "Home". Church of God and Saints.
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