Pentecostal Churches of Christ | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | PCC |
Type | Western Christian |
Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Pentecostal |
Theology | Oneness Pentecostalism |
Presiding Prelate | Darryl D. Woodson |
Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
Founder | J. Delano Ellis |
Branched from | United Pentecostal Churches of Christ |
The Pentecostal Churches of Christ (PCC) is a Protestant Christian denomination in the Oneness Pentecostal tradition. [1] The Pentecostal Churches of Christ self-identify as "Anglican-Apostolic". [1] The Pentecostal Churches of Christ was founded and initially led by Bishop J. Delano Ellis, [2] [3] and its national cathedral is in Cleveland, Ohio, United States while the seat of its primate is currently Memphis, Tennessee. [4] [5]
Following a meeting on May 29, 1992, convened in Ohio by Bishop Ellis, several congregations affiliated together as the United Pentecostal Churches of Christ. [6] [7] The then newly formed United Pentecostal Churches of Christ recognized Bishop Ellis as their general overseer and president on August 22, 1992. Bishop Ellis continued in this role with United Pentecostal Churches of Christ for twelve years until he resigned in June 2004. [8] [9]
As of 2014, at least two distinct Pentecostal Christian denominations look to the May 29, 1992 meeting convened by Bishop J. Delano Ellis as their starting-point or as a particular landmark on their journey, and that regard the first twelve or more years of the United Pentecostal Churches of Christ as part of their history. These two are the Pentecostal Churches of Christ and United Covenant Churches of Christ; the Pentecostal Churches of Christ also regards 1935 as its year of organization through the Pentecostal Church of Christ in Cleveland. [10] [11] [12] [7] When Bishop Garnes was installed as presiding bishop of United Covenant Churches of Christ on October 30, 2009, Bishop Ellis was chief installer at the ceremony of installation. [13]
In 2020, after the death of Bishop J. Delano Ellis, Bishop Darryl D. Woodson was elected as second presiding prelate for the Pentecostal Churches of Christ. [9] [14]
The Pentecostal Churches of Christ is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination, adhering to a form of Modalistic Monarchianism. Within the PCC, baptism is also done only in Jesus name. The denomination also believes in divine healing and considers the Lord's Supper as a sacrament. [1] Additional essentials to its doctrine has been the adoption of an episcopal-presbyterial polity, governed by a house of bishops and board of overseers. [15] [16] Through the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops, the PCC claims their founder's holy orders (see also: J. Delano Ellis succession claims, and apostolic succession).
Church of God is a name used by numerous denominational bodies. The largest denomination with this name is the Church of God.
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and a large Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly African-American membership based within the United States. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. The current Presiding Bishop is Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who is the Senior Pastor of the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ of Detroit, Michigan. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021. On November 12, 2024, Bishop Sheard was re-elected by acclamation to serve another four-year term as the presiding bishop and chief apostle of the denomination.
Charles Edward Blake Sr. is an American minister and retired pastor who served as the Presiding Bishop and leader of the Church of God in Christ, a 6 million-member Holiness Pentecostal denomination, from 2007 to 2021. On March 21, 2007, he became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ.
The Church of God, with headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee, United States, is an international Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination. The Church of God's publishing house is Pathway Press.
Oneness Pentecostalism is a nontrinitarian religious movement within the Protestant Christian family of churches known as Pentecostalism. It derives its name from its teaching on the Godhead, a form of Modalistic Monarchianism commonly referred to as the Oneness doctrine. The doctrine states that there is one God―a singular divine spirit with no distinction of persons―who manifests himself in many ways, including as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This stands in sharp contrast to the mainstream doctrine of three distinct, eternal persons posited by Trinitarian theology.
The Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship (FGBCF) or Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International (FGBCFI) is a predominantly African-American, Charismatic Baptist denomination established by Bishop Paul Sylvester Morton—a Gospel singer and former National Baptist pastor. Founded as a response to traditional black Baptists upholding cessationism, Full Gospel Baptists advocate for the operation of Charismatic Christian spiritual gifts, while also holding to some traditional Baptist doctrine.
The Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) is a Holiness Pentecostal Christian Church. It is one of six Church of God bodies headquartered in Cleveland, Tennessee that arose from a small meeting of believers who gathered at the Holiness Church at Camp Creek near the Tennessee/North Carolina border on Saturday, June 13, 1903. The Church of God of Prophecy has congregations and missions in over 135 countries, with a membership of over 1,500,000. Membership in the United States as of 2010 was 98,407 in 1,743 churches. Ministries of the Church include homes for children, bible training institutes, youth camps, ministerial aid, and Spirit and Life Seminary. The Church operates Fields of the Wood, a Bible theme park and popular tourist attraction, near Murphy, North Carolina.
The Church of God is a holiness Pentecostal body that descends from the Christian Union movement of Richard Spurling, A. J. Tomlinson and others. They consider themselves officially The Church of God, but also designate themselves as The Church of God (1957 Reformation) and The Church of God (Jerusalem Acres), which is the name of their headquarters.
Bishop Charles Harrison Mason Sr. was an American Holiness–Pentecostal pastor and minister. He was the founder and first Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, based in Memphis, Tennessee. It developed into what is today the largest Holiness Pentecostal church denomination and one of the largest predominantly African-American Christian denominations in the United States.
Gilbert Earl Patterson was an American Holiness Pentecostal leader and pastor. He served as the founding pastor of the Temple of Deliverance COGIC Cathedral of Bountiful Blessings, one of the largest COGIC churches in the Eastern United States, from 1975 to 2007. He also served as the Presiding Bishop the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), a 6 million-member Holiness Pentecostal denomination from 2000 to 2007.
Jesse Delano Ellis, II, commonly known as J. Delano Ellis, was an American Protestant religious leader and progenitor of unity among African American Pentecostals with Trinitarian and nontrinitarian affinities.
Paul Sylvester Morton is an American Baptist pastor, Gospel singer and author. He is also a founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship.
Ozro Thurston Jones Sr. was a Holiness Pentecostal denomination leader and minister, who was the second Senior Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc. (1962–1968), succeeding Bishop Charles Harrison Mason, who was the founder. The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is the fourth largest denomination in the United States, being in the Holiness Pentecostal tradition.
James Oglethorpe Patterson Jr. was a Holiness Pentecostal minister in the Church of God in Christ and a former mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, the first African-American to hold the office.
Chandler David Owens Sr. was an American minister and Holiness Pentecostal denomination leader of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), for which he served as the Presiding Bishop from 1995 to 2000, after the death of Bishop Louis Henry Ford.
The United Covenant Churches of Christ or United Covenant Churches of Christ International is a Holiness Pentecostal denomination in the United States of America.
United Pentecostal Churches of Christ was a name used from 1992 until at least 2004 as the name of a Holiness Pentecostal denomination in the United States of America. Formed during 1992 as a result of a meeting convened by J. Delano Ellis, at least two Christian denominations claim descent from this organization: the Pentecostal Churches of Christ, and the United Covenant Churches of Christ. By the time of its founder's retirement, the denomination had 17 bishops, 300 churches, and approximately 500,000 members.
Barnett Karl Thoroughgood was an African-American Holiness Pentecostal minister and church leader of the Church of God in Christ. He was an influential pastor in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the Hampton Roads area of Virginia known for his public service and who served as the Commissioner of Ecclesiastical Services and the Former Adjutant General of the COGIC denomination from 2001 until his death in 2012.
John Drew Sheard Jr. is an American pastor and minister from Detroit, Michigan, who is the current presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, a 6 million-member predominantly African-American Holiness Pentecostal denomination that has now grown to become one of the largest African-American Pentecostal denominations in the United States.
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