The Most Reverend Timothy Paul | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of the Holy Communion of Churches | |
| |
| Installed | September 2007 |
| Term ended | Incumbent |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | August, 1999 by Peter Paul Brennan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Timothy Baymon |
| Spouse | Sandra Baymon |
Timothy Paul (secular name Timothy Baymon) [1] is the first patriarch of the Holy Communion of Churches (also known as the Holy Christian Orthodox Church), a Christian denomination embracing the Convergence Movement. [2] Serving a third consecutive term as president of the World Bishops Council, an ecumenical body of Christian churches and their prelates, [3] [4] he also became senior pastor of the Christian Cathedral in Springfield, Massachusetts. [5] [6]
Timothy Paul was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and raised in the Church of God in Christ, a historically Black Christian denomination.
Archbishop Timothy has served in various community boards. [7] Paul joined the New England Partners in Faith, [8] serving two terms as president of the Council of Churches of Western Massachusetts.
In 2003, Archbishop Timothy and the World Bishops Council denounced universalism, and also publicly criticized the teachings of Carlton Pearson, whom the council judged to be heretical. [9]
In 2004, Paul signed a letter with 28 other religious leaders in support of religious freedom in Iraq. [10] Representing the World Bishops Council at the United Nations Department of Public Information / Non-Governmental Organization Conference, now known as the United Nations Civil Society Conference, Paul urged Christians to "become greater stewards of the earth" by conserving energy, reducing greenhouse gases and deforestation, and creating public and private partnerships which will lead to renewable energy sources. [3]
Paul founded Epiphany Development Corporation, which, in 2006, announced the planned construction of a $10 million boutique hotel at the Epiphany Tower building in Springfield, Massachusetts. [11] [12] In 2017, Timothy and the Holy Communion of Churches filed a lawsuit against the Epiphany Tower owner. [13] In 2018, the hotel planned by Timothy and his church opened. [14]
The Holy Communion of Churches is a predominantly Black Christian denomination established in the United States of America. As part of the Convergence Movement, [2] it gleams toward Eastern Christianity and Pentecostalism, and ordains women to the presbyterate and episcopate—a practice deemed uncanonical by the mainstream Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches in union with Rome.