Christ's Sanctified Holy Church: Difference between revisions
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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* {{official website|http://www.cshc.org}} |
* {{official website|http://www.cshc.org}} |
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* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5t-eqJZHs0&feature=youtu.be| Campmeeting from Above 2015] |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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Revision as of 03:16, 18 November 2015
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Christ's Sanctified Holy Church is a holiness denomination located primarily in the Southeastern United States. The group was organized on February 14, 1892, when members of the Methodist Episcopal Church on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, under the leadership of Joseph B. Lynch, became convinced that they could not be saved without experiencing the "second blessing," i.e. entire sanctification.[1] Christ's Sanctified Holy Church grew significantly during the first part of the 20th century as members traveled across the country preaching the doctrines of holiness and sanctification. At its early stages the movement was known as the Sanctified Band, Sanctification Band, or Lynchites.
History
The group drew attention for its unusual practices: they lived in houseboats based on the Biblical Ark,.[2] The community's belief in sanctification was taken to mean that acts that would normally be sinful are not sinful to the sanctified, and thus they had customs which their neighbors interpreted as free love and bigamy such as the "watch mate" practice where spouses from different married couples would spend time alone together.[3] Members of the movement were killed by local vigilantes, and Lynch, Collins, and two other men were arrested for free love offenses, and jailed and fined by the authorities. The precipitated a migration of Lynch's followers out of the area, selling their possessions and relocating to other Southern states.[4]
During World War I, the church encouraged its members to seek jobs in the shipyards to avoid conscription, as their beliefs prohibited military service.[5]
Beliefs
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The church teaches that salvation is a two-step process consisting of conversion (repentance and forgiveness of sins) and sanctification (the indwelling of the Holy Spirit) which cleanses the believer from all sin. Believers are then expected to live clean, holy lives. Other doctrines include the inspiration of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ, and the existence of a literal heaven and hell. It is the practice of the CSHC to use the King James Version of the Bible. Singing is a cappella, with spontaneous preaching and prayer. The church is firmly within the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. Salvation is considered an act of free will on the part of the believer.[6] Women may preach and teach in the assembly.[7] It does not pass around a collection plate, or ask for offerings during a church service. In addition, no clergy position or ministry worker is ever given monetary compensation for their work, as this work is assumed to be voluntary and without pay.
The church was a product of the "anti-ordinance" controversy that arose within the holiness movement during the 1890s. Lynch and others believed that the traditional ordinances of the church – namely, water baptism, Communion, and footwashing – were no longer necessary for believers. The church takes literally the words in Ephesians 4:5, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism", believing the "one baptism" for believers to be the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of physical resurrection of the dead was also rejected in favor of a spiritual resurrection taking place at sanctification. This places the church within the Preterist fold eschatologically.
Present activities
The church maintains a cemetery and campground in Perry, Georgia, and hosts an annual camp meeting during the month of July. The church also operates a home for the elderly. Membership today is largely confined to seventeen congregations located in Virginia, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.[6]
Related movements
In the late 1800s members of the movement fled Chincoteague after violent attacks due to their heterodox beliefs. In 1904 several members of the movement arrived in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, and worked with African American Methodists there. This inspired the 1904 formation of the Christ's Sanctified Holy Church Colored.[1][4] The group later dropped the "Colored" from their name, but maintained a separate existence from the main CSHC body.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b Arthur Carl Piepkorn (September 1979). Profiles in belief: the religious bodies of the United States and Canada. Harper & Row. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-06-066581-4. Cite error: The named reference "Piepkorn1979" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Special to The New York Times. (2012-06-10). "LYNCH'S SANCTIFIED BAND - A Religious Sect Found in Some of the Southern States. THEIR FLOATING HOMES Strange Doctrines of a Creed Claimed to Have Come Through Revelation - Bigamy Practiced by Them. - Article - NYTimes.com". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
- ^ "Papers Past — Oxford Observer — 3 April 1897 — SANCTIFIED ARKITES". Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
- ^ a b Edward L. Ayers (27 October 1994). Southern Crossing: A History of the American South, 1877-1906. Oxford University Press. pp. 208–. ISBN 978-0-19-028218-9.
- ^ Jay Beaman; Brian K. Pipkin (30 August 2013). Pentecostal and Holiness Statements on War and Peace. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 72–. ISBN 978-1-61097-908-5.
- ^ a b CSHC official website
- ^ Frank Spencer Mead; Samuel S. Hill (1995). Handbook of Denominations in the United States. Abingdon Press.
- ^ Estrelda Alexander (3 May 2011). Black Fire: One Hundred Years of African American Pentecostalism. InterVarsity Press. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-0-8308-2586-8.