Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas
Encyclopedia
Holiness movement
The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...
-Pentecostal Christian denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Originating when the African American members of the integrated Fire-Baptized Holiness Church
Fire-Baptized Holiness Church
The Fire-Baptized Holiness Church was a radical holiness Christian denomination in North America and was involved in the early formation of Pentecostalism. Founded in 1895, it merged with the Pentecostal Holiness Church in 1911, forming a new denomination now known as the International Pentecostal...
withdrew to form their own organization, the church was founded at Greer, South Carolina
Greer, South Carolina
Greer is a city in Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, between the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg. The population was 25,515 at the 2010 census. It is projected to hit 30,000 within 4 years. Each day, more than three times that number of people pass...
in 1908.
History
The church was founded by Benjamin Hardin Irwin and Bishop William Edward Fuller, Sr. (1875–1958). The Fire-Baptized Holiness Association originated in IowaIowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
in 1895 under the leadership of Benjamin H. Irwin of Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
. Irwin expanded this into a national organization as the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church at Anderson, South Carolina
Anderson, South Carolina
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was estimated at 26,242 in 2006, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 70,530...
in August 1898. At age 23, William E. Fuller, Sr., a member of the African-American New Hope Methodist Church, attended the founding of that body in 1898. Blacks and whites were admitted with equality. Fuller returned to New Hope from the 1898 meeting, resigned his offices, turned in his license, and cast his lot with the Fire-Baptized Holiness. After Irwin left the church in 1900, Joseph Hillery King became the general overseer. Fuller served as Assistant General Overseer to King in 1905.
Acting on what he thought was a trend toward segregation, Fuller led about 500 members to organize the Colored Fire Baptized Holiness Church in 1908 in Greer, South Carolina. The True Witness periodical was established in 1909. On June 8, 1926 the name Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas was adopted.
The Anglo-American division of the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church merged with the Pentecostal Holiness Church on 30 January 1911 in Falcon, North Carolina
Falcon, North Carolina
Falcon is a town in Cumberland and Sampson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 328 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Falcon is located at ....
, to form what is now known as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church
International Pentecostal Holiness Church
The International Pentecostal Holiness Church or simply Pentecostal Holiness Church is a Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1911 with the merger of two older denominations. Traditionally centered in the Southeastern United States, particularly the Carolinas and Georgia, the Pentecostal...
.
Structure and beliefs
The church government of the organization is episcopalEpiscopal polity
Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...
. Bishops are the highest officials of the church, and preside over divisions called dioceses. The sacraments of the church are baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
and the Lord's Supper. Feet washing
Feet washing
Foot washing or washing of feet is a religious rite observed as an ordinance by several Christian denominations. The name, and even the spelling, of this practice is not consistently established, being variously known as foot washing, washing the saints' feet, pedilavium, and mandatum.For some...
, matrimony, and funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
s are considered ordinances. Women can be licensed to preach and serve as pastors.
The church headquarters and school are located in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
. In 2003 the Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God had about 160 congregations, mostly on the east coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but also including one church each in Canada, England, and the Virgin Islands, and 15 congregations in Jamaica.