View source for Original Church of God or Sanctified Church

{{distinguish|The (Original) Church of God}}
{{other uses|Church of God (disambiguation)}}
The '''Original Church of God or Sanctified Church''' is an association of [[holiness movement|holiness]] [[Christianity|Christian]] churches headquartered in [[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]]. The members and clergy of the churches are predominantly [[African-American]], though it includes people from many backgrounds. The official name of the body is The Original Church of God or Sanctified Church, General Body.<ref name="sos1">{{cite web|title=Entity Detail, Original Church of God or Sanctified Church, General Body|url=http://tnbear.tn.gov/Ecommerce/Common/FilingDetail.aspx?FilingNum=000095312|work=Business Information Search|publisher=Tennessee Secretary of State|access-date=22 October 2010}}</ref>
== History ==
The church's roots are in the [[holiness movement]]. In the 1890s a group of [[African American]] [[Baptist]] ministers, led by [[Charles Price Jones]] and [[Charles Harrison Mason]], were dismissed by the Baptist Church for preaching [[entire sanctification]]. After a number of unaffiliated revivals, a church was formed in [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], [[Mississippi]], by Jones, Mason, and others. Originally called the "Church of God", it was soon renamed the "Church of God in Christ" and had affiliated churches in a number of cities. During this time an elder of the church, Charles W. Gray formed a number of Church of God in Christ churches in and around Nashville.<ref name="melton">{{cite book|editor-last=Melton|editor-first=J. Gordon |title=Encyclopedia of American Religions, 7th Ed.|year=2003|publisher=Gale|isbn=0-7876-6384-0|pages=425}}</ref>
The Church of God in Christ split in 1907 over the issue of [[Pentecostalism]], with both the Holiness faction and the Holiness Pentecostal faction continuing to use the name "Church of God in Christ" until 1915 when the Holiness Pentecostal faction, led by Mason, incorporated under that name, [[Church of God in Christ]]. The (non-pentecostal) Holiness faction led by Jones began using the name [[Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.]], and incorporated under that name in 1920. At the time of the 1907 schism, Gray's churches also split from the Church of God in Christ. Though they were also Holiness in doctrine (opposing Pentecostalism) and were doctrinally identical to Jones' faction, they were independent from Jones' body and were congregational in organization. Gray's churches were known by the name "Church of God (Sanctified Church)".<ref name="melton" /> In 1927 the Church of God (Sanctified Church) incorporated under the name "Church of God, or Sanctified Church" (subsequently changed to "Church of God Sanctified, Incorporated") and created a board of elders as its governing body. The new board approved the ordination of women, which Gray opposed,<ref>Dupree, Sherry S., [https://books.google.com/books?id=lUjcAAAAQBAJ&dq=Elder+Gray+frowned&pg=PA254 ''African-American Holiness Pentecostal Movement: An Annotated Bibliography'', Routledge, September 13, 2013, p. 254] {{ISBN|978-0824014490}}</ref> and in that same year Gray and a group of members broke away to form a new body, the "Original Church of God or Sanctified Church."<ref name="jones">{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Charles Edwin|title=Black Holiness: A Guide to the Study of Black Participation in Wesleyan Perfectionist and Glossolalic Pentecostal Movements|year=1987|publisher=American Theological Library Association/Scarecrow|isbn=0-8108-1948-1|page=58}}</ref>  Both holiness movement-aligned bodies still exist today.<ref name="melton" /><ref name="sos2">{{cite web|title=Entity Detail, Church of God, or Sanctified Church|url=http://tnbear.tn.gov/Ecommerce/FilingDetail.aspx?FilingNum=000070452|work=Business Information Search|publisher=Tennessee Secretary of State|access-date=22 October 2010}}</ref>
Gray remained the leader of the church until his death in 1945, followed by William Crosby until 1952, and T.R. Jeffries.<ref name="histstat">{{cite web|title=Historical Statement|url=http://originalchurchofgod.net/history.htm|publisher=Original Church of God|access-date=21 October 2010}}</ref>
== Churches and membership ==
The body includes about 63 churches.<ref name="metro">{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2008-2009|url=http://www.nashville.gov/sservices/docs/annual_rpts/FY0809.pdf|publisher=Metro Social Services|access-date=21 October 2010|page=6}}</ref> As of the 1970s, it had about 5,000 members.<ref name="melton" />
==See also==
* [[Original Church of God (Pulaski, Tennessee)]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://originalchurchofgod.org Official Site]
{{coord missing|Tennessee}}
[[Category:African-American history in Nashville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:African-American churches in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Holiness denominations]]
[[Category:Historically African-American Christian denominations]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1927]]
[[Category:Protestant denominations established in the 20th century]]