Fellowship of Christ

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Community of Christ logo
auditorium
Independence Temple

The Community of Christ ( Community of Christ ) is a Christian community within Mormonism , which emerged from the original Mormon Church after 1844 in the US. Until 2001 it was called Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, RLDS) . It emerged from a collection of members of the family of Joseph Smith and is the legally recognized successor in title to the Church of Christ, originally founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 . It is closer in doctrine and practice to the non-Mormon churches than the largest Mormon church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .

history

The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) was organized in the 1850s by Mormons who did not Brigham Young , the second prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints recognized as prophets. Unlike Young's group, they had not gone to Utah in 1847 , but stayed in the American Midwest , especially in western Missouri and in eastern Kansas , around Kansas City . After a good decade of fragmentation, they finally rallied in 1859 around Joseph Smith III (1832–1914), eldest son of Mormon church founder Joseph Smith Jr. The founding day of the Church is April 6, 1860, the thirtieth anniversary of Joseph Smith Jr.'s original church organization; for on that day Joseph Smith III officially assumed leadership of the Church following a conference in Amboy, Illinois . At that time it had 343 members. Missionary work began in 1863 and by 1880 the Church had 10,000 members. Its headquarters were initially in Plano, Illinois, and then in Lamoni, Iowa , until it was relocated to Independence in the US state of Missouri, not far from Kansas City, in 1920 . The main building of the church was the auditorium, completed in 1962 , until the inauguration of the temple in Independence (1994) . The RLDS was renamed Community of Christ in 2001 .

The Fellowship of Christ is now the second largest denomination within Mormonism in the broader sense, with approximately 250,000 members worldwide, and the largest "prairie Mormon" (i.e., Brigham Young and the Exodus to Utah rejection) church. Two court rulings in connection with the rejection of polygamy and a legal dispute over the land intended for the construction of the temple in Independence, in 1880 and 1894, expressly confirmed the fellowship of Christ in the USA as the legal successor to the church originally founded by Joseph Smith. As a result, she also owns the Kirtland Temple , the oldest Mormon temple, and most of the manuscripts and other personal effects of the founder, Joseph Smith.

Community of Christ logo on the church in Springe
The elder of the two temples of the Communion of Christ (Kirtland, Ohio)

Management and organization

The Community of Christ is from the First Presidency (ger .: First Presidency directed) of a president and two counselors. A council of twelve apostles leads the priesthood. Until several years ago, all Presidents of the Church were direct descendants of Joseph Smith Jr .: 1860–1915 Joseph Smith III (son of Joseph Smith Jr.), 1915–1946 Frederick M. Smith (son of Joseph Smith III), 1946–1958 Israel A. Smith (son of Joseph Smith III), 1958–1978 W. Wallace Smith (son of Joseph Smith III), 1978–1996 Wallace B. Smith (son of William Wallace Smith and grandson of Joseph Smith III). From 1996 until his surprising resignation in 2004, W. Grant McMurray was the first man to lead the Reorganized Church who was not a direct descendant or relative of Joseph Smith. Stephen M. Veazey was installed as the new President during the specially scheduled World Conference in June 2005 . In January 2007, Becky L. Savage was the first woman called to serve as an advisor to the First Presidency.

Timeline

Teaching

The Community of Christ - in contrast to the other denominations that arose in the context of Mormonism - does not claim to be the only Church that makes salvation. Since the 1960s it has often moved closer to the Christian churches involved in ecumenism than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("Mormons"), has its priests trained as pastors at ordinary Protestant colleges in some countries and also works in of the ecumenical movement. For example, she rejected polygamy from the start, as well as baptism in the dead , the sealing of marriages and other temple ceremonies. From the beginning, the Fellowship of Christ, unlike the Church of Utah, rejected any discrimination based on skin color and taught the equality of people of all races. The ordination of women was introduced in 1984. The two temples of the Fellowship of Christ, including the first Mormon temple in Kirtland, Ohio and one consecrated in Independence, Missouri in 1994, are, unlike the temples of the Church of Utah, open to everyone and do not have any secret or special rituals . The image of God in the fellowship of Christ is also classically Trinitarian ; her baptism , therefore, unlike the baptism of the Utah Church, is considered fully valid by the other Christian churches. The communion of Christ particularly emphasizes the communitarian and pacifist aspect of Mormon teachings. Within the American religious spectrum, it is considered to be left-wing liberal.

Overall, one can say that the fellowship of Christ, especially the leaders, has always been very ambivalent about the activities and revelations of Smith in his final years ( Nauvoo phase, 1840–1844) - they are actually not accepted, but one also wanted to avoid Smith as a "fallen prophet" as some of the smaller East Mormon churches - e. B. the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonites) - have done. The Church has historically insisted that Mormon polygamy was an invention of Brigham Young and had nothing to do with Joseph Smith. However, according to the current state of research, this statement is no longer tenable.

Fonts

The Bible undoubtedly has the highest authority of all scriptures for the fellowship of Christ . She also uses the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants . The fellowship of Christ generally views scriptures not as infallible but as essential guidelines. Time, language, culture and living conditions play a role in the interpretation of the scriptures. A responsible, growing interpretation of the scriptures is necessary for proper application (see “Scriptures in the Communion of Christ”).

The Book of Mormon recognizes the fellowship of Christ as a valuable source of teaching. However, unlike the Utah Church, it no longer stipulates that the book depicts actual events in American prehistory, even if this is controversial in terms of membership. The editions of the book published by the Fellowship of Christ have different chapter and verse counting than those of the Utah Church, but are textually almost identical. The Doctrine and Covenants is recognized in a version unique to this church that is not identical to the version of the Church of Utah. The Pearl of Great Price , which was published after the separation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is not recognized by the fellowship of Christ. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is usually used as the Bible . In Germany the Luther Bible or other German-language translations are used.

The church newspaper Herald has appeared as the official, English-language organ of the Community of Christ since 1860 without interruption.

distribution

Church building of the Community of Christ in Springe (Hanover region)

Worldwide, the number of members in 2018 was around 250,000, in around 1,100 parishes in 59 countries. In 2006 the Fellowship of Christ had 130,000 members in the US, 8,000 in Canada, 25,000 in Africa, 8,000 in Asia, 13,000 in the Caribbean, 2,500 in Europe, 10,000 in Australia and the Pacific, and 3,000 in Central and South America.

The community of Christ in Germany

The Community of Christ has been represented in Germany since 1906, when the first members were baptized in Berlin and Hamburg by the missionary Claus C. Joehnk (1860–1923). The leadership of the Church in Independence had sent him to Germany in 1904 as the first missionary. Today the community of Christ in Germany has seven congregations in Augsburg , Braunschweig , Großräschen , Hamburg , Springe (Hanover region), Munich and Kassel . The church newspaper Happy Messages appears four times a year, the Little Ambassador newsletter appears monthly. A new hymnal for the fellowship of Christ in Germany was published in 2009.

Differences from LDS Church

See also

Portal: Mormonism  - Everything about Mormonism

Web links

Commons : Community of Christ  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Trobisch : Mormons - The Saints of Lately? Neukirchen-Vluyn 1998, p. 77.
  2. ↑ Steven Shields: Divergent Paths of the Restoration. Independence 2001, p. 65.
  3. ↑ Kurt Hutten: seers, brooders, enthusiasts. Stuttgart 1966, p. 629.
  4. ↑ Kurt Hutten: seers, brooders, enthusiasts. Stuttgart 1966, p. 630.
  5. ↑ David Trobisch: Mormons - The Saints of Lately? Neukirchen-Vluyn 1998, p. 78.
  6. ^ A b Community of Christ and Consolidated Affiliates, Consolidated Financial Report. (PDF) In: Community of Christ. June 30, 2018, accessed June 20, 2019 .
  7. ^ Roger D. Launius: Joseph Smith III and the Kirtland Temple Suit (PDF; 2.8 MB). In: BYU Studies. Brigham Young University , Volume 25, Summer 1985, pp. 110-116 (English).
  8. ↑ Steven Shields: Divergent Paths of the Restoration. Independence 2001, p. 66 (English).
  9. ↑ www.cofchrist.org ( Memento of February 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Website of the Community of Christ. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  10. ^ R. Scott Lloyd: Woman in priesthood callings in Community of Christ, including its First Presidency. Mormon Times, May 28, 2010 (English).
  11. ↑ David Trobisch: Mormons - The Saints of Lately? Neukirchen-Vluyn 1998, p. 79f.
  12. ↑ David Trobisch: Mormons - The Saints of Lately? Neukirchen-Vluyn 1998, p. 80.
  13. ↑ Steven Shields: Divergent Paths of the Restoration. Independence 2001, p. 73 (English).
  14. ↑ Kurt Hutten: seers, brooders, enthusiasts. Stuttgart 1966, p. 629.
  15. ^ Community of Christ: Our History - Wallace B. Smith (1978-1996). ( Memento of October 4, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ Steven Shields: Divergent Paths of the Restoration. Independence 2001, p. 73 (English).
  17. ↑ Steven Shields: Divergent Paths of the Restoration. Independence 2001, p. 68 (English).
  18. ↑ Official website of the Community of Christ ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , dated August 17, 2011 (English). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cofchrist.org
  19. ^ Website of the Community of Christ. Retrieved February 3, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Steven Shields: Divergent Paths of the Restoration. Independence 2001, p. 74 (English).
  21. ^ Carina Lord Wilson, Andrew M. Shields: Church Membership Report. In: 2007 World Conference Monday Bulletin. March 26, 2007, pp. 269-276 (English).
  22. ^ Website of the Community of Christ. February 3, 2019, accessed February 3, 2019 .