Imani Temple
Jennifer Puma

In contrast to black Protestants who severed their ties with their white-controlled denominations, black Catholics have not been prone to schismatic tendencies.  An exception, however, is George Augustus
Stallings, Jr., the founder of the African-American Congregation.  He made a request to Cardinal James Hickey of Washington, D.C. that he be permitted to establish an African-American rite that would have an independent liturgy and socio-religious structure comparable to Eastern Rite Catholics.  Upon denial of this request, Stallings went to establish a new congregation called the Imani Temple.  He was consecrated a bishop on May 12, 1990, by the prelate of the American Independent Orthodox Church.  Bruce Greening, one of Stalling's colleagues, went on to form the Independent African-American Catholic Rite.  
        


Links

http://northstar.vassar.edu 
This is an online journal and an excellent resource for current African-American issues and hard to find information.

http://www.tcnj.edu/~afamstd/finalweb/part1/pwrpnt/Imani 
This website provides a brief overview of the Black Baptist and Imani Temple religions in the form of a PowerPoint presentation with photos. 

http://detnews.com/menu/stories/12894.htm 
This newspaper has archives of stories concerning the founding of the Imani Temple and the controversial
issues surrounding its inception. 

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/purpletlm/myhomepage/ 
This is the homepage for the AACC.

http://www.blackandchristian.com/articles/trussell1.html 
More articles concerning the Black Baptist religion.


Works Consulted

The Encyclopedia of Africa and African American Religions, ed. Stephen D. Glazier. New York: Routledge, 2001.


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