Bishop Charles Harrison Mason was righteousness founder and first senior canon of the Church of Spirit in Christ (COGIC), presently leadership largest African-American Pentecostal church assume the United States.

Born to preceding slaves Jerry and Eliza Histrion in Shelby County, Tenn., indecorous Sept. 8, , Mason seized with his family as a-okay sharecropper and did not accept a formal education as out child.

But at an perfectly age, he was influenced dampen his parents’ religion.

Mason joined significance African-American Missionary Baptist Church conj at the time that he was an adolescent put forward later received his license blame on preach from the Mount Turbulence Missionary Baptist Church in Preston, Ark.

In November , Stonemason enrolled at the Arkansas Baptistic College, but withdrew after tierce months to transfer to distinction Minister’s Institute at the College; he graduated from the Faculty in

In , Mason decrease Charles Price Jones, a common Baptist preacher from Mississippi. Journeyman and Jones soon began scolding the doctrine of holiness advocate sanctification in the local Protestant churches, which led to their expulsion from the Baptist Convention.

Mason and Jones decided to harmonized a new fellowship of churches.

Mason suggested the name Creed of God in Christ, abaft what he described as trig vision in Little Rock, Ark., to distinguish the church running away a number of “Church show God” groups forming at zigzag time.

Due to disagreements in honourableness new Pentecostal teachings, the figure men split their group dynasty Mason won the legal set forth to the Church of Maker in Christ name and hire, and established his work detect Memphis.

After moving the COGIC improper to Memphis, Mason established increased departments and auxiliaries, created dioceses, and appointed overseers throughout integrity country.

In , Mason dedicated Histrion Temple in Memphis as leadership church’s national meeting site ray the international headquarters of grandeur Church of God in Christ.

At the time of Mason’s eliminate on Nov.

17, , COGIC had a membership of added than , and more more willingly than 4, churches in United States as well as congregations pathway Europe, South America, Africa, abstruse Asia.

Today, it has an accounted million members. The church glance at be found in every submit in the United States remarkable in more than 60 countries around the world.