Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation

The African-American Catholic Congregation and its Imani Temples are an independent Catholic church founded by Archbishop George Augustus Stallings, Jr., an Afrocentrist and former Roman Catholic priest, in Washington, D.C. In 2014, the church decided to relocate to nearby Prince George's County, Maryland; their current headquarters are located in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland.[1]

Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation
Former Imani Temple in D.C.
AbbreviationIT
ClassificationWestern Christian
OrientationIndependent Catholic
PolityEpiscopal
ArchbishopGeorge Augustus Stallings, Jr.
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersHillcrest Heights, Maryland
FounderGeorge Augustus Stallings, Jr.
Origin1990
Washington, D.C. U.S.

History

George Augustus Stallings, Jr., then a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington,[2] founded the Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation as a single congregation in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1989. He named it "Imani" for the Swahili word imani, meaning "faith".[3] It was an independent church for people who favored an Afrocentric but quasi-Catholic worship style. Within a few months, Imani Temple attracted ex-Catholic and ex-Protestant followers and former Roman Catholic clergy. It grew to a group of nine churches in several cities. Later it expanded to include 13 churches.

In 1989, The Washington Post reported that a former altar boy at St. Teresa of Avila Church accused Stallings of sexual misconduct over a period of several months in 1977. Stallings said "I am innocent," declining to answer questions.[4] The Post had also reported allegations of abuse by two unnamed former altar boys. In a follow-up series of three articles in 1990, Post reporters Bill Dedman and Laura Sessions Stepp reported that concerns about Stallings's association with teenage boys had contributed to his split with the Roman Catholic Church.[5][6][7] Stallings's former pastoral assistant, who was 22 at the time, spoke publicly about having had a two-year sexual relationship with him.[8] In 2009 the archdiocese reached a $125,000 settlement with Gamal Awad, who said he was sexually abused at 14 by Stallings and a seminarian.[8]

In 1994, the Imani Temple African American Catholic Congregation, purchased the former Eastern Presbyterian Church,[9] designed by noted Washington architect Appleton P. Clark Jr. and opened in 1893.[10]

In 2001 Stallings, then 53, married a 24-year-old woman from Okinawa in a New York ceremony officiated by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church.[11]

In 2006, the excommunicated Roman Catholic archbishop Emmanuel Milingo (who married a woman from South Korea in 2001 at the same ceremony as Stallings)[11] performed a conditional consecration for Stallings and three other married independent Catholic bishops at the Imani Temple church in Washington.[12]

In 2014, the denomination decided to relocate to Prince George's County, Maryland, and hence sold the Imani Temple in Washington to property developers.[13] It was renovated and adapted for sale as six luxury condominiums.[10]

Practice

Imani Temple teaching, in contrast to Roman Catholic teaching, allows women to be ordained. Unlike the Latin Catholic Church, it does not as a rule require celibacy of its priests. In 1991, their first female priest was ordained.[14]

See also

References
  1. Tallman, William (2022-04-09). "Air purification company lends a hand to Imani Temple". DC News Now | Washington, DC. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  2. Jerome Cramer and Richard Ostling (May 14, 1990). "Catholicism's Black Maverick". Time magazine. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008.
  3. Hyer, Marjorie (July 10, 1989). "'AIN'T NO STOPPING US NOW,' STALLINGS EXULTS". Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  4. Bill Dedman (1989-09-07). "STALLINGS, IN TV SHOW, DENIES SEX ALLEGATION". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  5. Bill Dedman; Laura Sessions Stepp (1990-04-29). "YEARS OF DEFIANCE ROOTS OF STALLINGS'S REBELLION". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  6. Laura Sessions Stepp; Bill Dedman (1990-04-30). "CONCERNS ABOUT STALLINGS'S LIFESTYLE FUELED CONFLICT". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  7. Bill Dedman; Laura Sessions Stepp (1990-05-01). "STALLINGS BUILDS A BLACK CHURCH FAR FROM ROME". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  8. William Wan (October 14, 2009). "Washington Archdiocese Reaches Settlement in Sexual Abuse Lawsuit". Washington Post.
  9. Milton, Charnese A. "Plans to turn Imani Temple into residential units being considered", Capital Community News, December 6, 2014
  10. Hopkins, Kathryn and Li, Miao. "Developers Say ‘Take Me to Church’", Mansion Global, April 5, 2016
  11. "A Member of The Wedding". Washington Post. 28 May 2001. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  12. "Archbishop Repudiates Expulsion", Washington Post, September 28, 2006, p. A12
  13. Harris, Hamil R.; DeBonis, Mike (2012-10-12). "Q&A with Imani Temple founder George A. Stallings Jr". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  14. "Black Catholic church welcomes female priest Woman makes history by saying mass", Baltimore Sun, September 23, 1991
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