Stallings dedicates a cathedral - George Stallings

Christian Century, Sept 7, 1994

George Stallings, a former Catholic priest who broke with his church's hierarchy to form a new African-American denomination in 1989, has dedicated a cathedral for his church. Located on Capitol Hill, the cathedral, formerly home to the Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church, is an apparent sign of permanence for the African American Catholic Congregation, which claims about 4,200 members in the U.S. and is known popularly as the Imani Temple movement.

Stallings, 46, told the Washington Post that the cathedral dedication, which took place July 31, represents a "major milestone" in his ministry of 20 years. Contending that the cathedral, purchased from the Baptist congregation, is "a vindication as well as an affirmation that I followed the dictates of the spirit in leaving the Roman Catholic Church and creating the Imani Temple," Stallings went on to say that the dedication of the cathedral, a century-old Gothic structure with stained glass windows, indicates that it was "preordained by God that [African-American] people should take ownership of their own destiny."

According to the Post account, the dedication service mixed Catholic liturgy and African dancing and chanting--punctuated by Stallings dancing on the altar and with congregants in the aisles. Present at the dedication and offering support for Stallings were representatives of the Louis Farrakhan-led Nation of Islam and the Inner Light Unity Fellowship, a predominantly gay congregation. Washington Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly called Stallings "our own black Moses," the Post said.

Stallings locked horns with Catholic officialdom when he advocated the marriage of priests and acceptance of homosexuality. He was excommunicated six months after he established his first Imani Temple in July 1989 and declared his independence from the Catholic Church.

The African American Catholic Congregation emphasizes black images of Jesus to balance traditional images that depict Jesus as white. The new cathedral will serve as Stallings's base of operations as he carries out duties as archbishop of the denomination he founded.