Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides information about the word "Zion". That information suggests why "Zion" is frequently used in the names of historic and present day Black (African American) churches.*
The Addendum to this post also provides information about the African Methodist Episcopal Zion denomination, a historically African American Christian denomination.
This is the second post in a pancocojams series about frequently used Black (African American) church names.
*The church names given in these posts are also given to churches that aren't historically African American or aren't presently predominately African American.
The church names featured in these pancocojams posts were selected from articles such as "10 Historic Black Southern Churches to Visit" https://blacksouthernbelle.com/10-historic-black-southern-churches-visit/ and "Historic African American Churches" https://www.blackpast.org/special-features/historic-african-american-churches/. In addition, the church names that I've selected for this series are based on my experience as an African American noticing the same church names in a number of cities I lived in or visited.
These pancocojams posts on frequent names used by African American churches don't include names whose association with religion are widely known (such as "Calvary" and "Emmanuel" or names whose meanings are generally understood such as "First [followed by a denomination]", "Second [followed by a denomination]", "Union [followed by a denomination]", or "a Saint's name [followed by a denomination]".
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/origins-meanings-and-examples-of.html for the related pancocojams post entitled "Origins & Meanings And Examples Of The Male/Female Name "Zion" ".
****
The content of this post is published for education, religious, and cultural purposes.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click the "common Black church names" tag to find other posts in this series.
Also, click the closely related tag "American religious songs with Zion in their title".
A pancocojams post with the title "Reggae songs that have Zion in their title" will be published soon.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORD "ZION"
Excerpt #1
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-the-meaning-of-zion-in-the-bible.htmlhttps://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-the-meaning-of-zion-in-the-bible.html
"What Is the Meaning of Zion in the Bible? by Candice Lucey
The ancient Hebrew word Tsiyon (Zion) is “a Canaanite hill fortress in Jerusalem captured by David and called in the Bible ‘City of David.’" Zion can refer to one of three places: the hill where the most ancient areas of Jerusalem stood; the city of Jerusalem itself; or the dwelling place of God.
[...]
Zion in the Bible
Old Testament
The Bible’s first reference talks about “the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.” (2 Samuel 5:7).
Plenty of Psalms mention Zion, the Lord’s “holy mountain” (Psalm 2:6), the place where the Lord is “enthroned” (Psalm 9:11), and from which David yearns for salvation to emerge (Psalm 9:14).
Isaiah is another prolific source: “Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy” (Isaiah 4:3); “gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 18:7)
Zion appears numerous times in other books of the Old Testament including Lamentations, Jeremiah, and Micah.
New Testament
New Testament writers Matthew, John, and Paul quote what has already been written in the Old Testament when they speak of Zion.
“In Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 9:33) 1 Peter 2:6 says this stone in Zion is Jesus, “a chosen and precious cornerstone.”
In his vision of end times, John saw “on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,0000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” (Revelation 14:1)
Commentators indicate that “Daughter of Zion” from Isaiah 1:8 means “the daughter of God’s people.” David Kowalski explains how this verse is “expressive of the tenderness with which the Lord had regarded the relation [...] he had established between Jerusalem (as representing His people) and Himself.” "...
****
Excerpt #2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion
"Zion (Hebrew: צִיּוֹן Ṣîyōn, LXX Σιών, also variously transliterated Sion,[2] Tzion, Tsion, Tsiyyon[3]) is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem[4][5] as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names of Jerusalem).
The name is found in 2 Samuel (5:7), one of the books of the Hebrew Bible dated to before or close to the mid-6th century BCE. It originally referred to a specific hill in Jerusalem (Mount Zion), located to the south of Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount). According to the narrative of 2 Samuel 5, Mount Zion held the Jebusite fortress of the same name that was conquered by David and was re-named the City of David. That specific hill ("mount") is one of the many squat hills that form Jerusalem, which also includes Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount), the Mount of Olives, etc. Over many centuries, until as recently as the Ottoman era, the city walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt many times in new locations, so that the particular hill known as Mount Zion is no longer inside the city wall, but its location is now just outside the portion of the Old City wall forming the southern boundary of the Jewish Quarter of the current Old City. Most of the original City of David itself is thus also outside the current city wall.
The term Tzion came to designate the area of Davidic Jerusalem where the fortress stood, and was used as well as synecdoche for the entire city of Jerusalem; and later, when Solomon's Temple was built on the adjacent Mount Moriah (which, as a result, came to be known as the Temple Mount) the meanings of the term Tzion were further extended by synecdoche to the additional meanings of the Temple itself, the hill upon which the Temple stood, the entire city of Jerusalem, the entire biblical Land of Israel, and "the World to Come", the Jewish understanding of the afterlife.”...
****
ADDENDUM- INFORMATION ABOUT THE "AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION" DENOMINATION
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Methodist_Episcopal_Zion_Church
"The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or the AME Zion Church or AMEZ, is a historically African-American Christian denomination based in the United States. It was officially formed in 1821 in New York City, but operated for a number of years before then.
History
The origins of this church can be traced to the John Street Methodist Church of New York City. Following acts of overt discrimination in New York (such as black parishioners being forced to leave worship), many black Christians left to form their own churches. The first church founded by the AME Zion Church was built in 1800 and was named Zion; one of the founders was William Hamilton, a prominent orator and abolitionist. These early black churches still belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church denomination, although the congregations were independent. During the Great Awakening, the Methodists and Baptists had welcomed free blacks and slaves to their congregations and as preachers.
The fledgling Zion church grew, and soon multiple churches developed from the original congregation. These churches were attended by black congregants, but ministered to by white ordained Methodist ministers. In 1820, six of the churches met to ordain James Varick as an elder, and in 1821 he was made the first General Superintendent of the AME Zion Church. A debate raged in the white-dominated Methodist church over accepting black ministers. This debate ended on July 30, 1822, when James Varick was ordained as the first bishop of the AME Zion church, a newly independent denomination. The total membership in 1866 was about 42,000.[1] Two years later, it claimed 164,000 members, as it sent missionaries to the South after the American Civil War to plant new churches with the newly emancipated freedmen.[2] The A.M.E. Zion Church had been part of the Abolitionist movement and became known as the Freedom Church, because it was associated with the period after emancipation of the slaves.
Black churches were integral in helping build communities and develop leadership among the freedmen in the South. Later they played an increasingly powerful role in the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century. AMEZ remained smaller than the AME (African Methodist Episcopal Church, a denomination started in Philadelphia in the early 19th century) because some of its ministers lacked the authority to perform marriages, and many of its ministers avoided political roles. Its finances were weak, and in general its leadership was not as strong as that of the AME. However it was the leader among all Protestant denominations in ordaining women and giving them powerful roles in the church.[3]
An influential leader bishop was James Walker Hood (1831–1918) of North Carolina. He not only created and fostered his network of AMEZ churches in North Carolina, but he also was the grand master for the entire South of the Prince Hall Freemasonry, a secular black fraternal organization that strengthened the political and economic forces inside the black community.[4] Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina is named in this bishop's honor.[5]
In 1924 Cameron Chesterfield Alleyne became the church's first resident bishop in Africa.[6]
Notes
The AME Zion Church is not to be confused with the similarly named African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was officially formed in 1816 by Richard Allen and Daniel Coker in Philadelphia. The denomination was made up of AME churches in the Philadelphia region, including Delaware and New Jersey."...
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment