Charles Edwards (1915 – 1994), known as "King Emmanuel Charles" by his followers, was the founder and leader of the "Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress, True Church of Divine Salvation (E.A.B.I.C.)". Charles is regarded to have established the "Churchical Order of

Melchizedek In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...

" which governs this Congress functioning as Church and State. On March 1, 1958, the E.A.B.I.C was formed, now headquartered in

Bull Bay, Jamaica Bull Bay is an area located on the southeast coast of Jamaica, to the east of Kingston on the border between St Andrew and St Thomas, beside Cow Bay. According to folklore, both bays were so named because cattle once roamed the whole area and ...

. This group of Rastafari soon became known as

Bobo Ashanti The Bobo Ashanti (also variously called Bobo Shanti and Bobo Shanty), also known as the Ethiopian African Black International Congress (EABIC), is a religious group originating in Bull Bay near Kingston, Jamaica. The title of Bobo Ashanti essenti ...

, adopting their name from the

Ashanti tribe The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. Charles taught that the African diaspora scattered across the Earth and predominantly in the west are the descendants of the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

and his followers acknowledge him as the "Black

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

" in this dispensation to return all slave descendants to their original homeland,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. For this reason this Congress was formed and Church developed agitating for the "Freedom, Redemption and International Repatriation" of his people. Charles fought relentlessly for the rights of his people and soon became publicly respected and given the titles 'Black

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

in Flesh'. He is held by the Bobo Ashanti to be a member of their

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. Charles taught that "God dwelleth in flesh" and the celestial trinity of God manifested in flesh upon Earth is fulfilled in the capacity of "Prophet, Priest and King". The "triune" positions of the Bobo Ashanti trinity are as follows:

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

as the "Prophet", Emmanuel Charles as "Priest", and

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

as "King".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Charles Jamaican Rastafarians 1915 births 1994 deaths