The Primitive Advent Christian Church is a small body of

Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

which separated from the

Advent Christian Church The Advent Christian Church, also known as the Advent Christian General Conference (ACGC), is a "first-day" body of Adventist Christians founded on the teachings of William Miller in 1860. The organization's Executive Director is Reverend Steve ...

. They have a common early history. Adventists who had adopted the "conditional immortality" views of Charles F. Hudson and George Storrs formed the ''Advent Christian Association'' in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

in 1860. Like

Primitive Baptist Primitive Baptists – also known as Hard Shell Baptists, Foot Washing Baptists or Old School Baptists – are conservative Baptists adhering to a degree of Calvinist beliefs who coalesced out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 19th c ...

s, and

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

s the ''Primitive Advent Christian Church'' uses the modifier ''Primitive'' to signify the idea that they represent the original teachings of the church. They differ from the parent body mainly in two points. They observe

feet washing Maundy (from Old French ''mandé'', from Latin ''wikt:mandatum, mandatum'' meaning "command"), or Washing of the Saints' Feet, Washing of the Feet, or Pedelavium or Pedilavium, is a religious Rite (Christianity), rite observed by various Chris ...

as a rite of the church, and they teach that reclaimed backsliders should be baptized (even though they had formerly been baptized). This is sometimes referred to as ''rebaptism''. Officers in the ''Primitive Advent Christian Church'' are pastors, elders and deacons. A conference for church business is conducted annually. The church had 427 members in 9 congregations in 1990, all of which were located in central

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

External links

Adherents.com

References

*''Churches and Church Membership in the United States (1990)'', Glenmary Research Center *''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', J. Gordon Melton, editor Adventism Christianity in West Virginia Christianity in Appalachia {{Christian-denomination-stub