Commandment Keepers
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The "Commandment Keepers: Holy Church of the Living God" are a non-mainstream sect of Jews, founded in 1919 by Nigerian-born Rabbi Arthur Wentworth Matthew[1], who believe that people of Ethiopian descent represent one of the lost tribes of Israel.[1] They claim King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba as their ancestors, and believe the biblical patriarchs to have been black.[2] The mother congregation of the movement has since 1962 been located at 1 West 123rd Street in Harlem, New York City. It is a black congregation but has always had white visitors and occasionally white members. They use the De Sola Pool Spanish&Portuguese prayerbook, the Hertz Chumash, parchment Torah scrolls, and offer standard orthodox Sephardi style Sabbath and Jewish Holyday services.
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Manhattan African-American History and Culture Guide, Museum of the City of New York
- ^ University of Virginia New Religious Movements website
