Assemblies of God in Italy

The Assemblies of God in Italy (Assemblee di Dio in Italia, ADI), whose full name is Evangelical Christian Churches Assemblies of God in Italy, is a fellowship of Pentecostal churches which functions as the Italian branch of the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies, although keeping communion with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship as well.

The ADI has roots in the early Italian Pentecostal revival of Chicago that took place in 1907.[1] From Chicago, pioneers like Giacomo Lombardi, Louis Francescon, P.Ottolini, Lucia Menna, U.Gazzari, and Louis Terragnoli came to plant the early churches in the peninsula. During the fascist government, a circular issued by the Undersecretary Minister of Interior Guido Buffarini Guidi provided grounds to shut all Pentecostal congregations in Italy.[2]

After the fall of Fascism, as the Italian government and society continued to make difficult for the exercise of religious freedom, many Italian Pentecostal congregations sought a purely nominal affiliation with the American Assemblies of God.[1] Thus, the ADI, as an organization, were founded in 1948,[3] but were officially recognized by Italian law only in 1988.[4]

According to CESNUR, a think tank on the religions of Italy, the ADI are the single largest Protestant church in Italy. As of 2012 the ADI count 1,153 congregations and 150,000 members in Italy.[3] The church is more numerous in the South, with Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily making up the majority of local churches: 613.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Toppi, Francesco. E mi sarete testimoni. Rome: ADI-Media, 1999
  2. ↑ Bracco, Roberto. Persecuzione in Italia. Rome, 1967
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.cesnur.org/religioni_italia/p/pentecostali_03.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:1988;517
  5. ↑ http://www.assembleedidio.org/ricerca_chiese.php

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