Unlike the Catholic Church, which can survive the conviction of priests, Professor Laurie Levenson said, La Luz del Mundo’s entire future could be thrown into jeopardy because its leader is on the line.
Parishioners take part in the annual Holy Convocation of La Luz del Mundo on Aug. 14, 2018, in Guadalajara, where the church's headquarters are located. Hundreds of thousands of parishioners gathered in Guadalajara last month to celebrate their leader’s 50th birthday. They filled the streets around the organization’s towering, wedding cake-like temple — headquarters to the largest evangelical church in Mexico, with a strong religious presence in parts of Southern California.
Spokesman and minister Jack Freeman, who has been with La Luz del Mundo for 27 years, views the allegations — and previous ones against Garcia’s father — as part of a smear campaign. The belief in Garcia’s innocence is vital to parishioners, said Patricia Fortuny, a Mexican anthropologist who has studied La Luz del Mundo for decades.“They are in a very vulnerable position at this moment,” she said. “Unlike other Pentecostal churches, the apostle is the center of the doctrine, of everything, and he’s in danger now, so the whole church is in danger. What will happen if he’s guilty?”“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Freeman said.
The church has Pentecostal features, including the speaking in tongues, and is based on a strict interpretation of the Bible. Congregants pray on their knees and religious services are marked by singing and weeping. An annual gathering of hundreds of thousands, called the Holy Supper, commemorates the death and sacrifice of Christ.
“They receive words from the apostle in their far-flung church with the same emotion you would imagine from early Christians receiving a letter from Paul,” said Daniel Ramirez, an associate professor of religion at Claremont Graduate University. Unlike the Catholic Church, which can survive the conviction of priests, Levenson said, La Luz del Mundo’s entire future could be thrown into jeopardy because its leader is on the line.Congregants at La Luz Del Mundo church in East Los Angeles.
He pointed to allegations that Garcia’s grandfather had an affair with or raped a woman, which he and the church leadership denied at the time. In response, hundreds of members in Mexico left to form their own church or join another.
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