Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cuba

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a major Christian denomination with a significant presence in Cuba[1] with over 35,246 members as of June 30, 2018. The Seventh-day Adventist Church splits Cuba into four Conferences from the main Union under the Inter-American Division.[2]

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cuba
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationAdventist
PolityModified presbyterian polity
RegionCuba
FounderJoseph Bates, James White, Ellen G. White, J. N. Andrews
OriginMay 21, 1863
Battle Creek, Michigan
Branched fromMillerites
Aid organizationAdventist Development and Relief Agency
Other name(s)Adventist church, SDA (informal)
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Sub Fields
  • Cuban Union Conference
    • Central Conference
    • Del Amanecer Conference
    • East Conference
    • West Conference

Schools

The Seventh-day Adventist Church operates a higher education institution called Cuba Adventist Seminary.[3]

History

Seventh-day Adventists first started to work in Cuba after the Spanish–American War in 1898. They started organizing in 1904 with the first church a year later in La Lisa, near Havana. The Cuba Union Conference [4] was set up the next year and from six members in 1905, the Adventist Church grew to over 1,000 by the 1930's. Adventist elementary schools were started in 1922 all over the island, with a secondary school opened in San Claudio (Oriente province). The Adventist radio programs began in 1935 with the "La Voz de Atalaya" (The Voice of the Watchman) in Havana. Membership increased during this period and new schools and churches built and church offices located in Havana with local leaders and ministers. The Inter-American Division in Miami sent additional pastors as needed. After the 1959 Revolution all Adventist institutions such as schools and hospitals remained open, but were separated from the church and put under state control and secularized.[5][6]

Many members meet in the outdoor for worship in some areas, and now look to see if they can begin to build new churches with the changes coming about.

Maranatha Volunteers

Maranatha volunteers have been renovating Seventh-day Adventist churches in Cuba since the 1990s.[7] The projects are funded by donations and can take years to get completed. Maranatha has renovated hundreds of Cuban churches and assisted in building the Cuba Adventist Seminary(Seminario Teologico Adventista de Cuba) in Havana. Volunteers from the Maranatha project have renovated and built churches all over the Island, with the most recent being the Seventh-day Adventist Church in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.[8]

See also

References
  1. Seventh-day Adventist Membership:Countries Compared NationMaster Retrieved December 13, 2018
  2. Adventist Directory Retrieved December 13, 2018
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-08-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=14041
  5. The Beginning of a Christian Revolution Andrews University Retrieved December 13, 2018
  6. Cuba:Adventist Church allowed to use sports facilities; hundreds are baptized APD Retrieved December 13, 2018
  7. https://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story4166-maranatha-volunteers-build-new-church-in-cuba
  8. Marantha Volunteers Renovate Church in Cuba Seventh-day Adventist Church Inter-American Division Retrieved December 13, 2018
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