Denominations Mourn Loss of Pentecostal Bishops
The Church of God in Christ and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World are mourning the loss of two prominent bishops.
On Sunday, Bishop Allie T. Moore (pictured at left), the last surviving bishop to be appointed by Church of God in Christ (COGIC) founder C.H. Mason, died in his Louisville, Ky., home at the age of 98.
Moore had been appointed leader of the denomination’s Kentucky jurisdiction in 1947 and for more than 60 years had served as pastor of 19th and Cedar COGIC in Louisville, which was renamed Moore Temple COGIC in 1985 to honor its pastor.
Moore’s death follows that of Bishop Norman L. Wagner, former presiding bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW). He died Jan. 30 in a Youngstown, Ohio, hospital, roughly two weeks after having heart surgery. He was 68.
Wagner (pictured at left) served as pastor of Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church in Youngstown, now known as Calvary Ministries International, for nearly 40 years. Named one of the country’s 100 outstanding black clergy, Wagner led the PAW, a Oneness Pentecostal denomination with more than 1.5 million members worldwide, from 1998 to 2004. He also founded the European Council of Nations, a network of 40 churches in Europe.
A respected singer, songwriter and arranger, Wagner was nominated with his choir for two Stellar Gospel Music Awards. He also hosted The Power of Pentecost television program, which aired nationally and internationally.
Raised in a Baptist church, Moore embraced Pentecostalism in 1933 after hearing a COGIC minister preach at a church in Columbus, Ky. He went on to lead revival services across the state before settling in Louisville, where he married Robbie Lee Cobb in 1940 and became pastor of 19th and Cedar COGIC.
COGIC honored Moore as a “living legend†during the tenure of the late Bishop L.H. Ford. In 2003, the denomination recognized him as the last living jurisdictional bishop to personally have been appointed by its founder.
A funeral service for Wagner was held Wednesday in Youngstown. Bishop Horace Smith, current head of the PAW, gave the eulogy. Gospel artists Marvin Winans, CeCe Winans, BeBe Winans and Jonathan Nelson performed at a memorial concert for Wagner Monday.
Funeral arrangements for Moore have not been announced.
