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William Joseph Seymour (May 2, 1870 – September 28, 1922) was an American minister, and an initiator of the Azusa Street Revival. Seymour was one of the most influential individuals in the revival movement that grew into the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, along with other figures such as Charles Parham, Howard A. Goss, and Frank Bartleman.〔 Seymour's emphasis on racial equality drew many historically disenfranchised people to the movement, and due to his influence the revival grew very quickly.〔 ==Early life and career== Seymour was born to former slaves Simon and Phyllis Salabar Seymour in Centerville, Louisiana.〔Borlase, Craig. William Seymour: A Biography. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2006. Print.〕 He was baptized at the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption in Franklin, and attended the New Providence Baptist Church in Centerville with his family.〔Espinosa. ''WIlliam J. Seymour and the Origins of Global Pentecostalism: A Biography and Documentary History''. p. 47.〕 The racial violence in the American South at this time — Louisiana had one of the highest rates of lynchings in the nation — would have a huge effect on Seymour's later emphasis on racial equality at the Azusa mission.〔Bartleman, ''Azusa Street,'' 47, 54.〕 In the 1890s, Seymour left the South in order to travel north, to places such as Memphis, St. Louis, and Indianapolis.〔Espinosa, 48.〕 By doing this, he escaped the horrific violence aimed at African Americans in the south during this period. Though he would continue to face racial prejudice in the north, it was not at the violent level that he faced in the South.〔Synan, Vinson; Fox, Charles R. (2012). ''William J. Seymour: Pioneer of the Azusa Street Revival''. Alachua, FL: Bridge Logos Foundation. p. 25.〕 In 1895, Seymour moved to Indianapolis, where he attended the Simpson Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church.〔Espinosa, 49.〕 It was at this church where Seymour became a born-again Christian.〔Lake, "Origins of the Apostolic Faith Movement," 3.〕 During Seymour's travels, he was influenced by Daniel S. Warner's Evening Light Saints, a Holiness group dedicated to racial equality.〔 Their view of a racially egalitarian church would influence his theology for the rest of his life.〔Synan, 47.〕 In 1901, Seymour moved to Cincinnati, where his views on holiness and racial integration were shaped by a Bible school he attended.〔 During this time, he contracted smallpox and subsequently went blind in his left eye. After overcoming the smallpox Seymour was ordained by the Evening Light Saints.〔Espinosa, Gaston. ''William J. Seymour and the Origins of Global Pentecostalism: A Biography and Documentary History''. Print.〕 Seymour then traveled to Jackson, Mississippi, where he visited Charles Price Jones, and left the South with a very firm commitment to his beliefs.〔Lake, "Origins of the Apostolic Faith Movement," 3; Irwin, "Charles Price Jones," 45.〕 In 1906, Seymour joined a newly formed Bible school founded by Charles Parham in Houston, Texas.〔Espinosa, 50.〕 Parham's teachings on the baptism of the Holy Spirit stuck with Seymour and influenced his later doctrines. Seymour did not agree, however, with some of Parham's more radical views.〔Synan, 354.〕 He developed a belief in glossolalia ("speaking in tongues") as a confirmation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit when he witnessed it from one of his followers. He believed this proved that the person was born-again and could then go to Heaven. Seymour did not remain at the school for very long — he spent just six weeks there, and left before his studies were complete.〔Robeck, Cecil M. The Azusa Street Mission and Revival: The Birth of the Global Pentecostal Movement. Nashville: Nelson Reference & Electronic, 2006. p. 4.〕 In late January or early February 1906, Neely Terry asked Seymour to pastor a church in Los Angeles.〔Espinosa, 51.〕 Feeling called by God, Seymour took the opportunity against Parham's wishes, and moved to Los Angeles.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William J. Seymour」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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