The Mita Congregation () is a Christian denomination with headquarters in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The congregation has chapters in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

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El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

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and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. They have an estimation of 100,000 members worldwide.

History

The Mita Congregation was formed when Mita said that God had chosen her to found a church. The congregation was founded in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

in 1940, but in 1947 the church was relocated to Hato Rey. Mitas, as her followers are called, believe that Juanita García Peraza was chosen by

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

and that she became the Prophet of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

in its third manifestation. First, as the omnipotent father in

Jehovah Jehovah () is a Romanization, Latinization of the Hebrew language, Hebrew , one Tiberian vocalization, vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the proper name of the God in Judaism, God of Israel in the Hebrew BibleOld Testament. The Tetr ...

, then in his beloved son

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and in its third manifestation with a new name revealed Mita, name of the Holy Spirit of God. According to their beliefs, the Holy Spirit once acted through Juanita García Peraza and anointed Teófilo Vargas Seín (October 23, 1921 - January 18, 2021) as the first anointed of God in what they call the new manifestation of God, the third manifestation, the Holy Trinity, the father, son and the Holy Spirit. According to the church, Vargas was renamed Aarón and before Peraza died in 1970, she called Aarón and told him to take care of his church and he was the spiritual leader of the Mita Congregation until he lost his battle to extensive cardiovascular conditions, passing away on January 18, 2021, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Aarón was very known in the church and in the communities as a very enthusiastic and people-oriented leader, spending hours and hours of his days helping those in need, visiting hospitals and visiting the poorest communities. He's also very known for bringing an extensive growth in the number of church members, taking it to many countries around The Americas and Europe. All this due to his vast campaigns of preachings where he would do 2, 3 and even 5 church services in one day in different communities. The Congregation is now led by Rosinin Rodriguez, who had been named by Aarón in 2012 as his successor and the Spiritual Mother of the church.

Doctrine

The doctrine of the church is based on the original Reina-Valera Spanish translation of the Bible. They are

trinitarian The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

, believing in

and the Holy Spirit (Mita), who they believe "is on earth, that His new name is Mita and that, through Aarón, He guides His Church and guides it through truth and justice towards salvation". Aarón is considered God's prophet for today, and through him God's message of cleansing, freedom from sin, and unity is brought to the world. "Mita en Aarón" (Mita in Aaron) is a slogan of the Mita Congregation. Mita members always clarify that when they talk about ''Mita'' in their hymns or preachings they are not referring to Juanita Garcia Peraza, but referring to the new name of the Holy Spirit who, at some point in the late 40s, called Juanita by His own name.

References

External links

* Christian denominations founded in the United States Religion in Puerto Rico Christian organizations established in 1940 1940 establishments in Puerto Rico {{Christian-denomination-stub