What are Nazarenes?

The Church of the Nazarene traces its roots back to three places. The first is Los Angeles at the end of the 19th century. Phineas Bresee started the first Church of the Nazarene in 1895 to respond to the physical and spiritual needs of the people of Los Angeles. He was an active part of the Holiness movement, proclaiming the effective work of Christ to free people from personal sin and to see their culture reflect the holy love of Jesus. You can find out more about our origins at nazarene.org.

The second place to which we trace our roots is England in the 18th century. John Wesley and his brother Charles were Anglican priests who led a reforming movement within Anglicanism, returning people to the fundamental disciplines of piety, compassion and missionary work that have always characterized faithful Christians. Much like Bresee 150 years later, the Wesleys focused on the power of Jesus to free people from sin and death in this life. They were heavily invested in the transformation of society as well as the salvation of souls. Discover more at the Wesley Center.

The final, most important place to which we trace our roots is Israel in about 30 A.D. The Church of the Nazarene is a part of the one, holy, catholic, apostolic church and we affirm all the creeds of the ecumenical councils of the first five Christian centuries, all of which clarify the teaching of the Church from the very beginning. We belong to that body of believers in Jesus which stretches back to the 12 apostles who are called to “[g]o therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” We are also a part of that great cloud of witnesses stretching back to the Virgin Mary who experience daily the presence of Jesus Christ by his Spirit, who is with us “always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).