International Community of Christ

International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent, is an independent Christian denomination that offers a distinctive, alternative presentation of Christian teachings and a new authoritative dispensation that it believes fulfills the messianic church under Jesus. The church functions primarily as a religious order known as the Order of the Holy Child (Jamilians). Originally organized in 1959 as the American Philosophical Institute of Cosolargy in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, it relocated to Peru, and in 1962 was renamed the Interdenominational Christian Church. The organization was subsequently known for a decade as the "Mystery School of the Andes" until a permanent center was established in Reno, Nevada, in 1972. Leading the International Community of Christ for more than three decades was Douglas Eugene "Gene" Savoy, who served as head bishop from 1971 until his death in 2007. He was succeeded in that office by his eldest son Gene Savoy Jr. who is now Head Bishop-Overseer of the International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent, and President of Cosolargy International.