Mita Congregation
The Mita Congregation is a Christian congregation based in Puerto Rico whose doctrine is based on the Bible and whose foundation is the Holy Trinity. The congregation has chapters in the United States, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, and in the Dominican Republic.
History The Mita believe that "Mita" (a woman who was born as Juanita García Peraza) was the living incarnation of the Holy Spirit. According to their beliefs, the Holy Spirit once acted through "Mita" and anointed Teófilo Vargas Seín as the first prophet of God in the new era, what they call the era of "Mita". Vargas was renamed "Aarón", who became "Mita"'s heir when she died in 1970, and is today the spiritual and material leader of the congregation.
Religious laws
According to the MITA religion, every member of the religion wears white during their religious ceremonies. Also, once a person becomes a member, he or she must not have any children in the future.
2004 scandal
The religion was rocked in 2004 when a man, named Samuel Benitez, alleged on Puerto Rico's television and newspapers that he was "Aaron"s son. Apparently, he and "Aaron" had some closeness when Benitez was a child, but "Aaron" always asked Samuel never to call him father, dad or any words of that type. "Aaron", according to Benitez, stopped having a close relationship with Benitez when Benitez became a teenager, despite Benitez's convertion into the Mita religion. The scandal widened when other former members of Mita spoke publicly about alleged abuses against them. One member in particular, a former friend of "Aaron", spoke about being beaten and violently abused by members of the congregation on February 11 of 1995, after it was discovered by "Mita" members that he had a son who was living in Orlando, Florida. Others have spoken about offenses against them or their families, such as vandalizing their homes and other acts, after they had left the religion.
External links Camayd-Freixas, E. The Cult of the Goddess Mita on the Eve of a New Millennium: A Socio-Anthropological Look at a Caribbean Urban Religion. Latin American Issues [On-line], 13(1).
|
|
