Preserving and sharing the Oneness Pentecostal heritage is the mission of The Center for the Study of Oneness Pentecostalism (CSOP), originally known as the Historical Center of the UPCI. The work of preserving the history of the Oneness Movement and the United Pentecostal Church began in 1981 by Calvin and Virginia Rigdon under the direction of the Historical Committee chaired by J.L.Hall. The Rigdon’s are responsible for the vast majority of CSOP’s holdings.
Calvin and Virginia Rigdon
At the request of General Superintendent David K. Bernard, a number of changes have recently occurred. The decision was made to relocate CSOP to the Urshan campus, and a new governing and fundraising committee (Pentecostal Heritage Society) was formed with David Fauss, the grandson of a prominent early Pentecostal pioneer, as chairman and Robin Johnston as director of CSOP. The partnership between CSOP and Urshan is mutually beneficial. The Urshan community has easy access to a treasure of historical resources and, through CSOP, is building the leading scholarly collection in the Oneness Pentecostal movement. CSOP benefits greatly from the community of scholars here at Urshan.
The Center for the Study of Oneness Pentecostalism collects, preserves, and makes accessible, for research and display, documents and artifacts related to the United Pentecostal Church International, the Urshan Graduate School of Theology, and the Oneness Pentecostal movement. No materials circulate and gifts to the Center for the Study of Oneness Pentecostalism are considered outright and unrestricted donations to be used in the best interests of the Center. We believe in the necessity of preserving the past for use in the future.
“Where the past is present” -Calvin Rigdon