Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Protestant evangelical Christian denomination and, more famously, a charity and social services organization, with international headquarters at 101 Queen Victoria Street, London. more...

It is sometimes affectionately referred to as the "Sally Ann" in Canada, "Sally Army" in the UK and New Zealand, and the "Salvos" in the US and Australia.

It is structured as a hierarchical organization, with a large number of staff and volunteers. The Army's headquarters are located in London and there are thousands of branches around the world.

History

The Salvation Army was founded by William and Catherine Booth in London in 1865 as an Evangelical movement called the Christian Revival Association. It then changed its name to East London Christian Mission. After starting the work outside the East End, the name changed to The Christian Mission.

In 1878, the name was changed to The Salvation Army and a quasi-military outlook was adopted. On March 10, 1880, Commissioner George Scott Railton and seven young women landed in the USA and began operations.

The Salvation Army's main converts were at first alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes and other "undesirables" of society with whom the Church refused to have any association. As a result of Booth's pragmatic approach to ministry, they decided not to include the use of sacraments (mainly baptism and Holy Communion) in the Army's form of worship, believing that many Christians had come to rely on the outward signs of spiritual grace rather than on grace itself. William and his wife Catherine Booth believed in the teachings of Apostle Paul, that salvation came solely from the grace of God personally received by faith. They felt that much of what passed for Christianity in their day was primarily an observance of outward ritual.

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