Global InformationWatch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania information
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| Formation |
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|---|---|
| Founder | Charles Taze Russell |
| Founded at | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Tax ID no. | 11-1857820[1] |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) church[1][2] |
| Headquarters | Warwick, New York, U.S.[3] |
President | Robert Ciranko |
| Subsidiaries | Various |
| Website | jw |
Formerly called |
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| Part of a series on |
| Jehovah's Witnesses |
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The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization[4] headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and disseminate doctrines for the group and is often referred to by members of the denomination simply as "the Society". It is the parent organization of a number of Watch Tower subsidiaries, including the Watchtower Society of New York and International Bible Students Association.[5][6] The number of voting shareholders of the corporation is limited to between 300 and 500 "mature, active and faithful" male Jehovah's Witnesses.[7] About 5,800 Jehovah's Witnesses provide voluntary unpaid labour, as members of a religious order, in three large Watch Tower Society facilities in New York.[8] Nearly 15,000 other members of the order work at the Watch Tower Society's other facilities worldwide.[8][9][10]
The organization was formed in 1881 as Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society for the purpose of distributing religious tracts.[4] The society was incorporated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 15, 1884. In 1896, the society was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.[11] Following a leadership dispute in the Bible Student movement, the society remained associated with the branch of the movement that became known as Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1955, the corporation was renamed Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.[12] In 1976, all activities of the Watch Tower Society were brought under the supervision of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.[13]
- ^ a b "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania". Exempt Organizations Select Check. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania". Guidestar. Retrieved October 18, 2017. "This organization is not required to file an annual return with the IRS because it is a church."
- ^ "Contact Us". Official website of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. October 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Pennsylvania Department of State.
- ^ 1980 Yearbook. Watch Tower Society. p. 257.
The first of these, formed in 1881 and incorporated in 1884, is known today as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It is the parent of similar religious corporations formed world wide. Among such are the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., and the International Bible Students Association in a number of British Commonwealth nations.
- ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1959, p. 49
- ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 229.
- ^ a b "Jehovahs loses comp case: Church may be forced to pay millions", New York Daily News, January 6, 2006. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
- ^ 2009 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. 2009. p. 42.
- ^ 2012 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. 2009. p. 55.
- ^ "Report for Fiscal Year", Watch Tower, December 1, 1896, page 301, Reprints page 2077 Retrieved 2010-03-30 Archived February 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society 1993, p. 229, [1]
- ^ Franz 2007, pp. 80–107