The Church of Tzaddi: Our History

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Tzaddi (pronounced Zaddi) is a church founded in 1964 in California. The structure of our church is a federation of interfaith light centers. Our members are from many different backgrounds and belief systems. We are drawn together in Oneness through love and reverence for the Divine, God, the Higher Power, known by many names (1 ), and a desire to demonstrate this love through healing, service, and growth. The central tenets of Tzaddi are:

Peace be unto you and the Universe.
I am but the channel and the Spirit within doeth the work.
Light the Divine Light Within.

Tzaddi was founded by Amy Kees. As a young adult Founding Bishop Amy had a “miracle healing” which eliminated chronic pain, lengthened her leg, and healed spinal injury, all of which had been well documented by various doctors and relegated to “hopeless case status.” Upon receiving this healing, which came in response to her prayer for help, Bishop Amy dedicated her life to God and service. She began study for ordination in the Unity Church, then heard a call from God to start her own church. Founding Bishop Amy’s many sermons and writings exhorted people to develop their relationship with God through prayer, meditation, service, and growth. She envisioned Tzaddi as a nondenominational, interfaith metaphysical church based on a living co-relationship of each member with the Divine. She considered the heart as the most important doorway to God, love as the highest expression of God, and the physical body to be the temple of God on Earth.

The name Tzaddi was chosen for the church by Founding Bishop Amy after meditating on the 18th verse of the 119th Psalm. The chapter heading or rubric on that verse is the Hebrew letter Tzaddi.

She and Co-Founding Bishop Dorothe Blackmere structured the church as a central hub, headed by the office of the Bishop, that charters interfaith light centers, headed by Tzaddi ordained ministers. Each of these light centers is a branch of the church. These local light center charters operate together as a federation that continues to grow and unfold Founding Bishop Amy’s revelatory vision, respecting and celebrating diversity as the many faces of the One.

Founding Bishop Amy was a biblical intuitive scholar and a gifted clairvoyant. Her teachings are based on the Bible and other texts, including ancient teachings of various mystery schools; in her revelations she experienced herself as a link between the Essenes of Biblical times and the modern world. In the early years of Tzaddi, Founding Bishop Amy gave many metaphysical teachings using the Bible. These courses were a foundation for the inspirational prophesies brought forth by the early ministers of the church. In modern vocabulary we use the word “channeling” to describe their prophecy and inspiration.

Founding Bishop Amy taught students to develop the body and the psychic and spiritual energy centers. She taught about the physical body, etheric body, astral body, mental body, and spiritual body; the silver cord attaching the physical to the spiritual body; and the kundalini fire and the chakras. Her teachings were based on her experiences with her guide and Master, Adonis, Jesus, and other Masters of Light. Founding Bishop Amy taught that the goal of development is a state of Oneness consciousness, and perfect alignment with the inner Divine manifested on Earth. She looked to Jesus as someone who completely outwardly manifested this inner perfection, this holiness, this Christed state, as a teacher and example.

After Founding Bishop Amy and Co-Bishop Dorothe retired from the leadership of the Church, the Bishop post passed to Dr. Frank Alper (deceased, 2007), Interim Bishop; to Bishop Marion Lamb (deceased, 2007); to Bishop Albert Ellis, Interim Bishop; and on June 2, 2008, to Bishop Amy Skezas, current Residing Bishop. The Interim Bishops filled the post briefly, for a period of less than a year, to assist in the transition to the next Residing Bishop. Each Bishop has brought Tzaddi forward, building on the work of the Bishops who came before, with the assistance of the Board of Directors, Light Center Directors, ordained Tzaddi Doctors of Divinity, Ministers, and Healer Counselors, and Tzaddi congregants.

The Biblical foundation for Tzaddi beliefs, church structure, style of worship, and forms of ministry is found most clearly in 1st Corinthians 12.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit.
There are different forms of service but the same Lord. There are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.
If a foot should say, "Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, "Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as He intended.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you," nor again the head to the feet, "I do not need you." Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this.
If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

(1) “The True Church is not made of creeds and forms, nor is it contained in walls of wood and stone; the heart of man is its temple and the Spirit of Truth is the one guide into all Truth. When men learn to turn within to the Spirit of Truth which is in each one of us for our light and inspiration, the differences between the churches of man will be eliminated and the one church will be recognized.”—Founding Bishop Amy Kees, January 13, 1980.

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