20 facts on Morris Cerullo, American healing evangelist, who dies at 88

20 facts on Morris Cerullo, American healing evangelist, who dies at 88

Saturday, July 11, 2020 6:28 pm


Morris Cerullo

Dr Morris Cerullo, the United States healing evangeli, is dead. He was 88.
He died this morning, Saturday, 11 July in San Diego, California, United States. Cerullo was born on 2 October 1931, his ministry which spanned all continents of the world, inspired many Pastor and young Christians. He did this through physical presence in many countries, television evangelism and through more than 80 books.

Among his spirituals sons in Nigeria is Mike Okonkwo, the founder and Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission. In his words: “My father – Dr. Morris Cerullo! Like a good soldier of Christ, you fought a good fight, finished your course and kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7).

“Our consolation is that you lived an impactful life, raising men across the globe for Jesus. Adieu Papa Cerullo! We will miss you dearly.”

Here are 20 facts about Cerullo, aggregated from different biographical writings on him by Wikipedia.

‘1. Morris Cerullo was born on 2 October 1931

2. He was an American pentecostal evangelist who traveled extensively around the world for his ministry.

3. He hosted Victory Today, a daily television program

4. He published more than 80 books.

5. Cerullo was born in Passaic, New Jersey to a Russo-Jewish/Italian family.

6. His parents died in an automobile accident when he was very young.

7. He was raised in various orphanages, the last being an Orthodox Jewish orphanage in nearby Clifton, New Jersey.

8. He converted to Christianity at age 14 with the guidance of a nurse in the Clifton, New Jersey, orphanage.

9. Soon after, Jewish orphanage directors restricted him from practicing certain matters of his new faith, so he ran away from the orphanage.

10. He began preaching the gospel at the age of 16, after claiming to have seen a vision from God, in which he witnessed people suffering torments in Hell.

11. He attended and graduated from divinity school in New York state in 1953, and began ministering with the help of his then soon-to-be bride Theresa.

12. In the early 1950s, he was ordained in the Assemblies of God.

13. Cerullo conducted repeated “Schools of Ministry” (SOM) in several countries like Mexico, Brazil, The Philippines, Korea, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Indonesia, Netherlands and many others.

14. In 1990, Cerullo purchased, from the United States Federal Bankruptcy Court in Columbia, South Carolina, the assets of Jim Bakker’s bankrupt ministry, PTL.[8] These assets included the Heritage USA Christian theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina which he purchased in partnership with Malayan United Industries (Berhad). After a dispute with his business partners over his issuance of discount cards to the theme park, the Malaysian entity bought out Cerullo’s interest in Heritage USA.

15. As a part of his agreement to purchase Heritage USA, the bankruptcy court also approved Cerullo’s $7 million offer to purchase PTL’s cable television network, The Inspirational Network, which was renamed INSP-The Inspiration Network and transferred into a new, separate entity, The Inspiration Networks.

16. Cerullo’s son, David, has served as the corporation’s president and CEO, and as a member of its board of directors since its formation. In 2005 he was elected to serve as its chairman.

17. The organization, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, is currently building a new multi-million dollar broadcast headquarters facility known as “CrossRidge” in Lancaster County, South Carolina. This was opened on March 1, 2009.

18. The Cerullos are the parents of three children, David (b. 1952), Susan (b. 1954) and Mark (b. 1957).

19. Cerullo is considered by some critics to be controversial, with concerns having been raised about his financial practices. He was indicted for income tax evasion in California. Those charges were dismissed by the court.

20. As a Christian of Jewish origin, he has carried a few evangelistic campaigns targeted at the Jewish community, drawing some condemnation from anti-missionary organizations and claims of deceptive practices.’


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