The "Toronto Blessing": Charisma, Institutionalization, and Revival.

Since January 20, 1994, the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, a church located near the Pearson International Airport, has become the center of a global revival. Although similar revival fires are under- way at other centers (in various parts of North America as well as on other continents), TACF is an important institutional source for the dissemination of the experience, ideology, and structural form of this religious social movement. Using a Weberian theoretical framework based on Thomas O'Dea's "institutional dilemmas," this descriptive account of the "Toronto Blessing" provides a first-hand portrayal of the process through which charisma becomes routinized. Each of O'Dea's five dilemmas is discussed, noting the balance between charismatic manifestations and institutional features set into place by TACF leadership. The dynamic interplay between charisma and institutions is illustrated through teachings, testimonies, and observations made during 22 months of field research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]