Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church (former location)

Founded in 1982, the Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church was created to "paint the globe with the message of A Love Supreme, and in doing so promote global unity, peace on earth, and knowledge of the one true living God." It sprang from an appreciation of jazz music and an after-hours venue called the "Yardbird Club" where musicians visiting San Francisco could experiment with new ideas. As the club moved from cultural to more spiritual purposes, it became the "Yardbird Temple" in 1969. The temple changed names and moved locations several times. This church building at 2097 Turk Blvd. is one of the former locations of the church and now houses St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church. St. John Coltrane Church has relocated to the third floor of Fort Mason Building D at 2 Marina Blvd., where they hold a service each Sunday at 11 a.m.

The Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church began with the veneration of another jazz great, Charlie "Bird" Parker. Franzo Wayne King and his wife, Marina began the Parker-centered Yardbird Jazz Club in San Francisco in the mid-1960s, in which Parker was viewed as a king of John the Baptist figure. After John Coltrane's death from liver cancer in 1967, the legendary Black jazz musician came to be viewed by some as the earthly incarnation of God. The Yardbird Temple was established in 1969, evolving from the Yardbird Jazz Club. It later was renamed several times, including the Yardbird Vanguard Revolutionary Church of the Hour.

The African Orthodox Church (AOC), a church which worships a Black Christ, was founded by American Black Episcopalians in the early twentieth century. The AOC invited the Yardbird group to join in the early 1980s. Since the worship of a jazz musician is obviously not a part of traditional Christian teachings, when the temple's Pastor King was ordained by Archbishop George Duncan Hinkson of the AOC, Coltrane was reduced to the status of patron saint. Thus began the Church of Saint John Will-I-Am Coltrane.

Congregants at the church are taught to "recognize sound as the preexisting wisdom of God," and they participate in regular "sound baptisms," which involve listening to Coltrane's later recordings. The choice of John Coltrane as a saint is not as unlikely as it might seem. Coltrane, a heavy drug user, quit cold turkey in 1957 and later claimed to have heard the voice of God during withdrawals. From that point on, much of Coltrane's work was religious nature, including the classic "A Love Supreme." 

In 2019, the church celebrated their fiftieth anniversary, with a ceremony held at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. The congregation has previously been located on Divisadero, Gough, Fillmore and then Turk Streets, but has relocated (as of 2025) to the third floor of Fort Mason Building D at 2 Marina Blvd. St. John Coltrane AOC holds a service each Sunday at 11 a.m., which is open to anyone. They also host Uplift Radio Show on KPOO (89.5 FM) on Tuesdays from 12 noon to 4 p.m.

Anonymous. "The Church of Saint Coltrane (1996)". The New York Times. Accessed 29 April 2017.

St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church. Home. January 1st, 2025. Accessed June 17th, 2025. https://www.coltranechurch.org/.

Tsioulcas, Anastasia. Five Decades On, An Eclectic Church Preaches The Message Of John Coltrane, National Public Radio. September 23rd, 2020. Accessed June 17th, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/915846867/five-decades-on-an-eclectic-church-preaches-the-message-of-john-coltrane.

Wallace, Carvell. A Place for the Soul to Sing: The Church of St. John Coltrane, MTV. April 6th, 2016. Accessed June 17th, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20160406014839/http://www.mtv.com/news/2862125/a-place-for-the-soul-to-sing-the-church-of-st-john-coltrane/.