From the site I mentioned in my prior comment (if approved), from Rav Chaim Dov Keller, about the then-director of Chabad of Illinois (who has since passed away):
“This to me is extremely disturbing, because Rabbi Moscowitz, whether his hashkafos are normative Judaism or not, should, as the regional director of Chabad Lubavitch of Illinois, certainly represent normative Lubavitch thinking.
Let us look at what we are being asked to believe is ‘normative Yiddishkeit’ and ‘well within the mainstream of Torah thought’:
1. The Rebbe is not dead but still lives (so that we cannot celebrate his Yahrzeit) and is present everywhere.
2. One may pray to the Rebbe, who also knows our innermost thoughts.
3. The Rebbe is omniscient – which in simple English means he knows everything – a quality which is possessed only by HaShem Himself.
4. The Rebbe is omnipotent – meaning all powerful – kol yachol – which is also the exclusive attribute of the Creator.
5. The Rebbe is the Essence and Being of G-d enclothed in a body.
This, together with the idea of the second coming of a dead Messiah, has heretofore been recognized as standard Christian – certainly not Jewish – theology.
That there is a machlokes (dispute) within Lubavitch in these matters is well known and was clearly demonstrated by the fact that a day after the publication of the above mentioned full-page ad entitled ‘The third of Tammuz is not the Rebbe’s Yahrzeit’, there appeared another full page ad in the Times published by American Friends of Lubavitch, entitled ‘Finding Love and Unity Across the Jewish Spectrum.’ It contains not one word about him being alive, or being Moshiach, or Being and Essence of G-d. In fact, it speaks of Jewish communities the world over commemorating the third Yahrzeit of the Rebbe on the third of Tammuz. One only commemorates Yahrzeits of dead people. So there is obviously another faction.
Which leads us to two possibilities:
A. That Rabbi Moscowitz, by virtue of his position, speaks as a spokesman for the ‘official’ view of Lubavitch – and the non-Messianists are the minority.
Or
B. That the Meshichistin are the minority, but have taken over a significant part of the Movement’s official machinery – at least in Illinois.”