Order of the Living Christ
The Order of the Living Christ was an attempt to merge Christianity and Theosophy. The group believed in reincarnation, but adopted the externals of Anglo-Catholicism (traditional Anglicanism). They revered the works of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and her associates, but also had a deep fascination with early Christian mysticism. Members saw it as perfectly acceptable to be a part of the Order and still participate in the life of, for instance, the Episcopal Church.
In the 1920s Genevieve Ludlow Griscom (wife of the industrialist Clement Acton Griscom) bought a property in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, New York, and built a religious retreat, Chapel Farm, which became the center of activity for the Order.[1]
A mansion was built with marble fireplaces in every room, two-story bay windows and a library that once held more than 30,000 books. In 1969, the religious order sold the property to Manhattan College, which in turn granted a 99-year lease on the mansion to Mr. Jerry Galuten.[2]
Online resources
Books
Notes
- ↑ Post on Orthodoxy and Theosophy: the Vera Johnston story at Blavatsky News Blog
- ↑ Hold the McMansions: Fieldston’s Nasty Land War at The New York Observer
