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, Jr.) 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