New Church History

07/10/2017

Today's Google doodle honors Eva Ekeblad. Swedenborg was a friend of her family of origin (De la Gardie) and, although a one-time political opponent of her husband, Claes Ekeblad (1708-1771, the latter was one of the people to whom Swedenborg presented a copy of Conjugial Love. In 1748, Eva Ekeblad became the first woman to be a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which had been founded in 1740. (Swedenborg had been elected to membership in 1741 on his return to Sweden.)

07/08/2017

By an amazing coincidence (if you believe in mere coincidence), the Harvard Art Museum currently has an exhibition about the "Lost Museum" in which Worcester found William Hill's Arcana exactly 200 years ago (They probably don't include that part in the exhibition.) But we will try to check it out next week and report back. http://www.nshoremag.com/harvard-art-museum-showcases-a-forgotten-landmark-of-american-culture/

The “lost” 18th-century teaching cabinet, known as the Philosophy Chamber, thrived as a center of artistic and intellectual life.

07/08/2017

The remarkable story of the recovery of the volumes at the Harvard Library, in Worcester’s own words:
"Upon my return to college, after I had begun to read Swedenborg, I went to the library the second time to see if I could find any of his works. The librarian looked into the catalogue again, and found the alcove and shelves where they ought to have been; but they were not there. Then we began a thorough search. We looked through the whole library, in place and out of place, but could not find them. Then we began to think of other rooms. At that time the library was in the second story of the west end of Harvard Hall. In the east end was a large room, called the 'Philosophical Room.' And between this room and the library was a small room, which for the want of a proper name was called the 'Museum.' It was filled with rubbish, old curiosities, cast off, superseded, and obsolete philosophical apparatus, and so forth, all covered with dust. We could see no reason for hunting here, except that we had hunted everywhere else, without finding what we wanted.
There was a long table in the room. Upon it, and under it, were piles of useless articles; and beyond it were shelves against the wall, where various things were stored away. On the under shelf, as far out of sight as possible, I saw some books. I told the librarian, and he went round and worked his way until he got at them, and found that the large books were volumes of the 'Arcana Coelestia.' There were also several other works of Swedenborg, all of them covered with dust. I immediately got an order from President Kirkland, giving me authority to take the books and keep them in my room; and this I did for the rest of my college life.
"By what means or for what purpose these 'Heavenly Doctrines' were cast out of the library of Harvard College must be left to conjecture. Of the 50,000 or 60,000 volumes then belonging to the library, these were the only ones that were treated in this manner. The fact seems to represent the state of the New Church at that time."

07/08/2017

James Glen may have given a lecture at the Green Dragon Tavern in Boston in 1784, but organized New Church in that city really only begins in earnest with a small band of students at Harvard in 1817. Thomas Worcester, who was to be the pastor of the Boston Society for most of 50 years, heard that there were some volumes of the Heavenly Doctrine in the Harvard Library. But he was, at first, baffled as to where to find them.

03/03/2017

Was the first "Newchurchman" in America a woman? Note: this post is about how the study of history actually works, i.e. often tantalizing and also often frustrating. So be prepared - the question will not be satisfactorily answered.

01/30/2017

Ed Gyllenhaal, in honor of Swedenborg's birthday, posted a link to a New Church history fun fact: http://www.newchurchhistory.org/funfacts/index092b.html

NewChurchHistory.org provides an electronic medium for articles and projects related to the life and times of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), the influence of Swedenborg's theological works worldwide, and the history of the New Church from the 18th century to the present day. Articles on historical…

11/15/2016

Others have taken note and linked this article, but in the interest of its historical connections, we too should probably note it: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/13/the-world-s-greatest-strangest-chapel-by-the-sea.html. The article observes that the architect, Lloyd Wright, spent most of his career in the shadow of his better known father. But the Wayfarer's Chapel is a sublime example of the "organic architecture" practiced by both father and son. The senior Wright had himself been a disciple of Louis Sullivan, whose dictum "form ever follows function" was a precursor of this philosophy, and he too, was inspired by principles from the Heavenly Doctrine. (see Architecture as Nature: The Transcendentalist Idea of Louis Sullivan by Narciso G. Menocal.)

For the mystical Swedenborg Church, the unfairly neglected architect Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. designed a chapel that seamlessly welds together art, nature and the human spirit.�

07/19/2016

The first Green Dragon Tavern had its origins in 1657. In 1765, the St. Andrews Masonic Lodge purchased the tavern and renamed it "The Freemasons Arms." But apparently that name didn't catch on and people continued to call it "The Green Dragon." As it was the regular meeting place for the disaffected colonists, Daniel Webster later called it "Headquarters of the Revolution." It was here that the Boston Tea Party was planned. And it is also claimed that Paul Revere was launched on his midnight ride after the plans of British Officers were overheard here. So the Masonic and revolutionary associations were probably still strong in people's minds when James Glen lectured there in 1784.

07/19/2016

After James Glen, on the 5th of June 1784, gave the first public lecture on the doctrines of the New Church, he traveled from Philadelphia to Boston. As he had in Philadelphia, he chose for his lectures a venue with a colorful history: The Green Dragon Tavern. The present establishment at 11 Marshall St. makes much of the history of the original Green Dragon Tavern. But it not on the same site (perhaps a couple of hundred feet away),it is not a replica of the original, and it does not yet have much history of its own (est. 1993.)

06/19/2016

On June 19th, 1876, a group of twelve members of the General Convention met and first organized the Academy of the New Church. This took place in Philadelphia, as the Convention was having its annual meeting there, owing to the fact that the “Centennial Exposition,” the first US World’s Fair was taking place at that time.