The Philadelphians, or the Philadelphian Society, were a 17th-century English dissenter group. They were organized around

John Pordage John Pordage (1607–1681) was an Anglican priest, astrologer, alchemist and Christian mystic. He founded the 17th-century English Behmenist group, which would later become known as the Philadelphian Society when it was led by his disciple and ...

(1607–1681), an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest from

Bradfield, Berkshire Bradfield is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. Aside from farms and a smaller amount of woodland its main settlements are Bradfield Southend, its medieval-founded nucleus and the hamlet of Tutts Clump. Bradfield village is the h ...

, who had been ejected from his parish in 1655 because of differing views, but then reinstated in 1660 during the English Restoration. Pordage was attracted to the ideas of

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the Lutheran tradition, and his first ...

, a Lutheran theosophist and Christian mystic.

Origins

A group of followers came to Pordage, including

Ann Bathurst Ann Bathurst was a prophet and member of the 17th century English dissenter group, the Philadelphian Society. Not much is known of Bathurst's family, and what is known is due to her two-volume manuscript diary covering the period 1679 to 1696. Th ...

and led by Mrs.

Jane Leade Jane Lead (; March 1624 – 19 August 1704) was a Christian mystic born in Norfolk, England, whose spiritual visions, recorded in a series of publications, were central in the founding and philosophy of the Philadelphian Society in London at ...

(1624–1704), who experienced a number of

visions Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

and later published them in her book '' A Fountain of Gardens''. The group incorporated as The Philadelphian Society for the Advancement of Piety and Divine Philosophy in 1694 (their name was inspired by the Philadelphians mentioned in the Book of Revelation.) They rejected the idea of being a church, preferring the term society, and none of the members ceased their memberships in existing churches. Together, the group held views that were somewhat similar to

Panentheism Panentheism ("all in God", from the Greek language, Greek grc, πᾶν, pân, all, label=none, grc, ἐν, en, in, label=none and grc, Θεός, Theós, God, label=none) is the belief that the Divinity, divine intersects every part of Univers ...

, regarding the belief in the presence of God in all things, and with a

Nondualist Nondualism, also called nonduality and nondual awareness, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer and seen or nondiffer ...

component, in that they also believed the presence of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

exists in each and everyone's soul, and that one can become enlightened and illuminated by living a virtuous life and seeking truth through the wisdom of God.

Basic beliefs

Mrs. Leade's visions were a central part of the group. Around 1694, she became a Christian Universalist, rejecting the "Doctrine that hath been preached of an endless Misery and Torment" which had "wrought little effect in frightening or terrifying 'em from their evil Courses." She believed that punishment after death was purgative, not punitive.Hirst, Julie. ''Jane Leade: Biography of a Seventeenth-Century Mystic.'' Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005. p. 27. The group's views were spread to continental Europe by

Francis Lee Francis Lee may refer to: *Francis Lee (director), English actor and film director of ''God's Own Country'' *Francis Lee (footballer) (1944–2023), English professional footballer. *Francis Lee (physician) (1661–1719), English writer known for h ...

, a non-juror at the accession of

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

. The group drew up a formal confession of beliefs in 1703. However, after the death of Mrs. Leade in 1704, the group's numbers dwindled quickly.

Influences

In later years, although no longer officially a functioning group, many of the Philadelphian Society's views and writings, particularly those by

, remained influential among certain groups of Behmenists,

Pietists Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

, Radical Pietists,

Christian mystics Christian mysticism is the tradition of mysticism, mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation

f the person F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

for, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative p ...

, and Esoteric Christians, such as the Society of the Woman in the Wilderness (led by

Johannes Kelpius Johannes Kelpius (; 1667 – 1708) was a German Pietist, mystic, musician, and writer. He was also interested in the occult, botany, and astronomy. He came to believe with his followers – called the "Society of the Woman in the Wilderness" – ...

), the Ephrata Cloister, and the Harmony Society, among others.

Notable Philadelphians

Samuel Pordage Samuel Pordage (1633 – c. 1691) was a 17th-century English poet. He is best known by his '' Azaria and Hushai'' (1682), a reply to John Dryden's ''Absalom and Achitophel''. Life Samuel was the eldest son of John Pordage, a clergyman from Bradfi ...

* Roger Crab *

References

{{Reflist 17th century in England 18th century in England Christian groups with universalist beliefs Christian mysticism Esoteric Christianity Radical Pietism English Dissenters 1670 establishments in England Christian denominations founded in Great Britain

Origins

Basic beliefs

Influences

Notable Philadelphians

See also

References