Founders and Influential MembersRev. Ernst Pfeiffer
(Nov. 24, 1889 - Nov. 5, 1979) Ernst Pfeiffer took an interest in Swedenborgian beliefs in 1916 after working with the Salvation Army. In 1918, he went to the USA to study the beliefs in depth. By 1921 he was a minister of the General Church of the New Jerusalem and assigned as their first minister in The Hague. In 1930, Pfeiffer created the magazine De Hemelsche Leer (Heavenly Doctrine) in which Anton Zelling gave a new interpretation of the General Church’s doctrine. His new ideas centered on the freedom of worshipers to interpret doctrinal materials at the same time as adhering to the essential principles of Swedenborgian theology. This caused a schism in the church and a portion of church members, led by Theodore Pitcairn, formed “The Lord’s New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma”. Rev. Pfeiffer served the International Council of Priests which led the church internationally in its spiritual growth. Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
(Nov. 5, 1893 - Dec. 17, 1973) In the late 1930s, doctrinal differences within the General Church led Pitcairn and several other church members to found a new branch of the New Church known as The Lord's New Church which Is Nova Hierosolyma. In 1939, Rev. Pitcairn established a non-profit corporation for the purposes of promoting and maintaining the New Church. He served as Pastor of the Philadelphia Society of The Lord's New Church until 1960, when leadership of the church passed to Philip N. Odhner. Rev. Pitcairn wrote several doctrinal works, including The Book Sealed with Seven Seals (1927); The Seven Days of Creation (1930); and My Lord and My God: Essays on Modern Religion, the Bible and Emanuel Swedenborg (1967). In 1969 the church published The Beginning and Development of Doctrine in the New Church.
about the formation of the Churches by the Lord to the individual member of the New Church, since the Divine, Divine History cannot be bound by time nor space. At that time in 1947, Mr. H.D.G. Groeneveld was considered the leading layman in the Church by the Priesthood, and reportedly is the author of all the major doctrinal statements of The Lord's New Church Which is Nova Hierosolyma.
Anton Zelling
(1880-1978) Mr. Zelling was passionate about theology and could read and write Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He studied Swedenborg and in 1937 joined Theodore Pitcairn in establishing The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma. Rt. Reverend Philip N. Odhner (Dec. 25, 1908 - Dec. 20, 1998) Philip Nathaniel Odhner was ordained into the priesthood of The General Church of The New Jerusalem in 1932. He was assigned to South Africa where he served as Pastor of the Durban Society from 1936 to 1940. Returning to his birthplace, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, he resigned from the General Church and joined The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma. He served this church as Pastor of the Montclair, New Jersey, Society until being assigned to Durban, South Africa, in 1948. As Acting Bishop of The Lord's New Church in Africa, he was responsible for developing a theological school. He was called back to Bryn Athyn in 1960 and ordained as Bishop in May 1967 by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn. He served as Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society from 1960 until his retirement in 1990. |
The Lord's New Church Which is Nova Hierosolyma | Who are the people who shaped The Lord's New Church? Read on... |
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215-947-2727 Email: info@thelordsnewchurch.org Mailing Address: The Lord’s New Church which Is Nova Hierosolyma 1725 Huntingdon Road Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 U.S.A |
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