This Cult From the Late 1600s Was Born in Philadelphia
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Pennsylvania is the birthplace of several unusual cults and religious groups and one in particular was born in Philadelphia, writes Kalena Thomhave for The Keystone.
Among the first doomsday cults in the New World is tied to the woods of the Wissahickon Valley in Philadelphia.
This cult is the Society of the Woman in the Wilderness.
During the late 1600s, a peculiar Lutheran sect led by Johannes Kelpius settled in the area now known as Wissahickon Park.
Kelpius would start a free school for children, and he along with his followers would often assist neighboring settlers with subjects like medicine and law.
They group believed the world would end in 1964 and planned to meditate in the woods until the end of the world.
When that didn’t happen, the group would slowly disband and assimilate into nearby towns.
A cave believed to believed to be tied to the group, likely the site Kelpius himself meditated, can still be accessed in the park. Called Kelpius Cave or Hermit’s Cave, it can be found along the park’s Yellow Trail.
Philadelphia is also the home of one of several branches of the World Mission Society Church of God. Recruiters target people searching for meaning or community and members are subjected to forced isolation from friends and family.
Read more about cults with Philadelphia roots in The Keystone.
Content retrieved from: https://bucksco.today/2024/10/cult-born-in-philadelphia/?cat=historic&ap=borrowed-post.
