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YAUE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

ALBERT H CHILDS
YALE '61
MEMORIAL COLLECTION

ET

T3

Robert Hindmarsh

A BIOGRAPHY

BY

CARL TH. ODHNER.

WITH THREE APPENDIXES.

ACADEMY BOOK ROOM
1821 Wallace Street, Philadelphia
125=1895

Mk

9.3

CONTENTS.

PAGK.

Robert Hindmarsh, a Biography,  i
Introduction,  3
Childhood and Youth,  5
His Eeceptjon of the Doctrines of the New
Church,  7
The Beginning op New Cht^rch Association, 10
The ESTABLIiiHMENT OP THE NeW ChURCH IN
an External Form, .  17
The First Conflict in the Church, .... 25
A Defender op the Faith, .  32
A Period of Temptations,  37
Renewed Activities, . . ... 45
The Leader of the Church, . ... 55
His Last Yea ns:, . , . . .60
Reasons for Separating from the Old Church, 65
Principles of Ecclesiastical Government, . 80
The Priesthood of the New Church in Great
Britain. A Chronological List, . 97

INTRODUCTION.

The history of the Priesthood of the Lord's New
Church contains uo name more worthy of remembrance
than that of Robert Hindmarsh. The founder of the
first organization ofthe Church, the first receiver of her
Baptism, the first ordainer of her Priesthood, the un
wearied translator and publisher of her Doctrines, a
hero of Michael defending her Faith against the Dragon,
the deepest and soundest of her early theologians, in
short, the high-priest of the Church for half a century;
in all these lights Robert Hindmarsh stands forth pre
eminent in the early annals ofthe New Church.
The present sketch is the first attempt that has been
made to give a connected outline ofthe life and work of
Robert Hindmarsh. Viewed as a whole, that life and
work may be said to represent the principle of the ulti-
mation ofthe Heavenly Doctrines in the organized form
of the visible Church. Of all that is distinctively ofthe
New Church, Robert Hindmarsh was the great exponent
and defender. May the lesson ofhis life tend to promote
that heavenly use which he himself so deeply loved and
so faithfully served, the establishment of theNew Jeru
salem, distiact from the Old, on every plane of life.
Readers who desire to consult the original documents
upon which this work is based will find the references
printed in New Church Life for 1894.
3

CHAPTEE J.
CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH.
Robert Hindmarsh was born at Alnwick, in
Northumberland, England, on November 8th, in the
year 1759. His father, James Hindmarsh, who had
formerly been writing master at the Methodist semi
nary called Kingswood School, near Bristol, at that
tirae was an itinerant preacher in John Wesley's
newly-founded sect, but became, at a later period, the
first public preacher of the Heavenly Doctrines of the
New Jerusalem. Brought up by this religious father,
Robert Hindmarsh was early imbued with love for the
Word of God and for the spiritual things of the Church.
His education was continued at the Kingswood
School. Here the young boy soon became conspicuous
for a remarkable degree of " clear-headedness," an ar
dent love of knowledge, and an extraordinary facility
for acquiring and retaining it. So great was his pro
gress that when, at the early age of fourteen years, he
was taken out of school, he was regarded by his mas
ters as one ofthe principal ornaments ofthe institution.
He had then acquired an elementary knowledge of the
sciences, and great proficiency in the Greek and Latin
languages, particularly in the latter, which he could
read and write with facility and correctness. Hia studies
did not cease with his short school life, but in the course
of time, by a wide and systematic reading, he acquired
6

extensive and well-balanced learning. The Word of
God continued the favorite subject of his attention, and
in order to gain a correct understanding of its teach
ings he began an independent study of the Hebrew,
and in time acquired a high degree of proficiency in
that sacred tongue.
After leaving school he wa? placed by his parents
with a printer in London, where he learned the printer's
trade. While yet a very young man, he established a
printing office of his own, and conducttd this business
successfully I'or many years. In tlie year 1787 he re
ceived an honorary appointment as " Printer to His
Royal HigluR'.'^s, the Prince of Wales."
Though bitrn and bred in the very focus of Method
ism he never formed any attachment to the doctrines
and discipline of this sect, but searched diligently for a
religion that would appeal to his understanding rather
than to unreasoning sentiments. He early discerned the
divisions and the doctrinal confusion in the Christian
Church. The dogma of the three persons in the God
head was especially offensive to him. He states that by
examining the Sacred Scriptures he arrived at the con
clusion — obscurely seen at first — that the Lord Jesus
Christ could be the only Divine Person, who as Creator
is called " Father," as Redeemer, " Son," and as Com
forter and Regenerator, " Holy Spirit." Thus he was
prepared by the Divine Providence to receive the
heavenly light which was soon to shine upou him out of
the Writings of the New Church, and to take up the
sacred work of publishing these through the press.

CHAPTER IL
RECEPTION OF .THE DOCTRINES.
He first heard of Swedenborg's name in the year
1778, when the work Heaven and Hell, translated by
the Rev. Thoraas Hartley and Mr. William Cookworthy,
was being printed in London at the office of Mr. James
Phillips. Robert Hindmarsh was at that time an
apprentice in a printing house connected with that of
Mr. Phillips, and he thus carae to hear of the very
curious book that was to be published, and about the
extraordinary author, " Baron " Emanuel Swedenborg.
Though his curiosity was then greatly excited to learn
something definite about the state of man after death,
the current reports about Swedenborg's unsoundness of
raind discouraged him from investigating the book for
himself. But his interest had been aroused, and he
was led to continue his inquiries on the subject of eter
nal life. Thus it came to pass that on the first of Janu
ary, in the year 1782, while on a visit to his father, then
stationed in Canterbury, the conversation turned to the
subject of Swedenborg and his Writings. On inquiring
where these books could be obtained, the young man was
referred to Mr. George Keen, a Quaker then residing
in the same town, who was said to possess some of them.
Calling the following day upon this gentleman, who sub
sequently became a member of the New Church, Hind
marsh was favored with the loan of the woiks Heaven
7

and Hell and The Intercourse between the Soid and the
Body. " These works," he informs us, " I read with the utmost
avidity, and instantly perceived their contents to be of heavenly
origin. I therefore as naturally embraced and delighted in
them, as the eye embraces and delights iu objects that reflect the
golden rays of the rising sun. The same day that introduced
me to a knowledge of these 'Writings, introduced me also to the
first interview with the young lady [S.irah, daughter of Mr.
Henry P.aramor], who, on the 7th of May following, became my
wife. . . . Tlius I found myself doubly blessed bv the events of
tbe before-mentioned day."
At that time but few of the Writings were translated
into the English tongue, and Hindmarsh, therefore,
speedily procured a full collection of these Writings in
the original Latin, which he now began to study with
ever-increasing delight. Business cares demanding most
of his attention in the daytime, he borrowed from the
night many an hour for his favorite studies, even taking
the books to bed with him, and reading until sleep over
took him.
Like most new receivers of the Heavenly Doctrines,
he confidently expected that every person of sound
judgment or common sense would receive these with
the same ease and delight as he. But in this he soon
found himself grievously disappointed. Wherever he
turned with his treasure of heavenly truth he met with
naught but contempt or ridicule. Swedenborg was uni
versally considered a madman or an impostor, and even
the father of our young Newchurchman at first ear
nestly warned him against the " dangerous vagaries " of

the " Baron." Robert Hindmarsh and his young wife,
who shared in hia convictions, thua found themaelves
alone, in the great world of London, in their faith in the
Lord at His Second Advent.

CHAPTER III.
THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW CHURCH.
After a year had thus passed he at last found three
other readers of the Writings, Mr. Peter Prove, a sur
geon, Mr. Williara Bonington, a clock-case manufac
turer, and John Augustus Tulk, Es(i., a gentleraan of
wealth. In the year 178'1 tliese persons were invited by
Robert Hindmarsh to meet regularly for reading the
Writings, at his house in Clerkenwell Close, not far from
the spot of Swedenborg's last residence on earth.
After these meetings had continued for a time, the
friends agreed to call a public meeting of all readera
and friends of the new doctrines who were definitely
known as such. This meeting was accordingly held on
the fifth of December, 178.3, at five o'clock in the after
noon, at the " London Coffee House " on Ludgate Hill.
Five persons were present at this meeting, the only addi
tion to the former number being Mr. William Spence, a
surgeon. The repeated occurrence of the number five in
connection with this, the first public meeting of the New
Church, was remarked upon aa significative of the fact
that the New Church was to begin among a few.
From lack of a secluded apartment at the Coffee
House the meeting was immediately adjourned to the
neighboring " Queen's Arms Tavern," where, among
othei things, it was agreed to meet again on the following
10

11
Thursday for further consultation. Robert Hindmarsh
thus describes the sphere of this meeting, which waa so
pregnant with the most iraportant consequences:
"To hear the story of each other's first reception of the doc
trines, and to observe the animation that sparkled iu the eye
and brightened up tlie countenance of each speaker as it came
to his turn to relate the particulars of that, by him, never to-be-
forgotten event, was itself a little heaven. . . . Our spirits
were elated by the meeting. Three or four hours passed swiftly
away ; and soon after uine o'clock we adjourned, highly gratified
with this first public interview of congenial minds, and deter
mined to prosecute our plan of holding np to the view of the
world a Light, which could no longer be concealed in a, secret
place, nor hid under a bed or a bushel."
During the following week a room was engaged at
the "Inner Temple," near Fleet Street, and an adver
tisement was inserted in some of the London journals,
extending a general invitation to all readers of the
Writings to meet together for the purpose of joining in
an effort to promulgate a knowledge ofthe New Church.
In accordance with this invitation a second meeting was
held on December 12th, when the five gentlemen men
tioned above, were joined by two zealous and intelligent
receivers ofthe Doctrines, Mr. Henry Peckitt, a retired
and wealthy surgeon, who had been an interested reader
since the year 1777, and Mr. James Glen, a Scotchman,
of eccentric manners but of profound insight into the
Heavenly Doctrines.
These and successively others, who joined the meet
ings, brought increased strength and impetus to this
circle of Newchurchmen who, in January, 1784,
organized into a society with the designation : " The

12
Theosophical Society, instituted for the purpose of pro
moting the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem,
by translating, printing and publishing the Theological
Writings of the Honorable Emanuel Swedenborg.''
Of this society, Robert Hindmarsh was Secretary, and
his name appears as such at the close ofthe first printed
document of the society, a circular address '""To the
Christian World at large, but more especially fo the
Clergy," explaining the nature and intentions of the
institution, and inviting fhe co-operation of all who
sympathized with the undertaking. This was dated
January 15 th, 1784.
The news of the formation of the " Theosophical
Society " now spread rapidly iu London, and the mem
bership increased greatly within the period of the fol
lowing three or four years. A number of gentlemen of
talents, distinction, or means associated themselves with
the new movement. Meetings were held not only on
Thursdays, but also on Sunday evenings, at which the
Writings were read and discussed, aud measures were
considered for the promotion of the heavenly uses ofthe
society. At these meetings Robert Hindmarah acted as
Reader. Among the earliest additions to the inember-
ship the following were the most noteworthy : Benedict
Chastanier, a French surgeon, resident in London, and
one of the most active of the raembers ; Augustus
Nordenskjold and his brother Carl Frederic, two
Swedish noblemen, both well-known iu the history of
the Church ; Charles Bernhard Wadstrom, a learned
Swede, who is famoua aa the first agitator against the
Afiican slave-trade; Henry Servante, distinguished for

13
his zeal, intelligence, and activity; Manoah Sibly,
bookaeller, and afterward one of the foremost ministers
of the Church ; James Hindmarsh, who, through his
son, had become thoroughly convinced of the truth of
the Heavenly Doctrines ; F. H. Barthelemon, musical
preceptor to the Royal Family, who made the first
efforts to develop music in adaptation to the truths of
the Church ; John Flaxman, the celebrated sculptor,
whose work beara distinctive traces of New Church
influence ; and Lieutenant-General Rainsford, after
ward Governor of Gibraltar, besides a number of
others. The proposed work of translating and publishing the
Writings was begun in the year 1784. The first work to
be published was The New Jerusalem, and its Heavenly
Doctrine, translated by Mr. Prove and Robert Hind
marsh, and published at the joint expense ofthe " Theo
sophical Society " in London, and the " Manchester
Printing Society," which, at thia time, was being formed
through the influence of the Rev. John Clowes, Rector of
St. John's, in Manchester. In the same year Robert
Hindmarsh edited and published, at his own expense,
the first Latin edition (4to'), oi Summaria Expositio Sen
sus Interni, the manuscript of which had been brought
to London by the Nordenskjold brothers.
About this time Robert Hindmarsh became instru
mental in the planting of the New Church on the
American Continent. James Glen, while on his way to
Demerara, in British Guinea, where he was to settle,
paid a visit to the United States in order to announce
the new Goapel of the Second Advent of the Lord.

14
On June 5th, 1784, he delivered a public lecture on the
Doctrines of the New Church, in an auction-room in
Philadelphia. His efforts meeting but small response,
he soon left this city to visit Boston, where he also de
livered a lecture. After his departure from Philadel
phia a box of New Church books arrived, addressed to
him by Robert Hindmarsh. No claimant appearing,
the books were subsequently sold at public auction. A
number of the purchasers became zealous Newchurch
men, notably, the Hon. John Young, of Greensburg,
and Mr. Francis Bailey, of Philadelphia, who became
the first publisher of the Writings in America.
In the following year, 1785, Robert Hindmarsh, in
conjunction with four other gentlemen, undertook the
great work of editing and publishing, at their joint ex
pense, the first Latin edition oi Apocalypsis Explicata,
which was among the manuscripts brought from Stock
holm by the Nordenskjolds. This work was published
in four volumes, extending over a period of four years.
During the publication the following striking incident
took place. Mr. Henry Peckitt, as one of the editors,
had in hia possession the manuscript of the second vol
ume. One night a fire broke out in his neighborhood,
which soon laid his own home in ashes. Mr. Peckitt
himself narrowly escaped with his life, and iu the excite
raent forgot the precious manuscript in his possession
until the fire had consumed his valuable library of sev
eral thousand volumes. Next morning, while he was
despairingly searching amongst the ruins, a neighbor
informed him that some books had been picked up in
the street, where they had been thrown at random by a

15
fireman. What was his joy in finding among these
booka the priceless manuscript, preserved from injury in
every respect. A few days afterward, while the
" Theosophical Society " was holding its usual meeting,
Mr. Peckitt entered with the manuscript under his arm.
Bursting into tears he placed it on the table, exclaiming,
" There, the greatest treasure which I had in my house
is preserved in safety, and for the sake of that I wil
lingly submit to my great loss."
Robert Hindmarsh, at this period, performed another
important service to the Church, by obtaining from Mr.
Richard Shearsraith, in whose house Swedenborg had
expired, a legally sworn affidavit, emphatically denying
the current report that Swedenborg, a few hours before
he died, had retracted all his theological writings.
Many of the members of the " Theosophical Society "
at this period attended the Sunday services conducted
at the " London Asylum for Female Orphans," by the
Rev. Jacob Duche. This eloquent preacher is famous
in American history as having read the opening prayer
in the First Congress of the United States, held in
Philadelphia in the year 1776. Later, being suspected
of sympathy with the English, he was forced to leave
this country, and settled temporarily in London. Pre
vious to his exile (which lasted only a few years) he had
embraced the Doctrines of the New Church, and now
incorporated these in his aermons, though with the
greatest caution of expression. From the teachings and
example of him, and ofthe Rev. John Clowes, in Man
chester, many of the early receivers of the Doctrines
were led to hope that the truths of the New Church

16
would gradually find their way into the Eatablished
Church, thereby efl!ecting a general reformation, and
rendering unnecessary, nay, disorderly, any separate
establishment of distinctively New Church worahip.
But Robert Hindmarsh and some other more clear
sighted students of the Doctrines were not deceived by
this seductive hope — which the subsequent history of the
New Church proved to be most delusive. To them the
reformation of a dead Church aeemed impossible, while,
on the other hand, they heard the Divine Voice calling
" Come md of her. My people."

CHAPTER IV.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH.
Led by the ever resolute and fearless Robert Hind
marsh, some of the members of the Society resolved to
lay before their brethren the proposal to open a place
for the distinct public worship of the Lord Jesus
Christ in His Divine Human.
Thia momentous proposition was submitted to the
Society at a meeting held on April 19th, in the year
1787, but was negatived by a small majority of the
members, some of whom were altogether opposed to any
separation from the Old Church, while others did not
think that the proper time for such a step had yet ar
rived. But though the Rev. John Clowes came to London
for the single purpose of dissuading the minority from
their expressed purpose, the latter were not convinced
by his arguments, nor persuaded by his appeals for
" charitable " sentiments toward the Old Church. The
votes of a majority could not outweigh the dictate of
their conscience, and hence, on the 7th of May of the
same year, they organized a new and separate Society,
which they styled "The Society for Promoting the
Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Church."
They still continued in friendly relations with the re
maining members of the " Theosophical Society," which
latter did not dissolve until some years afterward.
2 17

18
Thenceforth, however, the readers of the Writinga were
divided into two distinct and sometimes opposing parties,
" separatiouists " and " non-separationists."
At the first meeting of this new Society it was re
solved to engage, at the first opportunity, a chapel for
the meetings and the public worship of the New Church,
but as uo such opportunity offered itself for some time,
the members continued to meet at private houses.
"Rules and Regulations" for the Society were adopted
at a meeting held on July 2d, aud a declaration of
" Principles " at a select meeting held on July 29th,
1787. In this latter interesting document, which was drawn
up by Mr. James Glen, it is declared, among other
things, that
" The Truths of the New Church are alone contained iu the
Word and the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg."
" Introduction into the New Church is solely through the
Spiritual Correspondence, Bitplism, performed in that Church."
" Conjunction with the Lord and consociation with the angels
of the New Heavens are effected by the Holy Supper taken in
the Neiv Church, according to its Heavenly and Divine Corre
spondences.'' The first establishment of the New Church in an
external form was finally corapleted when, on July 31st,
1787, the Sacraraents of Baptism and the Holy Supper
for the first time were administered according to the
Doctrines of the New Jerusalem.
At this soleran meeting "it was determined by lot
that Mr. James Hindmarsh should officiate in the room
of a priest." First, the Holy Supper was administered

19
to eleven persona, and afterward the Sacrament of Bap
tism to five others. Of these, Robert Hindmarsh was
the first to take up the ensign of the New Church, and
thus to enter through the universal gateway into the
Holy City.
Soon after this occasion the first Liturgy of the New
Church, entitled The Order of Worship for the New
Church signified hy the New Jerusalem in the Revelation,
was drawn up by Robert Hindmarsh and adopted by the
Society. On November 5th of the same year the Society met
for tbe first time in a chapel in Great East Cheap,
which i:ad been hired by Mr. Hindmarsh aud two other
members for the uses of the Church. This chapel was
opened for the public worship of the New Church on
the Lord's Day, January 27th, 1788. Mr. James
Hindmarsh, who had been chosen the first minister of
the Church, on this occasion preached a sermon ou the
text, " Praise ye the Lord.''
In view of the purely ecclesiastical form which the
Society had now assumed, it was resolved, at a meeting
on May 5th, 1788, to adopt the scriptural and doctrinal
designation, "The New Church, signified by the New
Jerusalem in the Revelation," instead of the former
secular name.
At this time the necessity for a regularly appointed
and ordained Priesthood began to be recognized, and
many meetings were held for the consideration of this
important subject. The question arose. Whence should
the Priesthood of the New Church derive its authority
and ordination ? From the authorities of the Old

20
Church? Manifestly not, for the New Church was to
be as distinct from it as was the first Christian Church
from the preceding dispensation. Should, then, the
ordaining power proceed from the members of the New-
Church themselves through a direct majority vote?
The Society did not think they possessed such an in
herent, original power. Such a course would make of
the priestly office a merely human institution. To
whom, then, should they look for light on this
question, to which the Heavenly Doctrine appeared
to give no specific answer, and which human pru
dence could not solve? To whom but to the
Lord alone, the High-Priest, and the only Priest of His
Church? With unquestioning trust in tlie Divine Provi
dence the members of the New Church determined to
seek for indications ofthe Divine Will, by raeans ofthe
drawing of lots. To this step they were led, not by the
pressure of necessity alone, but also, and especially, by
the example ofthe Apostles in choosing Matthias as one
of their number to fill the vacant place of Judas ; and
by the teaching in the True Ghrist'ian Religion, n. 696,
concerning the immediate guidance of the Divine Provi
dence in the drawing of lots. (See, also, the Spiritual
Diary, n. 4008.)
Two of the members, James Hindmarsh and Samuel
Smith, had been in the preaching office before their con
version to the New Church, and were unanimously con
sidered by the others to be well qualified and called by
the Lord to continue in this use. The drawing of lots
was only to determine who should act as the Lord's in
struments in conferring upon these two the powers of
ordination.

21
These conclusions having been reached to the satisfac
tion of all, it was unanimously agreed, at a meeting held
on June 1st, 1788, to ordain Jamea Hindmarsh and
Samuel Smith as priesta and ministers of the New
Church. Twelve of the male members, representing the
Church as a whole, with all its goods and truths, were
tben chosen by lot to lay their right hands upon the
candidates for ordination, while Robert Hindmarsh, as
one of these twelve, was unanimously requested to read
the service of ordination, which he had prepared for the
occasion. In his history of the Rise and Progress of the New
Church Hindmarsh adds to his account of the above
ceremony the following information :
" Being desirous, for my own private satisfaction, to ascertain
which ofthe twelve to be selected by lot it might please the
Lord to appoint to read or perform tlie ceremony, I wrote, un
known to the rest of the Society, upon one of the twelve tickets
thus marked with a cross, the word ordain. I then put the six
teen tickets into a receiver, when a prayer went up from my
h°art that the Lord would show whom He had chosen for the
office of ordination. The members being properly arranged, I
went round to them all ; and each one took a ticket out ofthe re
ceiver, leaving me the last ticket, on which was written, as before
stated, the wonl Ordain. Still the other members were not
aware of what I had done; andwhen tlie twelve were separated
from the rest, after consulting together a. few moments, they
unanimously requested, that I should read and perform the cere
mony of ordination. Whereupon James Hindmarsh was first
ordained by me, and immediately afterward, Samuel Smi h"
(pp. 70, 71).
Robert Hindmarsh, in consequence, considered him
self doubly chosen, by the Lord Hiraself as well as by

22
the Church, to aet as the principal ordainer, and that he
himself, in fact, and by virtue of this double choice, was
ordained a priest of the New Jerusalem. Though he
never claimed recognition as such from his brethren, yet
the Church itself, at the Conference held at Derby, in
tlie year 1M8, by a unanimous resolution, placed his
name at the head of its list of ordained ministers,
together with the addendum, " ordained by the Divine
Auspices of the IjORD.''
During this period Hindmarsh was not less active in
the literary work ofthe Church than in the work of her
organization. He translated from the Latin, and pub
lished at his own expense, the works on The Last Judg
ment, on The White Horse, on The Intercourse between
the Soul and the Body, aud ^4 Brief Exposition of the
Doctrine of the Neiv CInurh. In the same year (1788),
iu his capacity as Secretary of the Great East Cheap
Society, he wrote a small work entitled Reasons for
Separating from the Old Church. This was written in
answer to a letter addressed to the Society by the Rev.
John Clowes and his friends, in Manchester, who still
hoped to persuade their London brethren to give up
their separate establishment. So completely did Hind
marsh silence the objections raised to the separation,
and so luminous and convincing were his arguments,
that a majority of Mr. Clowes' own followers soon after
ward separated from the Old Church, aud established
the prosperous Society in Peter Street, Manchester.
Nothing stronger has ever been written ou this impor
tant subject than this little pamphlet by Robert Hind
marsh. It might be reproduced with great beuefit at

23
the present time when the distinctiveness of the New
Church is becoming more and more obscured among the
members of the Church at large.
On the invitation ofthe Society at Great East Cheap,
the friends of the separate establishment of the New
Church assembled in London for a " General Confer
ence," on April 13th to 17th, 1789. This first general
meeting of the Church was truly representative and
universal in character, being attended not only by mem
bers from various parts of England, but also from
Sweden, France, and America. Among the many reso
lutions which were passed at this meraorable raeeting,
which was opened with an earnest address by Robert
Hindmarsh, the following, the very first of the series, is
ot special interest, as showing that the recognition of the
Divine Authority of the Writings was the very corner
stone upon which these early builders of the Church
endeavored to erect the holy Temple of the Lord :
"I. Resolved, unanimously, That it is the opinion of this
Conference that the Theological works of tlie Hon. Emanuel
Swedenborg are perfectly consistent with the Holy Word,
being at the same time explanatory of its internal sense in so
wonderful a manner that nothing short of a Divine Revelation
seems adequate thereto. Tliat [hey also contain the Heavenly
Doctrines of the New Church, signified by The New Jerusalem
in the Revelation ; wliicli Doctrines he was enabled by the Lord
alone to draw from tlie Holy Word, while under the Inspiration
and Illumination of His Holy Spirit."
The sphere at this first general meeting of the Lord's
New Church is described as having been most delightful.
Perfect unanimity reigned throughout all the proceed-

24
ings, and it seemed to all the members as if the loving
brotherhood of primitive Christianity had been restored
upon earth. It was, indeed, a moment in the infancy of
the Church when innocence and peace prevailed, and
eternal remains of both good and truth were sown for
its future life.

CHAPTER V.
THE FIRST CONFLICT.
But this innocence and peace were largely thoae of
ignorance, and therefore did not last long. No sooner
had the first establishment of the Church been effected
in this world than her internal temptations began.
Soon after the delightful love-feast of the first General
Conference a difference arose among the merabers of the
Church in London, involving an issue of a most serious
nature. The history of this, the first internal conflict
in the New Church, has hitherto been wrapped in great
mystery. Veiled references to it raay be found here and
there in the literature of the Church, aud these have
been unscrupulously used by some to throw discredit
upon the ordinations of the New Church, and upon the
fair name of Robert Hindmarsh. It will, therefore, be
useful to examine somewhat in detail this mysterious
affair. In the "Historic Notice" which is prefixed to the
volume of Reprints of Early Minutes of New Church
Conferences, etc. (London, 1885), the writer, the Rev. J.
R. Boyle, on page xxxii, has inserted this foot-note :
Mr. Hindmarsh, with five others, had been separated
from the Great Eaat Cheap Society, for reasons not
needed to be stated here, three yeara before " — that is,
before the year 1792. Thia note leaves great scope for
damaging conjectures, which may gain strength from
25

26
the sinister interpretations of Robert Hiudmarsh's acts
and character suggested by this writer in other parts of
his "Notice."
Robert Hindmarsh "separated" from the Church of
which he was the first founder and the most active and
intelligent member! What possible "reasons" could
justify such an act?
Oa this subject the Church would have been left in
most satisfactory obscurity, had not the Rev. Mtmoah
Sibly — who was one of the earliest members of the
Great East Cheap Society^furn ished a clue to the
mystery. In "An Address" to his Society, in Friar
Street, London, Mr. Sibly, in the year 1839, published
the following information ;
"Iam here under the necessity of stating, however reluct
antly, (hat in the year 1789 a very sorrowful occurrence btfell
the infant New Church, whereby the flooci-gates of immorality
were in danger of being thrown open, to her inevitable destruc
tion. " The Church held many solemn meetings on the occasion,
which ended in her withdrawing herself from six of her mem
bers, viz. : Robert Hindmarsh, Henry Servante, Cliar'esJ3erns
Wadstrom, Augustus Nordenskjold, George Robinson, and
Alexander Wilderspin. On the Church coming to tliisconclu-
si'in, Mr. Robert Hindmarsh remarked. That he would never pul
it into the power of any Sociehi again to cut him off, as he nevermore
would be a member of one. And I beUeve, notwithstanding his
eminent services in the cause of the New Church, that, to his
dying day, he kept his word " (pp. 3, 4).
In what way, then, could Robert Hindmarsh be im
plicated in theopening of '' the flood-gates of immorality"
upon the New Church, — he whose conjugial life has been

described as most pure and lovely, and who, at his death,
waa declared " integer vitce scelerisque purus" by necrolo
gists such as Noble, Goyder, Howarth, and others?
What was the " sorrowful occurrence" ?
The Minute Book of the Great East Cheap Society,
which ia still preserved, ought to give more specified in
formation on the subject of these "many solemn meet
ings." But we are told by Mr. Thomas Robinson, in his
Remembrancer and Recorder (Manchester, 1864) that,
"Up to May 4th, 1789, this whole Book, from the first day,
seems to be in the handwriting of Robert Hindmarsh. And from
that day to .Ipril llth, 1790, the account of the proceedings seems
to have been torn out. From page 46 to 63 is missing. And we
have been informed tliat it was not deemed advisable to let pns-
terity see the nature of the records contained theiein" (p. 94).
This fact we find confirmed in the New Church Reposi
tory (vol. VI, page 545, New York, 1853) by Mr. Elihu
Rich, of London, who also had investigated the Minute
Book, and who, in company with the Rev. William
Mason, of Derby, had unearthed this old scandal iu
order to besmirch the character of the first originator
of the New Church ordinations in England.
While the memory of Robert Hindmarsh was being
defamed by writers iu the New Church Repository, an
honorable love of fairness led Mr. Samuel M. Warren
(then resident in Philadelphia) to write for authentic
information to Sir. John Isaac Hawkins, who at that
time was the last surviving member of the forraer Society
in Great East Cheap. Mr. Hawkins, in his reply, which
ia dated Rah way, New Jersey, 1853, wrote as follows :

28
" With respect to the sorrowful occurrence you allude to from
Mr. Sibly's pamphlet, it was a perverted view of Swedenborg's
doctrine of Concubinage in his work on Conjugial Loie, then just
puhlished ;* whereby some held that, if a husband and wife did
not agree, they might separate and the man take a concubine;
I forget whether or not the wife was tn have the same privilege.
"The notion, however, soon ceased to be broached, and the
Church was relieved fnim further discussion of the distressing
subject. I do not recollect any case where the notion was acted
on. ^f/¦. Hindmarsh certainly did not; nor do 1 believe that either
of the five persons you name did."
In the same volume of the New Church Repository in
which the above letter was printed (vol. \i, p. 143)
Mr. Hawkins's statement is corroborated by a letter
from Dr. Henry Bateman, of London, wh» had at one
time conversed with i\Ir. Sibly on this subject. He re
ports from this conversation that,
"The evil itself was no other than an erroneous view of Sweden
borg's teaching in the treatise on Scortatory Love— a work which
was viewed from an unchaste ground by some of the early re
ceivers of the Doctrines. . . . And whilst Robert Hindmarsh
believed that those views were true to some extent, and to a de
gree which was calculated in the estimation of good Mr. Sibly
to open ' the flood-gates of immorality,' he kept aloof, in the
opiniTU of Mr. Sibly himself, from all unchaste practices"
(p. 144).
We have now at last corae to something tangible iu
the raystery. Ribert Hindraarsh, we are told, held
" erroneous," " perverted," and " unchaste " views of the
*The italics are Mr. Hawkins's. As a matter of fact, the work
on Conjugial Loi-e was not published in English until the year
1794, thus five years later than 1789.

29
holy subject of Conjugial Love, but did not act accord
ing to his evil conviction. Thus far, surely, his memory
is " damned by faint praiae.''
But what were these views, and in how far were they
false and evil ? Hindmarsh himself, in all his published
works, is entirely silent on this subject, and our effort to
vindicate his character would be futile were it not for
the contemporary evidence of his fellow-sufferer, Augustus
Nordenskjold. This indefatigable pioneer of the New Church spent
the year 1789 in London, taking an active part in all
the proceedings of the Church, aud the following year
published at Copenhagen a work in the Swedish tongue,
on The Form of Ecclesiastical Organization in ihe New
Jerusalem ( Fbrsamlingsformen uti det Nya Jerusalem').
In this curious book, which has never been translated
into English, we find the following section dealing with
the " distressing " subject of concubinage:
" § 54. As it will happen, of course, that for long times to
come there will be found unmarried men in our Church who are
not able to marry, and married men who have been received
among us, but who have unchristian wives, rejecting the New Doc
trine, and who thus must live in a disharmonious marriage, it
follows that when such men are driven so strongly by the inborn
amor sexus that they cannot contain themselves, it is inevitable,
for the sake of order, that they be permitted, the former to take
a mistress and the latter a concubine. But no one is permitted
to live thus in our Church who does not report it to the Bishop
or the Marriage-Priest. [The latter was a proposed special de
gree in the Priesthood.] These are to examine, according to
Swedenborg's rules, De Forniealione et de Concubinalo, if his case
is truly such as he presents it. After this he is to receive their

30
written permission, in which the conditions are to be carefully
stated, and he may then live with his mistress or concubine. If
this be observed, he may still be received among us as a dear
member and br<)ther,and his life will be no reproach to him.
But if he dues nnt re])ort it he mu^t lie punished, and this in the
degree that his life is disordci ly ; for no kinds of adulteries or
anti-conjugial life can be tolerated in the New Jerusalem if the
Church is to continue and the Lord to find an habitation
among us."
Barring the teaching of this paragraph, that religious
disagreement per se authorizes concubinage, — unless it
involves "internal dissimilitude, from which comes
antipathy," and "extreme im]nety" {C. L. 472), it
may be seen that the e-t^eniial idea — not to discuss the
regulative formalities it prescribes — ia neither an
"erroneous," "perverted," or "immoral" view of the
Lord's teachings on this subject, but is based upon the
Doctrine revealed iu Conjugial Love, nos. 459, 462-476
(quos vide). If the affirmation of these Divine teachings
be an "opening of the flood-gates of immorality," then
all loyal followers of the Lord in His Second Advent
are equally.guilty of the same offense. On the contrary,
however, it is the means of Divine Mercy whereby the
inclination to the conjugial life may be preserved frora
entire destruction.
It is quite evident that the announcement ofthe Doc
trine concerning Concubinage and Pellicacy, as set forth
in Conjugial Love, was what brought on the first conflict
in the New Church, and which resulted iu the separa
tion of Robert Hindmarsh, Augustus Nordenskjold,
Henry Servante, Charles Bernhard Wadstrom, and
two others — all among the most intelligent members

31
of the Church — from the Society in Great East
Cheap. It may easily be understood how the first pres
entation, of this Doctrine would be a shock to the senti
ments of the other members of the Church, who as yet
had not had access to an English translation of Conjugial.
Love. Their ignorance is their excuse.
It may thtis be seen that the dark shadow of suspicion,
¦which ignorance or prejudice have cast upon the memory
of Robert Hindmarsh, must give way before this new
evidence of his loyalty and courage in defending even
the most unpopular of the Doctrines of the New Church..

CHAPTER VL
DEFENDER OF THE FAITH.
Mr. Sibly thus concludes his account of this first
conflict in the New Church :
"I wish to mention here, to the honor of .Mr. Robert Hind
marsh, that, notwithstanding he discontinued to be a member of
the .'Society, there was no breach of personal friendship between
him and the members of the Society ; he still held the joint ten
ancy of the [dace, and attended, as usual, the meetings of the
Church for public worship, as well as for business; and did all
in his power to promote the establishment of the New Church
distinct from the old Church; and the Society were much grati
fied herewith, conceiving him to be a very valuable man, possess
ing a bright understanding, and a devout well-wisher for her
prosperity" {An Address, etc., p. 4).
At this period the work of Robert Hindmarsh seems
to have been especially that of announcing and defend
ing the Doctrines of the New Church through the press.
To him belongs the honor of having produced the first
work of doctrinal instruction for the young, in a little
work which was published in the year 1790, under the
title A Catechism for the Use of the New Church. It was
officially adopted by the second General Conference, held
the same year, in London.
In January, 1790, tbe first journal of the New Church
in England appeared iu London, under the title The New
Jerusalem Magazine, It was published by several mem-
32

33
bers of the " London Universal Society for Promotion of
the New Church" (an institution of which nothing far
ther is known), and was edited by Henry Servants.
Excellent and useful though this journal was, it did not
meet with sufficient encouragement to be continued be
yond half a year. It was succeeded, in the sarae year,
by The Magaz'ine of Knowledge Concerning Heaven and
Hell, an interesting monthly journal, of which Robert
Hindmarsh was the sole editor and publisher, being also
the principal contributor. In October of the following
year, 1791, its publication ceased, owing to the lack of
financial support.
In the following year, Hindmarsh entered upon a
second journalistic venture, in the publication of The
New Jerusalem Journal, which appeared monthly until
October of the same year, when it expired from the
same cause as ita predecessors. Iu these Jouruals the
theological depth and thoroughness of Hindmarsh be
came more than ever apparent. Such subjects as the
separation from the Old Church, " Re-baptism " into
the New Church, the eternity of hell, the dangers of
Mesmerism and animal magnetism as then practiced by
many " Swedenborgians," the necessity of a literal
translation of the Word, and many others, were dis
cussed and answered editorially by Hindmarsh with a
maturity of judgment that ia truly astonishing in so
young a man. (He had then passed his thirtieth
year.) Among the literary labors of Hindmarsh during this
period should be included the translation and publica
tion of The Continuation concerning the Last Judgment,-
3

;!4
in 1791, and of An Hieroglyphic Key to A'alural and
Spiritual Myderie.<, in 1792. During the latter year
a^ipeared also his famous volume of Letters io Dr.
Priedlry, in Defence of the New Church, which is the first
controversial work of the Church.
Joseph Priestley, LL. D., was one of the most noted
of English deists of the eighteenth century, and is no
less celebrated in science, as the discoverer of oxygen,
nitrous gas, and various other gases. Doctriually he
was an avowed Unitarian, and politically a Radical. A
mau of a strong mind and wielding a trenchant pen, he
was ever engaged in controversies, in which it is said
that he always had the last word.
When the newly-built temple of the Society in Bir
mingham (which was the first temple ever erected by
the New Church) was consecrated to the worship of the
Lord Ji;sus Christ, on June 19th, 1791, Dr. Priestley,
who resided iu that city, attended the ceremonies. He
was, on this occasion, introduced to Robert Hindmarsh,
who had come from London to be present at this inter
esting occasion, and he expressed to him his pleasure,
and at the same time his sur^irise, at the doctrines of the
New Jerusalem, which seemed so similar, yet were so
different from his own Unitarianism.
In July of the same year the " Tory riots" took place
in Birmingham, and as Dr. Priestley was an admirer of
the French Revolution .ind an avowed opponent of the
existing government, his house, library, and manu
scripts were burned by an infuriated mob. The two
Unitarian places of worship were also burned down,
and the New Church temple was threatened, but waa

35
saved by the presence of mind of the minister, the Rev.
Joseph Proud, who threw a sum of money among the
crowd, declaring at the same time that the New Church
was not Unitarian, nor hostile to the Government.
Among the manuscripts of Dr. Priestley which had
been destroyed, was a pamphlet entitled Letters to ihe
Members of the New Jerusalem Church, which the author
soon re-wrote and published. The appearance of this
pamphlet, which was the most public attack yet made
upon the New Church iu England, caused a stir among
her members. Two of her champions, Mr. Proud and
Mr. Bellamy, rushed immediately into the fray with
"Answers " to Dr. Priestley, but as the occasion seemed
to demand the very best talent of the Church, Robert
Hindmarsh was prevailed upon by his friends to meet
this Goliath of Arianism.
" Never was there witnessed," says the Rev. Samuel Noble,
" in any discussion whatever, a more complete demolition of
every one of an adversary's arguments, than was eflfected by
Mr. Hindmarsh for those of Dr. Priestley. Well might the dis
comfited champion of Unitarianism, in all other instances so
impatient of rebuff, retire as he did, as silently as possible, from
a field in which he had reaped nothing but disgrace; and that
disgrace the greater, since he, a celebrated au hor, had been de
feated by a man whose name had never been heard of in the
domains of literature."
The Letters to Dr. Priestley are, indeed, a masterpiece
in New Church polemics; incisive, unsentimental, clear,
convincing, interesting, and at the same time devout,
dignified, and courteous. Dr. Priestley had promised to
return to the field of battle ; but, though he was on one

36
occasion personally reminded of this promise by Mr.
Hindmarsh, he never again took up arras against the
New Jerusalem. Fearing personal injury from his
political opponents, he finally embarked for the United
States, where he died in the year 1804.
It has been said, adversely, of Robert Hindmarsh,
that he sought to build up the New Jerusalem on earth
"with the sword in one hand and the trowel in the
other." This, indeed, is the very manner in which the
Holy City must be built on earth, surrounded as the
builders are on every side by fierce and hostile tribes.
The Son of Man came not to bring peace, upon earth,
but a sword.

CHAPTER VIL
TEMPTATIONS.
At the first three General Conferences, held in Lon
don in the years 1789, 1790, and 1791, entire harmony
and unanimity characterized all the proceedings. But
soon a different spirit began to manifest itself. At that
time the membership of the New Church consisted
largely of persons who had come out of " liberal "
and "dissenting" ecclesiastical bodies; and many
brought with them into the New Church their old and
favorite notions of democratic government.
At the fourth General Conference, held in London,
April 9th to 13th, 1792, the appointment and powers of
the Priesthood came up for consideration, and it became
apparent that the majority were strongly in favor of
governraent in the spiritual things of the Church by
the will of the people or laity, while the minority, led
by Robert Hindmarsh, based their position on the re
vealed teachings of the Heavenly Doctrine^ iu favor of
the Theocratic government of the Church, through the
instrumentality of a distinct and graded Priesthood.
So determined were the convictions of each party, that
a virtual separation took place, and two different Re
ports of the Conference were printed, one by the major
ity, and another by Hindmarsh, the regularly appointed
Secretary, in which the arguments of the minority also
were presented.
To the minority, the introduction of the democratic
37

3.S
spirit, and the subordination of the Priesthood to the
will ofthe people, seemed destructive ofthe true genius
ofthe New Church, and rendered impossible any unani
mous CO operation. A fifth General Conference had been
appointed by the majority, and was held at Birming
ham on April 1st aud 2d, in the following year, but this
meeting was not attended by Hindmarsh and his friends,
who, instead, assembled in a General Conference in the
temple at Great East Cheap, holding their deliberations
from April 1st to 5lh, ITilo. At this Conference, which
was composed of seven of the most intelligent members
of the Cliurch iu London, it was unanimously declared
"That the ()rdiiiation of Minister^ in the New Church ought
to be according to the Episcoiialian plan, and not by any Power
or authority derived from the People. And as the Ordination
of Ministers hitherto has been accompanied with a Condition,
that they should not ordain others without the coii>ent of the
Church, by which has been understood an acknowledgment of
the Authority of the People to appoint, by a majority of votes,
whomsoever they pleased to tbe Office of the Ministry; it is
thought expedient and necessary that all Ministers liilherto or
dained be henceforth liberated from such Restriction, and also
from the Principle which gave Rise to it; and they are accord
ingly hereby declared to be liberated therefrom."
The Conference then adopted a Plan of Ecclesiastical
Government which to them appeared consistent with
and deduciblefrom the principles of the New Jerusalem
as contained in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.
The single idea which permeates the proposed " Plan "
is that of the Lord Alone as the Sole Authority in the
New Church, acting through His own office of the
Priesthood. The Report of this Conference is, indeed.

39
a most remarkable document in the history of the
Church, and, though not free from obscurities and triv
ialities, it exhibits loyalty and a truly profound insight
into the Doctrines of the Church. But the Church was
yet in its earliest infancy, aud had to be taught, by ex
perience as well as by precept, the ineffectiveness of
self-will in the establishment of the Lord's Kingdom.
The principles adopted at this Conference were not ac
cepted by the Chuich at large, which, for many subse
quent years, continued without any general government
or organization whatever.
A spiritual lethargy now seems to have set in. For
a number of years no further General Conferences were
held, and no general enterprises were undertaken. It
seemed that the New Church, which had begun with so
much success, was about to perish frora upon the earth
while yet in her very infancy. Robert Hindmarsh him
self appears to have beeu filled with disappointraent and
disgust at the disorderly tendencies of his fellow-mem
bers in the Church, and his impatience seeras to have
betrayed hini into an action, which, if it has been cor
rectly and impartially reported, was certainly hasty and
inconsiderate. Soon after the Conference described above, another
conflict arose in the Great East Cheap Society, which
resulted in a separation of the merabers. The Rev.
Manoah Sibly, in his before-mentioned Address, gives
the following account of the difficulty :
"The immediate cause of the Society's leaving Great East
Cheap was in consequence of Mr. Robert Hindmarsh, who
hitherto held the joint tenancy of the place [together with two

40
others], having gone to the landlord, without the privity of
Messrs. John and Thomas Willdon, and induced the landlord to
take him as the only tenant. Having so done, at the next
monthly meeting for business, he came into tbe vestry and in
formed the meeting that he was now the alone holder of the
place, and asked them what they could now do to prevent him
from having the government of the Church carried on according
to his own views; at the same time declaring himself not to be
a member of the Society. The Society hereupon took umbrage
and left the place."
After the removal of the greater part of the Society,
with Mr. Sibly as their chosen pastor, to Store Street,
Tottenham Court Road (whence they finally removed,
in 1802, to Friars Street, Blackfriars), the chapel in
Great East Cheap was kept open for worship by Robert
Hindmarsh and his few supporters until fhe end of the
year 1793. It was then given up and the remnant kept
themselves together by meeting for worship at one
another's houses until the year 1796.
Though cut off from any organized work for the
Church, Hindmarsh's literary labors in her behalf did
not cease. He still acted as the general printer of the
Church, and published in the year 1794, at his own ex
pense, a translation he had made of A General Expli
cation of the Tn Precepts of ihe Decalogue, extracted
from the Apocalypsis Explicata. He also made an un
successful attempt to unite the scattered members ofthe
Church in London in a common use, concerning which
he published a Plan and Design of a Society proposed to
be instituted for promoting ihe Heavenly Doctrines of the
New Jerusalem by g'lv'mg away Bibles, Testaments, and the
Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

41
" During the year 1795 nothing remarkable appears to
have occurred relative to the New Church," at least in
England, beyond the publication of an edition of The
True Christian Religion, and of the sixth volume of the
Arcana Ccelestia, both issued from Hindmarsh's printing
office in London.
In the year 1796 the remaining members ofthe Great
East Cheap Society purchased ground and built a
Temple in Cross Street, Hatton Garden, which was
opened for worship on July 30th of the following year
by the Rev. Joseph Proud, of Birmingham, who had
been engaged as the regular minister of the congrega
tion. Mr. Proud was a preacher of unusual eloquence,
^ and soon attracted great multitudes to his aervices. For
about two years the new society progressed very success
fully, until, in the year 1799, there arose between the
pastor aud the proprietors of the place difficulties,
partly of a financial character and partly on account of
Mr. Proud's strong objections to the outspoken doctriual
statements iu the new Liturgy, which had been composed
by Robert Hindmarsh and adopted by the society and
the proprietors. No agreement being reached, Mr. Proud
and the majority of his congregation left the Temple in
Croaa Street and rented a chapel in York Street. A few
of the membera remained at Cross Street, among whom
was Robert Hindmarsh; but after some unsuccessful
efforts to maintain public worship, the temple was rented,
and finally sold to outside parties. In the year 1827 the -
building again came into the possession of the New
Church, having been purchased by the York Street'
Society, which originally occupied it. Here this society

42
remained until the year l^l'I, when it removed to its
present church in Camden Road.
We have now come to a period in the Hfe of Robert
Hindraarsh concerning which but little is known. About
the year 1799 he grve up his printing office, as may
appear from the title-page to the ei'':hth volume of the
first Engli.-h edition ofthe Arcana Coslesiia, from which
we learn that this volume was printed at Tvondon, 1799,
"under the inspection of Robert Hindmarsh, Icde
Printer." We are further informed by Mr. Sibly, in a
memorial sermon on the death of Robert Hindmarsh,
that the latter,
"Prior to his going to Manchester [in 1810], and being ou'i, of
business, engaged in a speculative occupation, not at all suited to
his still and quiet genius; and being inexperienced in the arti
fices practiced by those who are usually engaged in the line he
was then pursuing, he found himself, after a time, to be a loser.
1 do not know to what amount, but, to the honor of the Church,
it may be mentioned that, although the losses were not legally
binding on him, yet he paid the whole. He thus came out
from them with clean hands, and surely, I may say, with a pure
heart; and he made the sacrifice, notwithstanding the voluntary
payments, as they might be called, left him a poor man in com
parison with what his circumstances in life had been before."
In a letter, published in the Monthly Observer and
New Church Record (London, 1857, p. 311), and dated
London, August 12th, 1805, Henry Servants makea the
following reply to the question put to him by James
Glen, of Demerara, whether " Robert Hindmarsh had
totally renounced [the New Church] " :
"I cannot positively answer this question, though I appre-

43
hend he is in a very cold state, toward the northern quarter. His
profession at present is that of a stockbroker, and I have been
told he had acquired considerable sums by speculating in the
public funds. The amor sui mundique seems to absorb his whole
attention." Whatever may have been the cause of the apparent
decline in his zeal for the progress of the Church, it is
certain that Hindmarsh never " renounced " his faith in
the Heavenly Doctrines.
The whole first decade of the nineteenth century was
a period of inactivity and apparent decline in the New
Church. It was a time of " war and the rumor of war,"
and its history teatifiea to the fact that but little spiritual
progress can be made while the aflTections of the natural
man are strongly excited. The New Church has pros
pered most under conditions of natural liberty and
peace. The men of the Church live in the natural
world, and are, perforce, influenced by the generally
prevailing sphere. Robert Hindmarsh was no exception
to this general rule.
Still his love for the spiritual things of the Church
did not entirely cease. It is known tliat he began, in
the year 1799, an exposition of the spiritual sense ofthe
whole Word, and kept up this work for many years,
though it was never brought to a final completion. In
the year 1800 he made the first English translation of
the Summary Exposition, of the Internal Sense of the
Prophets and Pscdms, which was published in the same
year by J. A. Tulk, Esq., and iu the year 1802 he paid
a visit to the little circle of the New Cliurch in Paris,
concerning which he gives much interesting inforraation.

44
During the same period he kept up a correspondence
with Newchurchmen in America and in Russia. He
did not, however, attend the sixth General Conference,
which met in London in the year 1807, nor the seventh
General Conference, held in the same city in the follow
ing year.

CHAPTER VIIL
NEW ACTIVITIES.
Emerging from the state of apparent indifference
and spiritual vastation which followed upon the strug
gles described in the last chapter, Robert Hindmarsh
re-appears in the history of the New Church in the year
1810, when it is known that he prepared a new preface
to his tranalation of the work on The Last Judgment,
which was the first work published by " The Society for
Printing and Publishing the Writings of the Hon.
Emanuel Swedenborg, instituted in London in the year
1810." In January, 1811, Robert Hindmarsh, who was then
without a settled occupation, removed to Manchester to
take charge of a printing office which the Rev. Wil
liam Cowherd professed to have established iu that city
for the special purpose of publishing translationa of
Swedenborg's Scientific and Theological Works. Mr.
Cowherd had formerly been a curate under the Rev. John
Clowes, and was later, for some years, the Pastor of the
New Church Society in Manchester, which had sepa
rated itself from the Old Church, and had opened a
chapel in Peter Street; but he was never ordained into
the Priesthood of the New Church. An eloquent and
popular preacher, he waa at the same time a peraon of
unbalanced if not unsettled judgment, combining with
thia an incredible arrogance and imperiousness. While
45

46
proclairaing himself as the most extraordinary nuin liv
ing — which he may have been, in one sense — and as the
only person in the world who really understood the
Writinga of Emanuel Swedenborg, he perverted the
Doctrines of the Church to suit his fantastic notions,
and finally founded an independent sect, styled " The
Bible Christians," the raost distinguishing feature of
which was total abstinence from fermented liquors and
from animal food. Though he aud several othera who
had formerly belonged to the New Church finally fell
victims to a diet for which they were not prepared, the
sect still survives in England, and also in America,
where a congregation yet exisis in Philadeljihia.
It seems that Hindraarsh, when connecting himself
with Cowherd, was not aware of the latter's personal
and theological peculiarities. Arriving at Manchester,
he found that the " Printing Office" was a fiction, and
that Cowherd only wished to use the name of Robert
Hindmarsh to seduce the New Church. After endur
ing, for three months, incredible indignities from this
fanatic, Hindmarsh broke his engagement with him,
and determined to return to London.
By this time, however, the members of the New
Church in the neighborhood of IManchester had, as if
by accident, discovered the wonderful power of Hind
marsh as a public speaker and expounder of the Word.
A number of them urged upon him to accept the office
of minister to a new Society then being formed in
Manchester, and, after much hesitation on account of
his age, as he was then in his fifty-second year, Hind
marsh finally consented to enter actively into the work

47
of the Priesthood. A room iu Clarence Street, Man
chester, was furnished for a chapel, and here Robert
Hindmarsh entered into the full performance of the
sacred office, to which he earnestly considered himself
as called and ordained by the Lord.
The Rev. D. G. Goyder, in his Concise History of
the New Jerusalem Church (London, 1827), thus de
scribes Hindmarsh as a preacher :
" Mr. Hindmarsh is so far from having studied preaching as
an art that he has been heard to say it was what he abominated.
His utterance is at Oiice rapid and natural, flowing inconceivably
easy, and productive of great effect upon such elevated minds
as are capable of understanding him. He is so exceedingly
well read in all the Writings of our author that his discourses
appear as combining all the luminous views of Emanuel Sweden
borg, whilst they are couched in language of the most ele
gant and dignified description. He is not very apt in Scriptural
quotation, but his comparisons and illustrations are striking and
beautiful in the extreme. For a congregation of old recipients
of the New Church, I look upon him as being the Minister
most likely to be useful, for it is no disparagement to other
ministers to state that his knowledge of the Doctrines is superior
to most, equal to all, and inferior to none. But where there is a
society of new recipients, or where they are young men, I do
not consider him as likely to be so eminently useful ; still, in
making this assertion, I wish it to be understood that the fault
would be more in the hearer than in the speaker ; his discourses
being mostly of that interior and spiritual kind, only fitted to
those who have been long receivers and readers of the Writings "
(p. 112).
No faithful preacher of the Internal Senae of the
Word can wish for higher praise than this, but Mr.
Goyder is evidently mistaken in his estimate of Hind-

48
marsh's power of accommodating his presentation of
the Doctrines to the apprehension of the simple or
the uninstructed. Few, if any, of the ministers of the
Church have enjoyed more signal success than did
Hindmarsh in the work of external evangelization,
whenever he applied himself to it. His favored field,
however, was the literary work in the Church, to which
he now could devote himself more freely.
The first fruit of this work, after he had resigned his
secular occupations, was a translation of The Coronis,
or Apjiendix to the True Chri.dian Religion, which was
published at Manchester in the year iMll. This was
the first English translation of the Coronis, aud was
furnished with a very valuable " Glossary," explaining
certain foreign or unusual terms and naraes used by the
author. In the same year Hindmarsh published an
excellent sermon on The Birth of Immanuel, treating of
the Incarnation of the Lord.
In the following year he published a work, entitled
Reflections on the Unitarian and Trinitarian Doctrines
(Manchester, 47 pp.), which was occasioned bythe pub
lic attacks on the Divinity of the Lord by the Rev.
John Grundy, a Unitarian minister.
His next work was published under the title. The
New School of Theology (Manchester, 24 pp.), and con
tained a description of fhe aims and methods of an
Institution ivhich he had opened in Manchester, ia the
year 1813. This School was to be "similar to the
ancient Schools of Philosophy and Divinity.'' It was
to be open on Thursday eveninga, and was intended to
afford all inquirers an opportunity to investigate and

49.
discuss the Doctrines of the New Church. The under
taking was, at first, attended with great succesa, and a
number of persons were by these meana led to accept
the Heavenly Doctrines. But after a time the meetings
began to be disturbed by disorderly persons, the public
interest died nut, and the school was finally discon
tinued. The room iu Clarence Street was obscurely
situated, and notwithstanding the splendid talent of the
preacher, the Society did not increase in numbers.
"Twice Mr. Hindmarsh had his goods pacKed up, ana was on
the point of departure for Loudon, and twice was this roora
clo'pd, and again opened to the public; his friends were exceed
ingly lelnctant to pTirt with him, and on the evening preceding
his intended departure, when he had not so much as a candle
stick unpacked, it was contended that the erection of a New
Temple would be the only means of raising a Society, and oi
permanently establishing Mr. Hindmarsh among them. The
idea was no sooner presented than grasped, and Mr. Hindmarsh
had once raore to unpack " {Goyder's History, p. 111).
Accordingly a commodious and handsome Church
was built in Salford, near Manchester, which was dedi
cated by Hindmarsh iu September, 1813. From this
time forth the Society increased and prospered greatly
under the faithful ministrations of the talented Pastor,
who continued in that office during the period of eleven
years. Robert Hindmarsh's most extensive work was pub
lished in the year 1814, under the striking title A Seal
upon the Lips of Unitarians, Trinitarians, and all others
who refuse io acknowledge the Sole, Supreme, and Ex
clusive Divinity of our Loud and Saviour Jesvs Christ.
4

50
In this work of 600 pages Hiudmaish lias brought to
gether and explained one hundred and forty-four pas
sages from the New Testameut, in proof that Jesus
Christ is the Supreme and only God of Heaven and
Earth. The illustrations and remarks of the author ;ire
singularly clear and strikiiit;, and the whole work is an
invaluable addition to the evangelistic literature in the
Church. It has gained a well-merited popularity in
the New Church, and has been republiahed twice in
Eugland aud once in America.
Aa a sequel to the Seed upon the Lips, and to be dis
tributed gratis with it, Hindmarsh published at the
same tirae a little work of 35 pagea with the curious
title. The Interview Extraordinary, being the report of
an imaginary conversation between Athanasius, Arius,
Sijcinus, Dr. Priestley, and Mr. Hindmarsh. The errors
of Tri-theism aud Atheism are here, again, expoaed in a
clever and entertaining manner.
In July, 1815, Hindmarsh finished an iuteresting
little work on Precious Stones, which was published at
London, in the year 1851, sixteen years after his death.
He treats here ofthe spiritual siguification ofthe stones
in the breastplate of Aaron, and other precious stones
mentioned iu the Word, and gives proof of thorough
scholarship as well as of a systematic study of the
Writings. In the same year he was chosen President of the
Eighth General Conference, which met iu Manchester,
August llth to 18th, 1815. This Conference was of
especial interest, in consequence of the unanimous resolu
tion which it passed, establishing a Trine in the Priest-

51
hood. Though elected President, Hindmarsh was not
recognized as au ordained Minister by this meeting.
The next work produced by Robert Hindmarsh was
A Compendium of the Chief Doctrines of the True Chris
tian Religion (London, 1816, pp. 166), which in a very
brief compass presents a bird's-eye view, as it were, of
the pearly gates and golden streets of the Holy City,
the New Jerusalem. This compendium was the first of
its kind ever published, and became very popular in the
Church. It was puhlished in new editiona both in
England and in America, and haa been published twice
in the French language. In the year 1816, Hindmarsh
published, further, his Remarks on ihe Holy League
(Manchester, pp. 48). This League, it will be remem
bered, was an Alliance entered into after the fall of
Napoleon between the rulers of Austria, Prussia, and
Russia, whereby these monarchs bound themselves to
remain united in " true and indissoluble fraternity "
under the Supreme Sovereignty of " God the Divine
Saviour." History shows the hollowness of this pre
tended "Holy AUiance," but Hindmarsh, and many
with him, hailed it at the time as the harbinger of a
new dispensation of love, justice, and peace among the
nations on earth. He sent copies of his Rejnarks to
the three rulers concerned, and received, in reply, a
brief but gracious acknowledgment signed by Frederick
William, the King of Prussia.
On July 26th, of the same year, Robert Hindmarsh
paid a visit to the ancient town of Colchester, and de
livered there a lecture on the Doctrines of the New
Church. From four to five hundred persona were pres-

52
ent on this occasion, crowding the room almost to suffo
cation. Though the meeting was ended abruptly, owing
to the disorderly and even threatening attitude of a mob
of Methodists, yet a profound impression had been made
upon the minds of some. A Society of the New Church
was soon afterward formed in thistown,where an earnest
and progressive Church is still in existence.
The following year Hindmarsh made another mission
ary journey, which was attended with great success and
permanent results. He visited and lectured iu Glasgow,
Edinburgh, Paisley, New Castle, Hull York, and Leeds,
aud wherever he appeared great multitudes were at
tracted by his well-known narae, and were instructed by
his luminous expositi(m of the Doctrines. In Edin
burgh, Paisley, and Glasgow his visits led to the estab
lishment of permanent new Church Societies.
At the Eleventh General Conference, held in Derby,
August llth to llth, 1818, Robert Hindmarsh was again
elected Pri-sident. In the Report of this Conference we
fiud the following rainute:
"37. Mr. Robert Hindmarsh having been requested to leave
the room, and the Rev. J. Proud called to the chair, the subject
respecting the ordination of Mr. Robert Hindmarsh was then
introduced, and underwent a very deliberate and able discussion:
when it was
''Eesolivd, unanimously, That in consequence of Mr. Robert
Hindmarsh having been called by lot to ordain the first minister
in the New Church, this Conference consider it as the most
orderly method which could then be adopted, and tliat Mr.
Robert Hindmarsh was virtually ordained by the divine aus
pices of heaven; in consequence of which this Conference con-

53

sider Mr. Robert Hindmarsh as one of the regular ordaining
ministers." rhis resolution is of the utraost importance in the
history of the Church, being a distinct acknowledgment
of the Divine origin ofthe Prieathood. Unfortunately,
the Conference did uot long remain in this acknowledg
ment, although the ordinations through Robert Hind
marsh have never been formally repudiated
The Intellectual Repository for the same year contains
a " Proposal for founding a Seminary for the education
of youth in general, and particularly for the qualifica
tion of young men as Ministers ofthe New Jerusalem,"
which was communicated by Robert Hindmarsh. This
proposition, which maybe said to have initiated the long-
continued propaganda for a distinctively New Church
education, is characteristic of Hindmarsh's penetrating
view of the raost effective means to the establishment
of the New Church. We quote the following from the
introductory paragraph of the " Proposal " :
"It having been found, by more than thirty years' experience,
that the course of Religious Education adopted in the Univer
sities and other public Seminaries is in itself a serious obstacle
to the reception of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusa
lem, inasmuch as it disqaatififs rather than prepares a student for
the important oflSce of minister in the New Church ; and it be
ing now generally admitted that a respectable, able, and useful
ministry (however desirable) cannot be established, unless meas
ures be taken to unite with liberal education a system of Relig
ious Instruction in all respects congenial with the true sense of
Divine Revelation, as laid down in the Theological Writings of
the late Honourable Emanuel Swedenborg ; — the following Pro-

54
.posals are, therefore, submitted to the consideration of the
members of the New Chuich in general."
Though this proposition does not appear to have been
immediately adopted by the Church at large, the idea
had found an expression, the seed had been sown. The
first attempt to establish a New Church College, such as
the one proposed by Hindmarsh, was made ten years
later in London, when the " Woodford School " was in
stituted by Mr. W. Malins, and though this School, after
a few years, lost its distinctive character, yet the desire
for New Church education, amid many disappointments
and much bitter opposition, revived and increased in
force, until, in the year 1876, it found an organic
ultimalion in the establishment of the Academy of the
New Church, which body has adopted, as its chief rawon.
d'etre, the performance of this all-important Heavenly
use. In the year 1820 Robert Hindmarsh published
another excellent work, which was entitled A Key to
the Spiritual Signification of Numbers, and of Weights
and Mea.^ures in the Holy Word (Manchester, 238 pp.).
The author has here compiled and carefully digested the
teachings of the Writings on these subjects. The little
volume is one of the most useful worka in the collateral
literature of the Church, and might be republished to
the great benefit of every student of the Science of Cor
respondences.

CHAPTER IX.
THE LEADER OF THE CHURCH.
Robert Hindmarsh, at this period of his life, was
looked up to as the foremost minister and acknowledged
leader of the Church, whether in peace or in war.
Such was the general confidence which the Church re
posed in him that he was unanimously elected the
President of the General Conference at five consecutive
sessions of that body (1818-1822), and when attacks
were made upon the Heavenly Doctrines by the forces
of the Dragon, as often happened in those days, he it
was whom his brethren called upon to ride forth as
unconquerable champion of the Truth. Thus, in the
year 1820, when the Rev. J. G. Pike, a Baptist Minis
ter of Derby, poured out upon the Church a vial of
malignant misrepresentations and calumnies, in a vol
ume entitled Stvedenborgianism Depicted in iis True
Colours, Hindraarsh was requested by the Conference
of that year to draw up a suitable reply. At first he
expressed his disinclination again to enter the field of
controversy, but at length acceded to the wishes of his
brethren, and, in the following year, issued his well-
known Vindication of ihe Character and Writings of
Emanuel Swedenborg, against the slanders and misrepre
sentations of the Rev. J. 6. Pike (Manchester, pp. 290).
The volume contains, further, a refutation of the false
55

50
reports propagated by John Wesley respecting Sweden
borg's alleged madness, and is one ofthe most iraportant
and powerful works that have been written in defense of
the Heavenly Doctrines and of Swedenborg himself.
A second edition was published iu the following year.
His next work, which was one of a similar character,
was published in the year 1824, under the title, Christi
anity against Deism, Materialism, and Atheism. This
volume was occasioned by a blasphemous letter openly
addressed to the author by Richard Carlile, the notorious
English infidel and radical, who used to travel about
England, lecturing against the existence of a God. It
is not known what effect Hindmarsh's answer to this
letter had upon hira, though it was sharp enough in
tone and arguments, but he aoon found a formidable ad
versary in another Newchurchman, a simple Lanca
shire weaver, named Thomas Wilson, who literally pur
sued the atheist. Wherever Carlile lectured in Lan
cashire, Thomas Wilson was sure to be there, sometimes
in disguise, to trouble him with New Church arguments
and unanswerable questions, until Carlile finally fled in
terror at the first aight of his relentless antagonist, never
again to appear in that county.
In the year 1824 Robert Hindmarsh resigned his pas
toral charge in Salford, owing, it is said, "to aome un
fortunate diff'erences of opinion " (Go^rZer's History, p.
Ill), or, according to another authority, to failing phys
ical strength. On leaving Salford, an elegant and valu
able silver cup was presented to him by his Society, with
an appropriate inscription expressing the gratitude and

57
affection of his flock for his many years of faithful min
istry. To the Pastor's heart this token was made
especially dear from the fact that the children of the
Sunday-school under his charge had voluntarily asked
and received permission to contribute toward it each
one penny.
Hindmarsh and his wife now took up their residence
in the home of a married daughter in Canterbury, but
though he withdrew from the regular work of the min
istry, his activity iu behalf of the Church by no means
ceased. He still devoted his best energies to the defense
and exposition of the Doctrines, and the pages of the
//ife^^erfita/' .Reposi^or!/ during this period were enriched
by many valuable articles from his pen. About this
time he became involved in a friendly controversy with
the Rev. Samuel Noble, the editor of that journal, on
the subject of the Integrity of the Word. Mr. Noble
held that the Word, in the sense of the Letter, is, in
deed, preserved entire, but is not to be found so preserved
in any one particular manuscript or text. Hindmarsh,
on the other hand, firmly upheld the teachings of the
Doctrines of the New Church on this subject, and
proved that the Word is preserved entire, without
fault or omission, iu the Textus Receptus, which was the
one used by Swedenborg himself Hindmarsh's position
was that of siraple faith in the authority of the Writ
ings of the New Church, as the only reliable source of
our information respecting the canonicity and integrity
of the Word in the Letter. Mr. Noble, on the other
hand, based his position more on the " facts " brought

58
to light by biblical criticism, and denied, in toto, the
authority of the Writings in dealing with matters of
natural science!
The external progress and affairs of the Church were
still followed with great interest by Hindmarsh in his
retiremeut, and he occasionally officiated in the ordina
tions of ministers and the consecration of Churches. At
the General Conferences of 1827 and 18.!1 he was again
elected President of this most general body of the New
Church in Great Britain.
After a few years of quiet study and preparation,
Hindmarsh, in the year ISo'l, brought out two new and
important works. The first of these was An Essay on
the R&surrection of the Lord (283 pages), in which the
author attempts to answer the much-discussed question,
" With what Body did the Lord rise from the Dead?"
After reviewing exhaustively the different opinions on
this profound subject, he states, as his own conclusion
from the Doctrines, " that the material body was dissi
pated in the sepulchre, at or before the time of the
Lord's resurrection in and with a Divinely-substantial
body, perfectly distinct from the former." We cannot
here enter upon a critical examination of the book as a
whole, but may safely state that, though not free from
errors, it forms one of the most solid works on interior
theology ever produced in the New Church.
The other work, referred to above, was entitled The
Lamb Slain from ihe Foundation of ihe World (237
pages), being a forcible exposure of the false doctrines
held by Christians in general concerning the Person of

59
the Lord, the work of Redemption, and the means of
Salvation. This was the last of his works to be pub
lished during his life in this world. It was not, how
ever, the last production of his ever busy pen, foriin the
following year he completed two manuscripts of equal,
if not even greater, excellence and importance. Of
these the first appeared in London, in the year 1846,
under the title The Church of England Weighed in the
Balance of the Sanctuary and Found Wanting, being an
examination of the " Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion,"
the three Creeds, and the Book of Coraraon. Prayer.
The other was published in the year 1861, under the
editorship of the Rev. Edward Madeley, and was en
titled Rise and Progress of ihe New Jerusalem Church
in England, America, and other parts. For the compi
lation of this, the first History of the New Church ever
written, posterity can never be thankful enough. It is
too well known to require any particular description in
the present sketch.

CHAPTER X.
THE LAST YEARS.
In the year 1833, the beloved wife of Robert Hind
marsh, after more thau fifty years of most happy and
lovely companionship, preceded him into the spiritual
world. He contributed an account of her last moments
to the pages of the Intellectual Repository, from which
we quote these touching lines :
" Having lived for so many years in the bonds of married love
with her partner, she was [while on her death-bed] almost con
stantly inquiring for him, if on any occasion he happened to be
absent from her (which, however, waa seldom the case), and
when present she with equal earnestness begged him to be as
near to her bedside .as possible, and to continue with her. In
deed, in her very last moments, when through weakness she was
unable to articulate hef words, she was still heard, in feeble and
dying accents, to call upon him to keep close to her ; and when
she was assured by those around her, and by the well-known
voice of her husband, that he was present, she then seemed sat
isfied for a while ; but presently she again called for him, and
was again answered as before ; and this continued as long as she
was capable of uttering an audible sound. In a few minutes
afterward, her pain having previously left her, she expired ap
parently in great peace and tranquillity of mind : a rare exam
ple of the affectionate attachment of a wife to her husband
through life, and in the very article of death itself" (1833,
p. 437). 60

61
The issue of the long married life of Robert and
Sarah Hindmarsh were five children : Henry, Eliza
beth, Charles, George, and Jane. From their infancy
theae children were instructed in the Heavenly Doctrines
by their father, but they do not appear to have taken
any active intereat in the usea of the Church, with the
exception of the eldest, Mr. Henry Hindmarsh, who
was a solicitor in Loudon, and, in the year 1820, pre
pared the " Conference Deed," or legal document of
Trust, whereby the Conference was authorized to receive,
hold, and apply legacies, etc., for the sole use and benefit
of the Church at large.
Robert Hindmarsh bore his grievous bereavement
with the resignation and fortitude of a true Newchurch
man. He was now seventy-four years of age, yet his
health seeraed as robust and his mind as active and
vigoroua as ever. He attended the twenty-sixth General
Conference, held in Bath, in August, 1833, when, for
the ninth time in his life, he was chosen to preside over
the deliberations of this body. He afterward visited
Manchester, and then returnedto London, where he saw
his last two works through the press. He again went to
Manchester, whence he returned to London in February,
1834. On this, his last journey, he contracted a severe cold
from which he never recovered. Being fully persuaded
that the fullness of his time had come, he devoted the
remainder of his daya to revising his manuscript works,
collecting and arranging his papers, and generally
"setting his house in order." To a friend who visited
him a short time before his death he remarked, " It is a

62
great raercy to have warning before we go, that we may
be able to do what is necessary to leave things right be
hind us; but now I have done everything, and am quite
ready." To the very end he delighted in conversing with his
friends upon the spiritual things of the Church, and
dwelt with rapture upon the pleasure which he antici
pated ill soon being able to understand the Word so
much better than it was possible to do in this world, and
especially upou the blessed privilege, which he hoped
would be given him, of beholding the Lord in His
Divinely Human Person.
In his very last days, when panting for the breath
which was fast leaving him, he coraforted his sympa
thizing friends with the words that he did not suffer as
severely as they might think, saying, among other
things, " You might think it odd to be told that there
are two parties concerned about one dying man ; but
there are two friends near me, who do all the hard
work for me." He also said that the delight of the
state to which he was going at times so burst upon him
that he was obliged to pray to the Lord that he might
not be overpowered by it ; that such myriads of trans-
, porting thoughts rushed in a moment upon his mind,
that he perceived that the increased activity of percep
tion, which he should have when altogether in the
spirit, would be such as to surpass all description,
and be attended with delights now inconceivable. The
day but one before his death he somewhat revived, and,
sitting up in bed, requested that his manuscript history

63
of the New Church be brought to him that he might
examine a certain part, which he thought needed cor
rection. Finding alterations unnecessary, he pro
nounced the work ready for publication, and, with a
raind perfectly at ease, patieutly awaited his release
from the body, which took place on Friday, the 2d of
January, in the year 1835. Hewas then in the seventy-
sixth year of his age, and in the fifty-third year after
hia reception of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New
Jerusalem Such was the work and auch the life of
thia faithful servant of the Lord. It reraains now
but to add a few words concerning his personal quali
tiea as described by his contemporaries in the New
Church. The Rev. David Howarth, who was his successor as
Pastor of the Society at Salford, thus describes him aa
a man among men :
"In the manners of Mr. Hindmarsh there was nothing of
Pharisaical austerity ; liispiety was equally free from the fanatic's
gloom and the dissembler's affectation ; and his equability of
temper and cheerfulness of mind plainly evidenced that, in his
estimation, religion was not intended to diminish, but rather to
purify and exalt every human joy and pleasure, whether internal
or external. In private conversation our friend was communi
cative, animated, and engaging; and here, as in his discourses
from the pulpit, he was zealous alike to maintain the truth, and
to expose the fallaciousness of error; his intelligent remarks,
therefore, would soraetimes appear sharp and indiscriminate, yet
they were evidently made without any consciousness of improper
feeling, and designed to promote tbe spiritual welfare of all with
whom he conversed " {Memorial Discourse, p. 17).

64
The Rev. Edward Madeley, of Birmingham, thus
summarizes his personal virtues :
" His time, his learning, his talents, his influence, and what
ever he could secure from but scanty means of support, were all,
for the protracted period of upwards of half a century, cheerfully
devoted to the Lord's servi'e. He maintained in all the rela
tions ol life, as a husband, a father, a minister, and a friend, that
uncompromising integrity, that devoted attention to duty, that
ardent attachment, which, combincil with true Christian piety
and even child-like humility, commanded the universal affection
and respect of all who had the high privilege of his association "
{Intelteclual Repository, 1S3.3, p. 41S.)
And the Rev. Sarauel Noble thus indicates the his
torical significance of the career of Robert Hindmarsh
to the future generations of the New Church :
" So long as the New Church exists, which will be as long as
the earth endures, the great promoter of the establishment of
the New Church distinct from the Old will be spoken of with
honor ; and the name of a Peter and a Paul will not be remem
bered longer than that of Robert Hindmarsh" {Intellectual
Repository, 1835, p. 422).
The lesson of his life is before us. May it serve to il
lustrate the Divine Truth, which he so clearly per
ceived, so lovingly obeyed, and for which he so faithfully
labored. May the thought ofhis personality recede be
fore the recognition of the Lord in His Divine Human,
who is the One and only Priest, Ordainer, Organizer,
and Sustainer of His Church, the New Jerusalem.

APPENDIX

REASONS

for

Separating from the Old Church
BY THE
MEMBERS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH, WHO
ASSEMBLE IN GREAT EAST-CHEAP, LONDON.

IN ANSWER TO A LETTER RECEIVED
FROM CERTAIN PERSONS IN MANCHESTER, 'WHO PROFESS TO BELIEVE IN THE
HEAVEM,Y DOCTRINES OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH, AS CONTAINED IN
THE THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS OF THE LATE HON. EMANUEL SWEDEN
BORG, AND YET REMAIN IN THE EXTERNAL FORMS OF DOCTRINE
AND WORSHIP NOW IN USE IN THE OLD CHURCH, NOTWITH
STANDING THEIR DIRECT OPPOSITION TO THE HEAVENLY
DOCTRINES OF THE NEW CHUECH. TO WHICH ARE
ADDED SUNDRY PASSAGES FROM E. SWEDENBORG,
ON WHICH THE EXPEDIENCY, AND EVEN NE
CESSITY, OF A COMPLETE SEPARATION
FROM THE FORMER CHURCH
IS FOUNDED.

London :
Printed ly R. Hindmarsh,
Printer to His Roval Highnefs the Prince of Wales,
No, 32 Clerkenwell-Closf,

Now it is allowable to enter intellectually
into the mysteries of the WORD, which hath
heretofore been closed up ; for all the truths
contained therein are so many mirrors of the
LORD'CT. C.R.,n. r,()s).

REASONS FOR SEPARATING FROM
THE OLD CHURCH.
Dear Brethren:
We received your friendly epistle of the 14th of No
vember, 1787, aud after mature deliberation on the
contents thereof, we think it necessary to deliver our
sentiments, as follow :
It appears to be written in a spirit of Charity, and
accordingly we receive it as expres^ve of your best
wishes toward us and the New Church at large. But
in regard to that part of it where you advise us not to
separate frora the present established forms of worship
in the Old Church, as no argument is advanced from the
"Holy Word, or from the Writings of Emanuel Sweden
borg, which to us are dearer than every other considera
tion on earth, we dare uot comply with any requisition
of man that in our judgment would tend to crush the
Lords work in His infant New Church. It appears to
us, from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, that the
Faith of the Old Church is diametrically opposite to
that of the New Church, and consequently that they
cannot remain together in the same house, much less in
the same mind, without the most dangerous consequences
to man's spiritual life.
With respect to the universality of the Divine Mercy,
which you seem to consider a sufficient ground and rea-
67

6.S
son fur not separating from the Old Church, inasmuch
as the Lord accepted the sincere worship of all raen,
however imperfect their forms, we conceive this might as
well have been applied to the primitive Christian Church,
when separating from the Jewish, and with much greater
propriety to the Reformed or Protestant Churches, when
they withdrew from the Roman Catholics, than to us in the
present case ; for the consideration ofthe Lord's mercy
being extended to Pagans and Idolaters, and even to
the wicked, doth not seem to us to be a sufficient reason
for continuing either iu idolatry or wickedness, when the
means of reformation are in our power. If the Lord
accepted the sincere worship of all men, notwithstanding
the imperfection of their forms, surely we may hope that
His mercy will be extended to us even in our new form,
while we worship Him alone in sincerity and truth. And
if so, even upon your own principles of universality, we
beg leave to ask wherein consisteth the evil or danger of
separating from the forms of the Old Church?
By a separation we by no means wish to circumscribe
the limits of the Lord'.-^ universal mercy, much less to
confine it to ourselves, or to the forms which we have
adopted for present use, as may appear from the address
to the reader prefixed to our Liturgy, to which we refer
you for our sentiments on this head. Nay, so sensible
are we of the universality of the Divine mercy that we
believe it is perpetually extended even to the infernal
spirits, in preventing them from falling into deeper hells ;
the Lord from His Divine Love being ever desirous of
elevating all into Heaven ; but this is impossible, by

69
reason of their acquired evil, which they have confirmed
to such a degree that it cannot be removed or extirpated
to all eternity (^H. and H., n. 521 to 527).
You will be pleased to observe that the friends in
London by no means wish to confine the New Church
to any forms which they may think most suitable for
themselves ; for we know that all perfections consists in
variety (^. C. 1285 ; H. and H., n. 51 to 58). There
will, therefore, be many varieties of worship in the New
Church ; but all these varieties will harmonize by the
acknowledgment and profession of one God in the Di
vine Human Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is the universal that must enter into every par
ticular and singular, as the very life and soul thereof;
and this will unite all the members of the New Church,
howsoever different their modes of worship may be.
But it is plain to see that this cannot extend to the
forms in use in the Old Church, for the universal that
prevails therein, particularly in respect to its doctrine
concerning God, the person of Christ, Charity, Eepent
ance, Freewill, Election, the use of the Sacraments of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and in every other the
most minute singular, is a trinity of Gods (see T. C. R.
n. 177) ; and this trinity of Gods as naturally begets the
pernicious doctrine of justification by Faith alone, as
the acknowledgment of one God in the Divine Hu
manity in the Lord Jesus Christ produces a life accord
ing to His Commandments.
We trust, therefore, our dear brethren of Mancheeter
will not impute to us a sectarian spirit, when we profess

70
and endeavor (through Divine assistance) to maintain
Charity toward all mankind, and declare that we have
nothing in view but the worship of the true God, and the
advancement of His New Church, both in Doctrine and
in Life.
In separating from the Old Church, and iu framing a
Liturgy agreeable to our perceptions of the Heavenly
Truths of the New, we conceive we are only exerci-ing
that liberty of conscience which the Loi;d in His
Divine Providence h;is been pleased so |it'ciiliarly to
favor us with, and which as members of the New Church,
and subjects of a free land, we have a most undoubted
right to. Indeed, the propriety, and even necessity of
this measure appears the more striking, when we con
sider that all the present forms of worship in use in the
Old Church are calculated to ira[)lant in the raind a
divided idea of the one Gud, and to lead from the true
object ol'worship,. which is jK.--rs Christ, to iin imaginary
God of a superior order, who is on all occa.-ions to be
addressed for the sake uf the merits and sufferings of His
Son. We consider it, therefore, as a duty incumbent upon
us to forsake whatsoever is calculated to oppose and
obstruct the free reception of Good and Truth frora the
Lord; and howsoever trivial it raay appear to some,
whether we use or reject the forras of the Old Church,
yet we are firmly persuaded (by certain experience) of
the truth of Emanuel Swedenborg's assertion (speaking
of the forras of prayer now in use) that whatever is im
planted in the memory in a person's younger years

71
becomes the subject of all his future thoughts (T. C. R.,
n. 173). This being the case, it is evident that the forms
of the worship in the Old Church have a pernicious
tendency, inasmuch as they lead the mind to conceive
three Gods in idea, and teach a justification by Faith in
the merits of one who suffered death to appease the
wrath of the other.
The danger resulting from such erroneous sentiments
to the rising generation is too evident to escape notice, but
rather awakens us to a sense of the duty we owe to our
families and offspring, in guarding them, as much as
possible, against receiving and being confirmed in prin-
oiples that cannot fail hereafter to prove highly preju
dicial to their eternal life. (See T. C. R., n. 23.)
But it is not our design to point out to you all the sad
consequences of the faith of the Old Church, as no doubt
you must be well acquainted with them already from the
Works of our Author. Suffice it to observe that we
consider them as sufficient reasons for withdrawing from
the former Church. And we hope and trust that our
•dear brethren of Manchester and elsewhere will also,
in due time, see the importance and necessity of relin
quishing, both internally and externally, those de
structive forms of faith and worship which have already
been the means of vastating and consummating the
Old Church, and which, if persevered in, will doubt
less threaten the most dangerous consequences to the
New. You, as well as we, believe there is only One God in
One Person, and that the Lord and Saviour Jesus

Christ is He. So do the Angels of Heaven. But they
profess the same with their lips also ; and thus the
aoknowdedgment of their hearts descending into the con
fession of their mouth, is in its fullness and in its power.
Why, then, should we be asharaed or afraid to profess
our Faith in the open day ? Why speak with our
tongues what we know iu our hearts to be false? Shall
general custom, or any huraan establishment on earth,
be allowed a sufficient plea? Is evil to be done, that
good may come of it? O Friends and Brethren ! let us no
longer deceive ourselves! let us uo longer halt between
two opinions! But let us seek Truth for the sake of
Truth ; and when we have found it, let us acknowledge
and profess it in humility and simplicity, as knowing
that nothing short of genuine Truth derived from gen
uine Good can constitute us real members of the New
Jerusalem. As a Church has lately been opened in London,
wherein the Lord Jesus Christ alone is worshiped, and
the Doctrines of the New Jerusalera are avowedly
preached, we can from sorae experience declare that we
think your fears about a separation from the Old
Church were entirely groundless. Many persons have
already by that raeans beeu brought to the knowledge
of the Truth ; and we have a good hope, from present
appearances, that the efforts of those concerned therein
will, through Divine mercy, in the end be crowned with
the desired success.
Sensible of our own weakness and infirmities, and
how much we stand in need of the Divine assistance, it

73
is the sincere prayer of our hearts that we may be pre
served in the Truth of the Holy Word, and in the
genuine spirit of charity toward all mankind. For
we are well assured that the most perfect forms of ex
ternal worship and profession will avail us nothing,
unless, by the Divine Mercy of the Lord, we enter into
real states of repentance and regeneration, which can
only be effected by shunning evils as sins against God,
and by a life conformable to the genuine Truths of His
holy Word.
We do not wish to lay a stress on any reasoning de
rived from man's propriety or self-intelligence, but
simply to receive the truth as the Lord has been
pleased to manifest it by means of his servant Emanuel
Swedenborg. And where we cannot all agree in senti
ment or opinion on any particular points, we trust we
shall ever be united in the bonds of mutual love and
charity. We think it proper, at the close of this letter, to
point out to you sorae of those passages in the Writings
of Emanuel Swedenborg, on which we ground the neces
sity of a separation frora the Old Church, and which
appear to us of sufficient weight to authorize our con
duct. The application of the same passages, however,
to your own breasts, we shall leave entirely to your
selves. We do not wish to urge the example of our
separation as a just reason for yours; being well per
suaded that every man must judge and act for himself,
particularl}' in matters of such importance as have
respect tohis conscience. And, although it is possible-

74

you may not at present see the expediency of forsaking
the Old and adopting the New Church, in an external
as well as internal manner, yet we trust the Lord will
in raercy preserve you from your present danger, aud
in His own good time deliver you from the power of all
your enemies by setting your feet on sure and certain
ground. This is our ardent prayer for you, for ourselves, and
for all others who desire to worship the Lord in spirit
aud in truth.
GitFAT East-Cheap, London,
Dec 7, 178S.

John Augustus Tulk,
Betty Tulk,
Robert Hindmarsh,
Sarah Hindmarsh,
Thomas Wright,
George William Wright,
Eobert Brant,
C. B. Wadstrom,
Isaac Hawkins,
Betty Hawkins,
Robert Jackson,
John Legg,
Daniel Eichardson,
Elizabeth Eichardson,
Thomas Bowers,
Ealph Mather,

(Signed.) Eobert Atchison,
John Ferguson,
Eichard Thompson,
Thomas Willdon,
jMary Willdon,
J. E. Needham,
Eobert Crane,
John Willdon,
James Hindmarsh, •
Phillis Hindmarsh,
Anna Hawkins,
Henry Servante,
Susanna Servante,
Henry Servante, Jun.,
Eobert lyes,
George Eobinson,

75

Alexander Wilderspin,
Samuel Bucknall,
John Hawkins,
James Cruden,
Manoah Sibly,
Sarah Sibly,
Benedict Chastanier,
Joseph Jerome Eoussel,
Isaac Brand,
Mary Brand,
John Dowling,
William Attwell,
William Child,
John Frederic Okerblom,
Elizabeth Okerblom,
Samuel Hands,
Charlotte Willdon,
John Ball,
John Sudbury,
Mary Sudbury,
Henrietta Edmonds,
Benjamin Banks,
Henry Peckitt.

Hannah Eobinson,
William Bell,
Lawrence Hill,
Thoraas Brant,
Charles Brant,
Thomas Foster,
Joseph Lee,
Timothy Morris,
John Morley,
Margaret Morley,
Nanney Yandell,
Samuel Bembridge,
Elizabeth Bembridge,
Benedict Harford,
John Citizen,
Elizabeth Citizen,
Betty Welch,
Anu Dickinson,
Mary Jackson,
Ann Hughers,
Benjamin Bond,
Samuel Smith.

76

Some passages from Emanuel Swedenborg,
whereon the expediency, and even necessity,
of a complete separation from the Old Church
is founded.
That all prayers directed to a Trinity of Persons are
henceforth not attended to, but rejected in Heaven as
ill-scented odours (T. C. R., n. 108).
That there is nothing spiritual remaining in the Old
Church, but that it is full of blasphemy against the
Lord (T. C. R., n. 132, 133 ; A. P., n. 692, 715).
That no one in Heaven can pronounce such an ex
pression as a Trinity of Persons, each whereof singly is
God ; that the heavenly atmosphere is in opposition to
such an expression, and consequently that men on earth
ought likewise to be in opposition to it {T. C. iiJ., n. 173).
That the confession of a Trinity of Persons is a tree
in man, which ought uot only to be cut down, but also
to be extirpated by the very roots (T. C. P., n. 173.)
That the variance of the heart and the mouth in
relation to three persons naturally leads to the denial
of a God (r. C.R.,n. 173).
Thatwhosover assents to the Athanasian Creed assents
to the existence of three Gods (T. C. R., n. 172, 173).
That the Christian Church is at this day entirely over
turned (T. C. it!., n. 177).
That a trinity of Gods pervades the whole and every
particular of the Doctrine and Worship in the Old
Church, even the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's

77
Supper ; and although this may not actually appear
therein, yet that is the true fountain from whence they
all flow (T. C. i?., n. 177).
That it is highly expedient that men's eyes should be
opened to see that it is actually the case (T. C. R.,
B. 177).
That a faith in a trinity of persons playelh the harlot
with every truth of the Word (T. C. R., n. 177).
That this faith in three Gods hath extinguished the
light of the Word, and turned it into mere darkness
(T. C. i?,n. 177).
That the Lord is departed from the Old Church (T.
a R., n. 177).
That all who abide by the faith of the Old Church do
not enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climb up
some other way (T. C. R., n. 177).
That the faith of the Old Church, inasmuch as it is
directed to three Gods, is a faith in nature as God, and
consequently in no God {T. C. R., n. 178).
That there is not a single truth remaining in the Old
Church which is not falsified, and brought to its consum
mation ; and that this is signified by the abomination of
desolation spoken of by the Prophet Daniel {T. C. R.,
n. 176, 177, 180, 758).
That so long as men adhere to and are influenced by
the faith of the Old Church, so long the New Heaven
cannot descend to them, and consequently the New
-Church cannot be established among them {T. C. R., n.
182). That the faith of the Old Church is the dragon which

78
obstructs and prevents the reception of Divine Truth
from the Lord {T. C. R., n. 182).
That by the faith of the Old Church no flesh can be
saved (T. C.R.,i^. 182).
That the most absurd, ludicrous, and frivolous ideas
concerning three Divine persons existing from eternity
arise in the mind of every one who continueth in a be
lief of the words of the Athanasian and Nicene Creeds
(T. C. R.,Ji. 183).
That such a faith is founded on a delirium ofthe mind
and a spiritual insanity (T. C. R., n. 183).
That Swedenborg publicly opposed the Bishop and
other dignitaries of the Old Cliurch in regard to their
faith in three persons, and confuted them to their faces
(T. C. R.,Ti. 16,112; J.i2.,n.716).
That the faith of the Old Church originates in prin
ciples of adultery ; for where there are three Divine per
sons, or three Lords iu the Church, it is either like a
woman.who plays the harlot, or like a woman who is
married to one husband, who yet hireth herself out to
others ; and whilst she spends the night in their em
braces, calleth each of them by turns her husband
(T. C. R,n. 380).
That the angels cannot utter such an expression as
three equal Divinities, and should any one approach
them with an intent to utter it he would be forced to
turn his face away from them ; aud when he had given it
utterance, he would become like a human log, and would
be cast out to take his place in hell with those diabolic
spirits who acknowledge no God (T. C. R., n. 23).

79
N. B. — We conceive that a solemn rehearsal of the
Athanasian Creed, and the other forms of worship in the
Old Church, is an attempt to approach the angels with
a design of uttering the expression of three equal Divin
ities ; and therefore we dare not put it into execution.
That to implant in children and young people the idea
of three Divine persons, to which is unavoidedly annexed
the idea of three Gods, is to deprive them of all spiritual
milk, and afterward of all spiritual meat, and, lastly, of
all spiritual rationality, the consequence whereof is spirit
ual death to all those who confirm themselves in such an
opinion {T. C.R.,n. 23).
That external forms of worship, agreeable to the Doc
trines of the New Church, are necessary in order that
the merabers of the New Church may worship God in
one person, according to the dictates of their own con
sciences, and that their acknowledgment of the Lord
may, by descending into the ultimates, be confirmed, and
thus their external man act in unity with their internal
(A. a, n. 1083 ; A. R., n. 533, 707 ; T. C. R., n. 23, 177,
508). That wheresoever there is a Church there raust of
necessity be both an external and au internal {A. C,
n. 1083).
That unless there were external worship, the nature
and qualities of what is holy would remain unknown
(A. a, n. 1083).
That as at tbe destruction of the Most Ancient, the
Ancient, and the Jewish Churches, a new Church was
always established amongst those who were separate

80
from the former ; so will the New Jerusalem Church be
established among those who are separate from the Old
Christian Church, because it cannot be established among
those who are within it {A. C. 29.So, 4747, 9256).
That the Old Church hath shut up Heaven against
itself (^. C. 9256).
That the Church is at this day transferred from the
Christians to the Gentiles (.4. C, n. 0256).
That the Old Church is rejected, aud theNew Church
adopted {A. C, n. 4331, 43;:3, 4334, 4422, 4(;;!,S).
That the internals and the externals ofthe Old Church
shall perish ; and that this is what is meant iu the Word
by heaven and earth passing away (^4. C , u. 4231).
That the Lord is departed from the Old Church, and
corae to the New {A. C. , n. 4535).
That there are three dangerous and baseful spheres
propagated by effiiix from modern Christendom, or the
Old Church ; the first, which exhale from the learned
part of the clergy and laity, and takes away all belief
in the Divinity ofthe Lord's Humanity, in consequence
of introducing the idea of three Gods. The second
sphere is concerning faith, which causeth darkness in
the understanding, and, joined with the former sphere,
introduceth a kind of lethargy concerning One God,
concerning regeneration, and the raeans of salvation.
The third sphere is concerning the conjunction of faith
and charity, which is so strong that it cannot be re
sisted, but is at this day aborainable, infesting as with a
plague whomsoever it toucheth, and breaking all con
nection between those two means of salvation established

81
from the creation of the world. This sphere invadeth
even men in the natural world, and quencheth the con
jugial affection subsisting between goods and truths.
The angels complain much of these spheres, and pray to
the Lord to dissipate them. These three spheres are
like atmospheres arising from the folds of the dragon,
which, being of a spiritual nature, invade and do vio
lence to mind (T. C. R.,n. 619).
The spheres of spiritual truths are as yet few, being
only in the New Heaven and with those under Heaven,
who are separate from the spirits of the dragon (21 C. R.
619). That if infernal spirits are near persons while engaged
in Divine worship they infest them with their sphere, and
excite a perception of horror {A. C. 7454).
That- men are exhorted to beware of the Doctrines of
the Old Church (^. C. 3900).
That no credit is to be given to what the teachers of
the Old Church say, either about truth or goodness {A. C.
3900). That the Old Church is a dead carcass or corpse, and
that reasonings in favor ofthe Old Church are what are
signified in Math, xxiv, 28, by the eagles being gathered
together about the carcass {A. C. 3900).
That men must flee from and shun the Old Church
{A. R. 707).
That there can be no conjunction between Heaven and
the Old Church, and therefore there is an absolute
necessity that New Church be formed distinct from the
Old in order that the new angelic Heaven may have a
6

82
foundation to rest upon in this natural world (A. R., n.
533). He who continues in the use of the Forms of Prayer
in the Old Church, howsoever he may make three per
sons to be one God, yet actually divides his idea into
three Gods when he so prays (A. R. 537).
That they who adhere to these words ofthe Athanasian
Creed : " There is one person of the Father, another of
the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost;" and also to
these words : " The Father is God, the Son is God, and
the Holy Spirit is God," cannot make one God of three
persons. They, indeed, say that they are one God, but
they cannot think so (A.R. 537; A. C. 4766).
That the doctrines of the Eeformed or Protestant
Churches in the spiritual world are represented by a
dragon {A. R. 537).
That man is only so far regenerated as his external is
reduced to a conformity with his internal, the reason of
which is, because previous to this, the internal is only in
the cause and not in the effect ; and if the cause does not
descend into the effect, it becomes dilapidated and
perishes. [Consequently it is not sufficient merely to
believe with the heart that there is only one God in One
Person ; but it is also necessary that we acknowledge
and confess the same with our mouth] {A. R. 510).
That the falses of the former Church must first of all
be removed before the truths ofthe New Church can be
received and implanted ; or, in case they are received,
they do not abide in the mind, but are extracted by the
spirits of the dragon {A. R. 547, 700).

83
That a wise man will reject from his memory such an
unintelligible and vain expression as the following, viz.:
That God exists in three persons (^A. R. 564).
That the faith which prevails at this day contains
nothing of the Church ; that it is not anything ; but
only an idea or shadow of soraething, aud, therefore, it
is deservedly to be rejected ; yea, it rejects itself as a
thing that bears no relation to a Church (B. E. 96).
That unless the false doctrines and reasonings of the
Old Church are detected and explored, any person un-
quainted therewith, although in other respects suffi
ciently intelligent, might easily be seduced {A. R.
700). That before any person can be introduced into the
New Church, the falses of the Old Church must neces
sarily be removed (4. R. 700).
That the Lord Jesus Christ must be worshiped in
the New Church as He is in Heaven ; consequently, that
as in Heaven the Angels worship the Lord alone mak
ing profession of Him in one person, and cannot utter
such a thing as three divine persons ; so likewise the
merabers of the New Church ou earth must make open
profession of the Lord Jesus Christ alone in one per
son (A. R. 839, 914, 921, 924 ; T. C. R. 25, 113).
That all falses must be destroyed by the truths of the
Word, less the doctrine of the New Church reach any
thing but the truth {A. R. 101).
That the Old Church is spiritual Sodom and Egypt,
where our Lord was crucified (4. iJ. 502-504 ; T. C.
R. 634, 635).

84
That the faith and imputation of the New Church
cannot abide together with the faith and imputation of
the Old Church ; aud in case they abide together, such
a collision and conflict will ensue as will prove fatal to
everything that relates to the Church with man
{T. C. R. 647-649; B. E. 106).
That whosoever embraces the faith of the New
Church, and still retains the faith of the former Church,
is like a person extricating himself from five horns of
the dragon and becoming entangled in five other horns ;
or escaping a wolf and falling into the clutches of a
tiger; or like being raised out of a well in which there
was no water and falling into a well full of water, and
being drowned (T. C. R. 649 ; B. E. 104).
That the Doctrines of the Old and New Church do
not agree together — no, not in one single point or in
stance, no raatter how rainute (J5. E. 96; T. C. R.
648). That the faith of the Old Church in consequence of
excluding all light from reason, may be likened to an
owl ; but the faith of the New Church may be likened
to a Dove; wherefore all their conjunction in one mind
would be like the conjunction of au owl and a Dove in
one nest, where each would lay its eggs, and after setting
would hatch their young, and then the owl would tear
in pieces the young of the Dove, and give them to her
own young for food, fur the owl is a bird of prey (B. E.
103 ;' T. C. R. 648).
That the New Church will be established distinct
from the Old, the latter remaining in its external wor-

85
ship, just as the Jews did in theirs ; although there is
nothing of charity and faith — that is of the Church —
among them (A. C. 1850).
That, although Swedenborg was charged with invert
ing and disturbing the worship which hath been for
many ages established in the Christian world by the
publication of his " Brief Exposition of the Doctrines
of the New Church," which the clergy of the Old
Church call the apple of contention ; yet he considered
it to be his duty to maintain his ground against all op
position and openly declare the truth {T. C. R. 112).
That it is agreeable to order, and by the Divine Provi
dence of the Lord that the New Church should at first
take place among a few, and successively and gradually
be enlarged (A. R. 547).

To Jesus Christ be glory and dominion for ever and
ever. For He is Jehovah of Hosts, and in Him alone
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

APPENDIX II. ¦
PRINCIPLES OF

Ecclesiastical Qovernment.

BY

ROBERT HINDMARSH.

PRINCIPLES OF ECCLESIASTICAL
GOVERNMENT.
" A Conversation having taken place on the subject
of Ecclesiastical and Civil Government, Mr. R. Hind
marsh observed that he thought it a duty incumbent on.
the members of the New Church, at the present critical
moment, when the principles of infidelity and democracy
were spreading abroad in the world, and threatening
the peace of the nation in particular, to stand forward
and declare their sentiments, in order, as far as lies in
their power, to check the said principles of infidelity
and democracy, to promote the interests of the true
Christian Religion, and to give satisfactory information
to all persons inquiring into the real nature and ten
dency of the New Jerusalem Doctrine. He then pro
duced and read a Declaration, which was to the follow
ing effect :
We the undersigned Ministers and other Members of the New
Jerusalem, observing with serious concern tlie present alarming
progress of infidelity and democracy in this country, systems
which ascribe to the people at large the right and power not
only to decide upon every question relative to Civil and Ecclesi
astical Government, but also to appoint and remove, at pleasure,
their Governors and Teachers; and thinking it a duty incum
bent upon us, in order to prevent any misapprehension of the
Extracted from the Minutes of the General Conference of the
Kew Church, held in London, April 9th-13th, 1792.

90
real and genuine Doctrines ofthe New Jerusalem on the above
subjects, at this time to declare our sentiments of the same, as
derived from the Word of God, and inculcated by the Writings
of Emanuel Swedenborg, do hereby, in the most solemn and de-
lilierate manner, declare our disapprobation of the aforesaid Ke-
publican or Democratic Princijiles, which we believe to be hos
tile to the peace of society, and therefore object against for the
following reasons ;
1. Because we believe and acknowledge that all power is de
rived from the Lord alone.
2. Because we believe that all Ecclesiastical Power and
Authority is delegated by the Lord to those whom He has been
pleased to appoint to the Office of the Ministry, as representa
tives of Himself in respect to the administration of DivineUood
and Truth in the Church.
3. Because we believe that all Civil Power and Authority is
delegated by the Lord to those whom He has been pleased to
appoint to the Kingly Office as representatives of Himself in
respect to the administration of Divine Truth and Good in the
State. 4. Because we believe, that those Ministers whom the Lord
has appointed to the Office ofthe Minlstiy, and those Kings or
Governors whom He has appointed for the government of Na
tions, are the prciper mediums or channels hy and through wliich
the Lord appoints other Ministers and Kings or Governors.
5. Because we believe, that as all Kings and Ministers, in re
spect to their Office, represent the Lord and not the People,
therefore they ought to be appointed by the Lord whom they
do represent and not by the People whom they do not repre
sent. 6. Because we believe that every Society is or ought to be
in a human form ; and that every individual occupies a certain
province in that forra, according to the uses which tlie Lord
has qualified him to perform, and not according to any election
of the people.

91
7. Because we believe that they who excel in celestial love
and wisdom constitute the head ; that they who excel in spirit
ual love and wisdom constitute the breast and body; and that
they who are principled in natural love and wisdom constiiute
the legs and the feet : And further, that the celestial principle
produces the spiritual, and governs it; and that both these in
union produce the natural and govern it : Whereas it appears to
us that the bulk of the people are principled in natural love
and wisdom, and therefore ought to submit themselves to be
governed by those who from their office and habits of life are
supposed to excel them in the reception of superior degrees of
love and wisdom from the Lord.
8. Because all influx is from the head of the members, from
the internal to the external, from the soul to the body, from
spirit to matter, and not vice versa; which nevertheless appears to
us to be implied in ascribing to the bulk of the people at large
the right and power of deciding upon every question of a civil
and ecclesiastical nature.
9. Because it appears to us that throughout the Holj^Scrip-
tures all true Prophets, Priests, and Kings were appointed by
the Lord alone, and not by the People, who in many cases op
posed the Divine Will, not only in majorities, but with one
voice and consent.
10. Because we believe that the appointment to all offices in
Church and State, and the deterraination of all questions by the
popular voice, is so much like the atheistical doctrine that the
centre is produced from the expanse, which is expressly con
demned by Emanuel Swedenborg {True Christian Religion, n.
35), that, as members of the New Jerusalem, we are bound in
conscience to express our disapprobation of such a false and dan
gerous principle.
11. Because it appears to us that by the People electing per
sons to fill the Office of the Ministry, is implied, though indi
rectly or remotely, that they are the authors of their own salva
tion: Whereas by the Lord choosing His Ministers, and these

92
again, as His representatives, ap[Poiuting their successors, is im
plied that the Lord alone is the .Vuthor of salvation, as well as
of the means to promote it. The same will hold good, as ap
plied to the hereditary succession of Kings; in which case the
Lord equally provides successive representatives of Himself,
and by their means governs the nations as a King.
12. Because we believe, that the persons who are in ignorance
and need instruction in Divine things, as the bulk of the people
confessedly are in consequence of their attention being princi
pally engaged in worldly affairs, cannot be supposed qualified to
judge of the necessary qualifications of a teacher. We admit,
indeed, they may know whether a Minister pleases them or not ;
but we do not apprehend that pleasure in the hearer is the
proper criterion whereby to judge of the ministerial function;
for this miiy be effected by an appeal to the will and its passions
rather than to the understanding ; whereas all instruction ought
to be directed to the understanding, because there reformation
commences, and the new will is to be formed.
13. Because we believe that as a Minister is a shepherd or
pastor, and the people the sheep or flock ; and as the sheep are
entrusted to the care of the shepherd, by the Lord, who is their
Owner ; it is an absurdity to say that the sheep have the right
or power of choosing and dismissing their shepherd, and yet
entrust themselves to his care and protection ; for if they had
the power of displacing him, it is plain they would be stronger
than him ; and if they are stronger than him, what occasion can
they have for his protection? The right and power of protec
tion against the wolf would in such case be in the sheep them
selves, and not in the shepherd. But sheep, as such, are help
less; and the shepherd, as a man, is able to protect them: conse
quently the shepherd has more power and authority than the
sheep, neither does he receive his power and authority frora the
sheep, but rather communicates his power and protection to the
sheep. 14. Because we believe that it is agreeable to Divine Order

93
and to the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg that there should
be a distinction of ranks among mankind : whereas the doctrines
of republicanism now circulating in the country at large seem
to confound all ranks, and to place all raen on a level, wliich we
consider to be hostile to the peace and welfare of society, both
in a religious and civil point of view.
15. Because we believe that however true it may be in some
respects, tliat human nature is alike in all, yet all men have not
equal rights, because all men are not equal in their degrees of
reception of love and wisdom from the Lord. The head has an
exclusive right to govern the body, and this right is a Divine
right, because it is derived from the Lord through heaven,
which is above the head, and not from the body which is be
neath it, and subject to it. To say that all men have equal
rights is to say that a society of men is not arranged according
to the human form ; or that all constitute the head, in which
case there would be no trunk, no arms, no feet. But the truth
is, some men by nature, or rather by Divine Providence and ap
pointment, constitute the head, sorae tbe neck, some the breast,
some the back, some the arms, sorae the legs, and some the feet.
The uses which every one is qualified to perform to and for the
whole determine the respective situation of each. And if the
whole man be in order, the head will arrange every member ac
cording to wisdom, the members will voluntarily and freely
subordinate themselves under the head, and thus the happiness
of the whole will be ensured.
(Signed) Robert Jackson,
Francis Leicester,
Eichard Thompson,
William lllingworth,
James Hindmarsh,
Thomas Parker,
Eobert Hindmarsh.''
London, April 12th, 1792=36."

APPENDIX III.

The
priesthood of the ^ew Church

IN

Great Britain.

A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST

ARRANGED BY

CARL TH. ODHNER.

THE PRIESTHOOD OF THE NEW
CHURCH IN GREAT BRITAIN.
1788-1888.
1. Robert Hindmarsh. (1788-1834.) Born 1759.
" Ordained by the Divine Auspices uf the Loed,"
June 1st, 1788. Minister at Salford, 1812-1824.
Ordination recognized by the General Conference,
1818. President of Conference, 1815, 1818-1822,
1827, 1831, 1833. Eemoved to the spiritual world
January 2d, 1835.
2. James Hindmarsh. (1788-1812.) Born 1731.
Ordained by Eobert Hindraarsh, June 1st, 1788.
Minister of the Society in Great East Cheap,
London, 1788-1794. President of the General
Conference, 1793. Died at Keighley, Yorkshire,
August 18th, 1812.
3. Samuel Smith. (1788-1790.) Ordained by Eob
ert Hindmarsh, June 1st, 1788. Mentioned the
last titne iu 1790.
4. Joseph Wright. (1790-1811.) Ordained by James
Hindmarsh, April 7th, 1790. Minister at Keighley,
1790-1809. Died in 1811.
5. Manoah Sibly. (1790-1840.) Born 1757. Preacher
to the Great East Cheap Society in 1788. Ordained
by James Hindmarsh, April 7th, 1790. Pastor of
the Society in Store Street, London, 1792, and of
7 97

ilS
the same Society, in Cross Street, 1793-1800; in
Cateaton Street, 1801, and in Friar Street, 1803-
1840. President of the General Conference in
1807 and 181(3. Eecognized an Ordaining Minis
ter in 1815. Died December IBth, 1840.
6. Francis Leicester. (1790-1800,) Born 1734.
An Episcopal clergyman. Eesigned from the Es
tablished Church in 1789. Ordained by James
Hindmarsh, September, 1790. Died in London,
November 27tli, 1800.
7. Robert Jackson. (1790-1801?) A merchant
resident in Jamaica. Ordained by James Hind-
marsii, September, 1790. Eeturned as a missionary
to Jamaica. Died about the year 1801.
8. Joseph Proud. (1791-1826.) Born 1845. A
Baptist Minister. Ordained by James Hiiidmarth,
May 3d, 1791. Preached at Norwich and Bristol.
Minister to the Society in Birmingham, 1791-1797.
Pastor to the Society in Cross Street, Hatton Garden,
London, 1797-1799. Eemoved with this Society to
St. James' Square, York Street, in 1799; to Lisle
Street, Leicester Square, in 1801. President ofthe
General Conference in 1808. Pastor of the Birming
ham Society, 1814-1825. Died August 3d, 1826.
9. Robert Brant. (1791-1822) Born 1748. Or
dained by Jaraes Hindmarsh, May 3d, 1791. Min
istered iu Bristol, 1792 ; in Hull, 1807 ; in Dudley
Court, London, 1810; in Brightlingsea, 1810-1822.
Died August 23d, 1822.

99
10. Henry Barry Peacock. (179.5-1801.) Or
dained by Joseph Proud, February 8th, 1795.
Pastor of the Birmingham Society, 1795-1799 ; of
the Manchester Society, 1800-1801. Died at Man
chester in May, 1801.
11. William Faraday. (1797-1817.) Born 1763.
Ordained by Joseph Proud, May 7th, 1797. Miur
ister to a Society in Birmingham, 1797-1809. Died
June 7th, 1817.
12. George Nicholson. (1800-1810.) Ordained
by .Joseph Proud, December 26th, 1800. Preached
in London, Bristol, and Hull. Entered the ministry
of the Established Church about 1810. Died in
March, 1819.
13. William Pownall. (1801-1828.) Ordained by
Manoah Sibly, December 13th, 1801. Ministered
to the Society in Bristol, at various periods, from
1801-1822. Died June 14th, 1828.
14. James Hodson (1805-1812.) Ordained by
Manoah Sibly, March 31st, 1805. Pastor of the
Society in Dudley Court, London, 1805-1812.
Died April 16th, 1812.
15. Isaac Hawkins. (1806-1820.) Born 1738.
Ordained by Manoah Sibly, April 13th, 1806.
Ministered to a Society in Somerset, 1806-1814.
Died June 27th, 1820.
16. William Ellis. (1808 ) Ordained by James
Hodson, April, 1808. Preached for a short time at

100
Newcastle. Became deranged in mind, and died in
a work-house at Scarborough.
17. Richard Jones. (1808-1833.) Born 1771.
Ordained by Manoah Silily, June, 1808. Pastor of
the Society in Peter Street, Manchester, 1808-1833.
Eecognized an Ordaining Minister, 1815. President
of the General Conference, 1823, 1825, and 1826.
Died November 22d, 1833.
18. Thomas Furlong Churchill. (1812-1833.)
Born in 17(i5. Ordained by Manoah Sibly, August
6th, 1812. Pastor of the Society in Dudley Court,
London, LS12-1819. Eecognized an Ordaining
Minister in 1815. Eemoved to Bristol in 1820.
Died August 1st, 1833.
19. Arthur Munson. (1813-1S18.) Born in 1776.
Ordained by Manoah Sibly, August 15th, 1813.
Pastor of the Society in Brightlingsea, 1809-181 'S.
Died August 22d, 1818.
20. Joseph Enoch. (181.'j-1825.) Ordained by
Manoah Sibly, September 18th, 1815. Ministered
at various periods to the Society iu Bristol. Men
tioned the last time in 1825.
21. Thomas Vaughan. (181.5-1817.) Ordained
by Manoah Sibly, October 29th, 1815. Ministered
to a Society in Lisle Street, 1815-1817.
22. Thomas Goyder. (1^15-1849.) Born 1786.
Ordained by Manoah Sibly, July 13th, 1817.

101
Succeeded Thomas Vaughan in the Lisle Street
Society, and removed with'it, in 1818, to Waterloo
Eoad, London. Eemained there until 1833, when
he became the Pastor of the Norwich Society.
Consecrated an Ordaining Minister in 1838. Presi
dent of the General Conference, 1839. Died Octo
ber 14th, 1849.
23. Edward Madeley. (1818-1827.) Born 1777.
Leader of the Society in Derby, 1809. Ordained
by Joseph Proud, August 13th, 1818. Pastor of
the Derby Society, 1818-1827. Died November
25th, 1827.
24. James Bradley. (1818-1855.) Born in 1782.
Began to preach in 1816. Ordained by Joseph
Proud, August 16th, 1818. Pastor of the Society
in Newcastle, 1819-1828. Suspended by the Gen
eral Conference in 1827, but reinstated in 1833.
Ministered at Leeds in 1829; afterward at Hull,
and finally at Salford. Died April 20th, 1855.
25. Samuel Noble. (1820-1853.) Born in 1779.
Ordained by Manoah Sibly, May 21st, 1820. Suc
ceeded Thomas F. Churchill as Pastor of the Lisle
Street Society, London, 1820, and continued with
this Society after its removal to Hanover Street,
in 1823, and to Cross Street, Hatton Garden, in
1827, until his death. Consecrated an Ordaining
Minister, 1828. President of the General Confer
ence, 1824, 1835, and 1837. Died August 27th,
1853.

102
26. James Robinson. (1820-1841.) Ordained by
Eichard Jones, August 10th, 1820. Came to
America about 1827. Pastor of the Delaware
County Society, Pa., 1830-1835. Died in 1841.
27. David George Goyder. (1822-1878.) Born
in 1796. Ordained by Th. F. Churchill, Novem
ber 3d, 1822. Ministered at Bristol, 1822; at
Liverpool, 1824 ; at Preston ; at Accrington, 1829 ;
at Hull, Newcastle, Glasgow, Ipswich, Melbourne,
Norwich, and finally at Islington. Died June 29th,
1878.
28. John Pownall. (1824-1845.) Ordained by
Eichard Jones, March 28th, 1824. Served as an
Evangelist in connection with the Manchester Mis
sionary Institution. Died at Manchester, Septem
ber 18th, 1845.
29. Thomas Pilkington. (1824-1837.) Born in
1791. Ordained by Eichard Jones, August 8th,
l>^'2i. Pastor of the Society iu Haslingden, Lan
cashire, until his death, April 7th, 1837.
30. David Howarth. (1824-1856.) Born in 1790.
Ordained by Eichard Jones, August 12th, 1824.
Succeeded Eobert Hindmarsh as Pastor of the So
ciety in Salford in 1824. Eemained there until
his death. Consecrated an Ordaining Minister in
1832. President of the General Conference in the
years 1828, 1830, 1834, 1840, 1842, 1845, 18.54.
Died December 25th, 1866.

103
81, Edward Madeley, Jr. (1825-1877.) Born in
1801. Ordained by Joseph Proud, May 8th, 1825.
Pastor of the Society in Birmingham, 1825-1877.
Consecrated au Ordaining Minister iu 1842.
President of the General Conference in the years
1832, 1836, 1838, 1844, 1855, 1860. Died Decem
ber 21st, 1877.
82. Jonathan Gilbert. (1825-1836.) Born in 1796.
Leader of the Society at Burton, 1819 ; at Leeds,
1822. Ordained by Manoah Sibly, August 14th,
1825. Pastor of the Society at Leeds, 1825-1836.
Died August 25th, 1836.
33. William Mason. (182.5-1863.) Born in 1790.
Ordained by Eobert Hindmarsh, September 18th,
1825. Ministered at Brightlingsea, 1825-1828 ; at
Melbourne, Derbyshire, 1828-1849; at Derby,
1849-1857. President of the General Conference
in the years 1829 and 1846. Died at Derby, May
19th, 1863.
34. William Bruce. (1829-1882.) Born in 1799.
Ministered at Dundee, 1824-1827. Ordained by
Samuel Noble, July 2 1st, 1829. Pastor of the Ed
inburgh Sojiety, 1829-1849. Assistant Minister
to the Cross Street Society, London, 1850-1853.
Pastor of the Cross Street Society, 1853-1861.
President of the General Conference, 1849, 1852,
1878. Consecrated an Ot;daining Minister, 1877.
Died January 13th, 1882.

104
35. Elias de la Roche Rendell. (1830-1876.)
Born in 1803. Leader of the Newcastle Society,
1826. Ordained by Samuel Noble, August 13th,
1S30. Pastor of the Newcastle .Society, ]8:;0-1844 ;
of the Society at Preston, 1844-1870. President
of the General Conference in the years 1841, 1851,
l.S,-)9, 1863, 1866, 1868, and 1872. Consecrated an
Ordaining Minister in 1857. Died at Preston, May
20th, 1.S76.
36. John Wickham Barnes. (18:13-1877.) Boru
in 1794. Ordained by Eobert Hindraarsh, August
19th, 18:!3. Pastor of the Society in Bath, 18:!;)-
1877. Died March 26th, 1877.
37. John Henry Smithson. (1833-18()4.) Born
in 180:5. Assistant to the Eev. Eichard Jones, in
Manchester, 18:!1. Ordained by Samuel Noble,
October 20th, 183:!. Pastor of the Society in
Peter Street, Manchester, 18:1:1-1864. President
of the General Conference in 1843. Consecrated
an Ordaining Minister, 1851. Died March 26th,
1864.
38. Jonathan Bayley. (]8:;(5-l886.) Born in 1810.
Ministered at Accrington, 1834-1836. Ordained
by David Howarth, October 3d, 1836. Pastor of
the Society in Accrington, 1836-1855 ; of the So
ciety at Argyle Square, London, 1856-1872 ; ofthe
Sijciety at Palace Gardens, Kensington, 1872-1886.
Consecrated an Ordaining Minister, 1860. Presi
dent of the General Conference in the years 1848,

105
1857, 1862, 1870, 1875, 1879, 1883. Died May
12th, 1886.
39. Thomas Chalklen. (1837-1882.) Born in 1797.
Ordained by David Howarth, September 17th,
1837. Ministered at Liverpool, Bristol, and Chat
teris. Died July 6th, 1882.
40. WoodviUe Woodman. (1838-1872.) Born
in 1805. Ordained by Manoah Sibly, January 7lh,
1838. Ministered at Brightlingsea, 1832-1837.
Pastor of the Society at Kersley, 1838-1872. Con
secrated an Ordaining Minister, I860. President of
the General Conference in the years 1847, 1856,
1865. Died at Kersley, November 15th, 1872.
41. John Cull. (1838-1869.) Born in 1796. Began
to preach in 1832. Leader of the Society at Leeds,
1836-1840. Ordained by Samuel Noble, August
12th, 1838. iMinistered in Liverpool, 1842-1847;
iu Glasgow, 1848 ; iu London (Cross Street), 1860 ;
in Newcastle, 18.50-1853; in Melbourne, 1853-1856.
Died in Liverpool, February 6th, 1859.
42. Richard Storry. (1838- .) Ordained by
David Howarth, Noveraber 25th, 1838. Minister at
Heywood, 1837-1846; at Dalton, 1847-1860. Con
secrated an Ordaining Minister, 1860. Pastor of the
Society at Heywood, 1861. President of the Gen
eral Conference in the years 1850, 1858, 1864, 1869,
1873, 1877, 1882, 1888.

106
43. Thomas Clarke Shaw. (1840-1856.) Born in
1787. Ordained by IManoah Sibly, August 30th,
1840. Pastor ofthe Society in Burton Eoad, Lon
don, 1840-44, and of the same Society in Argyle
Square, 1844-1855. Consecrated an Ordaining
Minister in 1852. President of the General Con
ference in 1853. Died November 27th, 1856.
44. Joseph Francis Wynn. (1842-1882.) Or
dained by Edward Madeley, November 6th, 1842.
Ministered at Brightlingsea aud Scarborough. Died
November 9th, 1882.
45. David Thomas Dyke. (1844-1874.) Born in
1811. Ordained by Thomas Goyder, August 18th,
1844. Ministered to the Society in Salisbury, 1844-
1874. Died August 14th, 1874.
46. Robert Abbott. (1846-1883.) Born in 1814.
Began to preach at Liverpool, 1841 ; at Ipswich,
1845-1847. Ordained by Edward Madeley, August
9th, 1846. Pastor of the Norwich Society, 1847-
1856. Eetired in 1856. Died June 13th, 188.3.
47. Richard Edleston. -(1846-1860.) Ordained by
by David Howarth, November 8th, 1846. Pastor
of the Society in Leeds, 1847-1857; in Heywood,
1857-1860. Eesigned all ministerial work in 1860.
Died at Heywood, August 10th, 1887.
48. James Boys. (1848-1886.) Born in 1811.
Ordained by David Howarth, ^Nlay 26th, 1848.

107
Pastor of the Society in Eadcliffe, 1848-1886.
Died February 23d, 1886.
49. James Binns Kennerley. (1857-1867.) Or
dained by Edward Madeley, August 16th, 1857.
Pastor of the Salford Society, 1857-1867. Presi
dent ofthe General Conference in 1861. Eesigned
from the Ministry in 1867.
50. John Hyde. (1861-1875.) Born in 1833. Or
dained by Jonathan Bayley, September 29th, 186L
Pastor of the Derby Society, 1861-1866; ofthe
Peter Street Society, Manchester, 1866-1875.
President of the General Conference in the years
1867, 1871, 1874. Died August 18th, 1875.
51. Oliver Prescott Hiller. (1841-1869.) Born in
Boston, U. S. A., in 1814. Ordained by M. M.
Carll, at Cincinnati, O., August 22d. Ordained
into the Pastoral degree, May 29th, 1842. Pastor
of the Cincinnati Society, 1842-1848. Consecrated
an Ordaining Minister in 1847. Came to England
in 1848. Pastor of the Glasgow Society, 1849-
1862. Pastor of the Society ou Cross Street, Lon
don, 1862-1869. Died May 19th, 1869.
52. James Keene. (1863-1875.) Born in 1796.
Ordained by J. Bayley, November 18th, 1863.
Ministered to the Society in Bath, 1863-1875.
Died December 25th, 1875.
53. Thomas Lewen Marsden. (1864-1891.) Or
dained by Edward Madeley, September 26th, 1864.

108
Ministered at Dalton, I8(i4-1866; at Siiodland,
1867-1880. Died July 16th, 1891.
54. WilUam TaU. (1864-1868.) Ordained hy J.
Bayley, Noveraber 13th, 1864. Ministered at St.
Ives, 1864-1868. Died January 20th, 1868.
55. Charles GladweU. (1866-1867.) Ordained by
J. Bayley, February 18th, 1866. Ministered at
Snodland for one year. Eesigned from the Min
istry in 18li7.
56. John Faulkner Potts. (1866- .) Ordained
hy J. Bayley, October 16tli, 1866. Ministered at
Melbourne, 186r,-18(;7. Pastor of the Glasgow
Society, 18(i7-18!)l. President of the General
Conference in 1881. Consecrated an Ordaining
INIinister in 1882. Eesigned from the General
Conference in 1891. Eemoved to Philadelphia,
r S. A., in 1891,
67. WilUam Westall. (1866- .) Ordained by
E. D. Eendell, October 28th, 1866. Ministered
at Bolton, 1866-1867. Pastor of the Salford
Society, 1868-1879 ; of the Middleton Society in
1880. Consecrated an Ordaining Minister, 1886.
58. WUliam Ray. (186S-1884.) Ordained by J.
Bayley, December 13th, 1868. Pastor of the Not
tingham Society, 186,^-1870; of the Newcastle
Society, 1870-1884. Died July llth, 1884.
59. John Presland. (1869- .) Ordained by J.
Bayley, Augiist 13th, 1869. Pastor of the Derby

109
Society, 1867-1871; of the Society in Argyle
Square, London, 1871. Consecrated an Ordain
ing Minister in 1882. President of the General
Conference in the years 1876, 1880, 1884, 1890,
aud 1893.
60. Samuel Pilkington. (1869-1889.) Ordained
by J. Bayley, September 26th, 1869. Pastor of the
Earasbottom Society, 1869-1889. Died May 23d,
1889.
61. Eli Whitehead. (1870-1892.) Born in 1831.
Ordained by Eichard Storry, September 18th, 1890.
Pastor of the Dalton Society, 1870-1892. Conse
crated an Ordaining Minister in 1891. Died April
22d, 1892.
62. Rudolph Leonard Tafel. (1868-1893 ) Born
in 1831. Ordained by J. P. Stuart in St. Louis,
Mo., U. S. A., AprU 18th, 1868. Pastor of the
Society in Cross Street, London, 1870, and of the
same Society, iu Camden Eoad, London, 1872-
1893. Eecognized as a Minister of the General
Conference in 1871. Consecrated an Ordaining
Minister in 1882. President of the General Con
ference in 1887. Died January 9th, 1893.
63. Adolph Theodore Boyesen. (1871- .)
Ordained by J. Bayley as Missionary to Denmark,
August 14th, 1871. Pastor ofthe Society in Copen
hagen, 1871-1876 ; of the Society in Stockholm,.
1876.

no
134. Herman Peisker. (1871-1880.) Ordained by
J. Bayley as Missionary to Austria, August 14th,
1871. Pastor of the Society in Vienna, 1871-1880.
Died April 7th, 1880.
¦65. Stephen Jepson. (1872- .) Ordained by
J. Bayley, August 18tb, 1872. Ministered to the
Society in Brightlingsea, 1872-1873. Eemoved to
America in 1875. Began to minister in Springfield,
Mass., 1875.
66. Charles Henry Wilkins. (1873- .) Or
dained by .1. Bayley, .January 26th, 1873. Pastor
of the Nottingham Society, 1873-1877 ; of the Peter
Street Society, Manchester, 1878-l88,S ; of the Biis-
tol Society, 188S-1SI:I4.
67. Walter Bates. (187:1-1879) Ordained by Ed
ward Madeley, October, 26th, 1873. Ministered at
Blackburn, 1873-1874; at Longton, 1876-1878.
Died June 1st, 1879.
68. Thomas Kidd Payten. (1874- .) Ordained
by Edward Madeley, January 28th, 1874. Minister
to the Melbourne Society, 1867-1874 ; to the North
ampton Society, 187()-1878; to the Clayton-le-
Moore Society, 1879-1888.
69. Peter Ramage. (1874- .) Ordained by E.
D. Eendell, October llth, 1874 Ministered to the
Kersley Society, 1874-1881 ; to the Auerley Society,
London, 1883-1887; to the Eadcliffe Society, 1888-
1893. President of the General Conference, 1894.

Ill
70. Joseph John Thornton. (1874- .) Or
dained by E. D. Eendell, October 18th, 1874.
Pastor ofthe Accrington Society, 1874-1875. Con
secrated an Ordaining Minister in 1877. Pastor of
the Society in Melbourne, Australia, 1877-1892.
Eeturned to England in 1892. Pastor of the Bris
tol Society, 1894. t
71. Redman Goldsack. (1875- .) Ordained
by J. Bayley, September 15th, 1875. Minister to
the Liverpool Society, 1 874-1877 ; to the Snodland
Society, 1887-1891.
72. Isaiah Tansley. (1875- .) Ordained by
Eichard Storry, October 24th, 1875. Minister to
the Society in Clayton-le-Moore, 1875-1877. Pas
tor of the Besses Society, 1878-1885 ; of the Liver
pool Society, 1886-1889; ofthe Preston Society,
1890-1893 ; of the Heywood Society, 1893.
73. Robert Richard Rogers. (1876- ). Or
dained by J. Bayley, November 10th, 1875. Pastor
of the Birmingham Society, 1875. President of the
General Conference in 1886 and 1892.
74. Joseph Ashby. (1875- .) Ordained by J.
Bayley, November 12th, 1875. Minister of the
Derby Society, 1875-1882; of the South port Society,
1882.
75. Joseph Deans. (1876- .) Ordained by J.
Bayley, November 15th, 1875. Ministered at
Bolton, 1868-1874. Pastor of the Brightlingsea

112
Society, 1874-1885 ; of the Leeds Society, 1885-
1891 ; of the Glasgow, Cathedral Street Society,
1891. President of the General Conference in
1889.
76. George Henry Smith. (1876-1885.) Ordained
by Eichard Storry, Sei)tember 17th, 1876. Minis
tered at Bolton, 1876-1877; at Accrington, 1878-
1882; at Haslingden, 188:]-1885. Eesigned from
the General Conference iu 1885.
77. James Robson Rendell. (1878- .) Or
dained by J. Bayley, August 21st, 1878. Pastor of
the Bradford Society, 1878-1889 ; of the Accring
ton Society, 1890. President of the General Con
ference in 18',) 1.
78. John Martin. (1878- .) Ordained by ,L Bay-
ley, August 28th, 1878. Pastor of the Preston
Society, 1878-1886 ; ofthe Bath Society, 1886.
79. Thomas Mackereth. (1878- .) Ordained by
Eichard Storry, September 22d, 1878. Pastor of
the Bolton Society, 1878-1886.
80. Henry Cameron. (1878-1893.) Ordained by
Eichard Storry, September 26ih, 1878. Pastor of
the Blackburn Society, 1878-1885; of the Salford
Society, 1885-1890. Died November 23d, 1893.
81. Thomas ChUd. (1878- .) Ordained by
Eichard Storry, October 15th, 1878. Pastor of
the Bath Society, 1878-1886. Assistant to Jon-

113
athan Bailey, at Kensiugton, London, 1886. Pas
tor of the Kensington Society, 1886.
82. Edward Jones. (1879- .) Ordained by
Eichard Storry, August 31st, 1879. Pastor of the
Society at Embsay, 1879-1890; of the Society at
Besses, 1890.
83. WiUiam O'Mant. (1879- .) Ordained by
Eichard Storry, September 1st, 1879. Minister at
Leeds, 1876-1878. Pastor of the Lowestoft So
ciety, 1879-1880; of the Nottingham Society,
1880-1881 ; of the Society at Islington, London,
1882-1893.
84. WUUam Crosby Barlow. (1879-1890.) Or
dained by William Bruce, September 29th, 1879.
Minister of the Camberwell, London, Society, 1879-
1886; of the Peckham Eoad, London, Society,
1887-1890. Resigned from the Ministry of the
New Church in 1890.
85. George Lawrence AUbutt. (1880- .) Or
dained by J. Bayley, October 20 th, 1880. Pastor
of the Pa'isley Society, 1880-1886. Eemoved to
America, 1886. Pastor of the Society in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, 1886.
86. John Roberts Boyle. (1881-1887.) Ordained
by Eichard Storry, September llth, 1881. Min
ister at Hull, 1881-1882 ; atNewcastle, 1883-1886.
Eesigned from the Ministry of the New Church in
1887.

114
87. James Jonas Woodford. (1881- .) Or
dained by J. Bailey, October 4th, 1881. Pastor of
the Snodland Society, 1881-1886 ; of the Besses
Society, 1887-1890; ofthe Manchester, South, So
ciety, 1890.
88. WUliam A. Presland. (1882- .) Ordained
by J. Bayley, August 18th, 1882. Pastor of the
Edinburgh Society, 1882 ; of the Accrington So
ciety, 188:1-1889 ; of the Glasgow, Queen's Park,
Society, 1889-1891 ; of the Camberwell, London,
Society, 1892.
89. Robert James TUson. (1882- .) Ordained
by J. Bayley, August 23d, 1882. Pastor of the
Liverpool Society, 1882-1886; of the Camber
well, London, Society, 1886. Eesigned from the
General Conference, 1891 ; Minister to a new So
ciety in Camberwell, London, 1891. Ordained into
pastoral degree of the Priesthood of the Academy
of the New Church, by Bishop Benade, in Phila
delphia, June 19th, 1892. Pastor of the Church
of the Academy in London, 1893.
90. John Elstob. (1882- .) Ordained by J.
Bayley, September 14th, 1882. Minister of the
Lowestoft Society, 1882 ; of the Kearsley Society,
1883.
91. Edward MiaU Pulsford. (1882- .) Or
dained by John Presland, October 21st, 1882. Mil)'
ister of the Sogietj' io AUoa,, Sqotjapd, 1§82,

115
92. James Frederick Buss. (1885- .) Or
dained by Rudolph L. Tafel, September 27th,
1886. Pastor of the Melbourne Society, 1885-
1887; ofthe Newcastle Society, 1888-1892; ofthe
Northampton Society, 1892-1894.
93. WiUiam Thomas Stonestreet. (1885- .)
Ordained by J. Bayley, October 18th, 1885. Pas
tor of the Eadcliffe Society, 1885-1887; ofthe
Preston Society, 1887-1889: of the Manchester,
North, Society, 18.^9.
94. Joseph Thomas Freeth. (1886- .) Or
dained by Eichard Storry, September 19th, 1886.
Pastor of the HuU Society, 1886-1887; of the
Bolton Society, 1888.
95. George Herbert Lock. (1887-1894.) Or
dained by Eichard Storry, September 4th, 1887.
Minister to the "Worsley Society, 1887 ; to the Hull
Society, 1889-1894. Eesigned from the General
Conference in 1894.
96. Charles Griffiths. (1887- .) Ordained by
Eudolph L. Tafel, October 17th, 1887. Pastor of
the Societies in Brightlingsea and Colchester, 1887-
1890; of the Eamsbottom Society, 1890.
97. Thomas Frederick Robinson. (1887- .)
Ordained by Eudolph L. Tafel, October 23d, 1887.
Ministered to the Society in Salisbury, 1881-1887.
Pastor of the Society in Northampton, 1887-1892.
Resigneti ftom tbe Gen^r^J QopfereBce iu 1892,

116
Student of the Theological School of the Academy
of the New Church in Philadelphia, 18!)2-18i)3.
Ordained into the First Degree of the Priesthood
of the Church of the Academy, by Bishop Benade,
in Philadelphia, June 4th, 1893. Eeturned to
England the same year. Minister of the Colchester
Society, 1893. Ordained into the pastoral degree,
l)y Bishop Benade, London, 1894.
!I8. WiUiam Henry Buss. (1887- .) Ordained
by .John Presland, October :lOtli, 1887. Minister
to the Society in St. Helier, Jersey, 1887.
'.19. Arthur Potter. (18,S.S- .) Or.lained by
Eudolph L. Tafel, Sejitember 7th, 1888. Pastor
of the Society in Walworth Eoad, London, 1888.
100. Mark Rowse. (1888- .) Ordained by
Eichard Storry, October 6th, 1888. Minister to
the Blackburn Society, 1888-1892; to the Society
in Leeds, 1892.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

A BRIEF ACCOUNT

Iiife and Work of Emanuel Sraedenbopg,
With a Sketch of his Personality.
With a portrait of Swedenborg, taken from an original painting.
41 pages, 5x7 inches.
Paper, 15 Cents. Cloth, 25 Cents.

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so far as we know — have the important events and facts of tlie
' tife aud Work' of the Instrument ofthe Lobd's Second Com
ing been set forth so clearly and satisfactorily as in the one
recently published." — New Church Standard.

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