J. I. Wedgwood
James Ingall Wedgwood ( born May 24, 1883 in London, England; † March 13 1951 in Farnham, Surrey, England ) was an English priest of the Old Catholic Church of England, founder and first Archbishop of the Liberal Catholic Church, Freemasons, Rosicrucians and Theosophist.
Life
Childhood and youth
Wedgwood was born on May 24, 1883 in London, the second of four children of Alfred Allen Wedgwood ( 1842-1892 ) and Margaret Rosena Ingall ( 1854/55-1922 ), the family was highly regarded as the owner of Wedgwood porcelain factory and prosperous. By mother and grandfather, who had esoteric interests, he came early with spiritualism and theosophy in contact. From 1888, he attended a boarding school. The taking place in this context regular church attendance, he discovered his interest in religious rites and felt firsthand the psychological effect of music, especially organ music. In consequence matured in him the idea to pursue a clerical career, but the negative attitude of his family brought him back from it. Instead, he took the boarding music lessons and learned to play the organ, where he was also involved in the construction of organs. After completion of the boarding school he studied at the University of Nottingham Analytical Chemistry, in the early 1900s, he joined this with a Bachelor of Science, but then turned but the clerical area to. Later, the Sorbonne for a musicological work awarded him an honorary doctorate. Wedgwood never married.
Freemason
Already in 1899, Wedgwood was 16 years old, he was admitted into a Masonic lodge after the Memphis - Mizraim - Rite, 1915, he led Charles Webster Leadbeater in this Order. In the late 1920s, he was co-founder in Adyar an "independent, non- Masonic organization" called Sovereign Sanctuary of the Egyptian Rite of the Ancient Mysteries. This was, inter alia, Theosophists Leadbeater, Besant, George Arundale, Rukmini Devi Arundale and Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa members. Le Droit Humain and to the Ordre Martiniste ( Martinism ) at least he had a close relationship.
Theosophist and Rosicrucian
After a lecture by Annie Besant in 1904, he was so impressed by the Theosophy that it 3 days later a member of the Theosophical Society Adyar was. This had its exclusion from the Church of England, for which he had worked since recently, the consequence. So he devoted himself to the more zealous of Theosophy and practiced from 1911 to 1913, the general secretariat of the English section of. In 1912 he founded together with Marie Russak and Annie Besant in London coined the theosophical Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross. A Rosicrucian Order of strongly leaning towards the teachings of Theosophy, but wanted their own way.
Priest and bishop of the Old Catholic Church
The early 1900s, after completing his chemistry degree, Wedgwood went to York and joined the local Church of England in order to become a priest later the same. Even before it happened, he was expelled in 1904, because of his membership of a Theosophical society (TG), from the Church, so was his church career for the time being terminated. In 1913 he read an article in a London newspaper, which was signed by Arnold Harris Mathew, the bishop of the Old Catholic Church in England. Intrigued took Wedgwood epistolary contact with the bishop, the correspondence developed very positively and finally came the desire for Wedgwood language to pursue a clerical career. Bishop Mathew signaled his approval, also played for him and the Old Catholic church membership in a TG not matter, and shortly afterwards his promise was followed by the realization. Only a few months after the first meeting Wedgwood was baptized by Bishop Mathew sub conditione again, then confirmed again, then provided with the minor orders, was ordained subdeacon and deacon and priest on 22 July 1913. In the following years he not devoted himself to the Old Catholic Church affairs, but was still mainly occupied with Theosophy and Freemasonry.
When he coveted to 1915/16 itself to become a bishop, this time being pushed to difficulties since Bishop Mathew had been declared the Old Catholic Church in England for resolved because he looked at the Theosophical influence in this as undesirable. A way out was found in Bishop Frederick Samuel Willoughby, this was already consecrated on October 28, 1914 by Mathew Bishop, but was excluded on August 6, 1915 by this from the Old Catholic Church. After Willoughby had first made his support Robert King and Rupert Gauntlett bishops, consecrated the three finally on February 13, 1916 Wedgwood bishop. He stood in the Apostolic succession as 257 Bishop after the apostles. Just at that time again Mathew founded his Old Catholic Church new, but some theosophical priests and laymen were this far and now joined by Bishop Wedgwood, it was the Liberal Catholic Church. Shortly thereafter, he left for Australia to consecrate there on July 22, 1916 Charles Webster Leadbeater Bishop of Australasia.
Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church
Already in 1915, after ordination Wedgwood, he and Leadbeater had philosophized about the power of ecclesiastical rites and now, at a meeting held in July 1916 in Sydney, they began their former thoughts into action. Initially thought Wedgwood, in his capacity as bishop because to call a reorganized form of the Old Catholic Church into being, in the Theosophists were also welcome, as Bishop Arnold Harris Mathew had his church even temporarily disbanded because of their affiliation. Together with Leadbeater, he developed an entirely new form of liturgy that was released by Leadbeater on 6 April 1917. In the meantime, Wedgwood had set out on a promotional world tour for its reorganized form of the Old Catholic Church since the end of 1916. In the U.S., however, there were 1917 first difficulty since few years earlier, had founded several Old Catholic churches already others also consecrated Arnold Harris Mathew bishops. Wedgwood tried to move them to a common procedure, the talks broke down, however. At a synod held on September 6, 1918 in London, the present priests and bishops, including Wedgwood as Presiding Bishop agreed on a new name for their reorganized Old Catholic church and finally called this The Liberal Catholic Church Liberal Catholic Church = ( LKK ). In the following years, Wedgwood was a lot, he consecrated many priests and bishops and opened many centers for the fast growing LKK.
In 1922, he was by T. H. Martyn, a member of TG in Australia, suspected of having an affair with his wife. The story came to the ears of the press, was blown up and all the dysfunctional health Wedgwood. He then resigned as presiding bishop of the LKK and Leadbeater became his successor. Mid- 1924, he had recovered enough that he was able to resume his work for the LKK again, he moved to Huizen in the Netherlands, where a chapel of LKK was inaugurated on September 29, 1924, where he built a training camp for LKK clergy on. In 1926 he became bishop Officer for Europe. Around 1929 he moved to Camberley in Surrey, England, in March 1931 he became seriously ill, so that it only from home was practically worked as an author and letters for the LKK wrote.
Works
- A comprehensive dictionary of organ stops, English and foreign, ancient and modern, practical, theoretical, historical, aesthetic, etymological, phonetic. The Vincent music company, London 1905, online in PDF format (24 MB).