A fascinating and scarce volume of sermons by John Wroe, [1782 – 1863] the mystical and vision-induced founder of the Christian Israelite Church which began in the 1820’s.

Raised in the Anglican church, in 1819 Wroe became ill with a fever and two doctors who attended him considered his life was in serious danger. Wroe asked for a minister to come and pray with him. Although his wife sent for four church ministers, each refused his request. Wroe then asked his wife to read a few chapters of the Bible to him, and after a while, he gradually recovered his bodily health, but his mental distress continued and he "wrestled with God" day and night for months on end.

During this time, Wroe began having visions, often being, according to him struck completely blind and mute before, during, and after his revelations. The longest of these he recorded lasted six days. During these periods, Wroe recorded that the Spirit told him to relinquish his worldly employment and to devote his life to travelling and preaching, which he did.

Wroe was a divisive figure and was often persecuted and threatened as he travelled throughout Europe. He preached in Gibraltar, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Wales, Australia, and the United States.

His revelations, traveling, and preaching ultimately led to the establishment of The Christian Israelite Church. In the 1820’s the church trustees wanted to turn Ashton-under-Lyne into a "new Jerusalem". In this way, his work precedes communities like those of John Alexander Dowie, and the Utopian communities of the post-Civil War era.

Their plans were concrete, literally. The church intended to build a wall around the town with four gateways, and although the wall was never constructed, the four gatehouses were, as was a printing press. These plans failed when the Trustees were replaced and the church headquarters moved to Gravesend in Kent in the 1830s. Popular opinion in Ashton turned against Wroe when, in 1831, he was accused of indecent behavior. The charges were dismissed, but his reputation in the town never recovered fully.

Their theology was apocalyptic and combined Christian Replacement Theology [the Church as Spiritual Israel]; British Israelism [England as National Israel]; and a strong affinity with the teachings of Lewis Day, Edward Irving, etc., regarding the restoration of the “other” Jews, i.e. those in Palestine and the Diaspora, via the previous two communities.

Scarce. No copies on the market at the time of listing. 

Wroe, John. Sermons Selected from the Scriptures, by John Wroe, being a Guide to the People Surnamed Israelites to Preach the Everlasting Gospel. Ashton-Under-Lyne: Printed for the Trustees of the Society of Christian Israelites. 1880. 74pp.

Original printed color wraps; wraps chipped with folds, but solid and attractive. Contents crisp, sound, solid, and clean.