Order of the Cross

The Order of the Cross is a Christian theosophical group founded in 1904 by former Congregational minister J. Todd Ferrier (1855-1943). Born and raised in Scotland, Ferrier began to read theosophical and other esoteric materials that led him to a very different understanding of the purpose and mission of Jesus. He resigned from the monastery in 1903 and the following year began what was to become his life's work. The first sign of his new ministry was the initial issue of a new periodical, The Herald of the Cross, which continues in publication to the present. He also began work on what were to become his two most important books, The Master: His Life and Teachings (1913) and The Logia, or Sayings of the Master. He moved to London, where he established the order's headquarters. Important in Ferrier's development was participation in the animal rights movement. He became a vegetarian, which he described as a "bloodless" diet, and campaigned against vivisection. It led him to adopt what he termed the Christ-life, a path of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and self-abandonment to the Divine Will. Ferrier believed that Jesus had come into the world to prevent its further disintegration. Over the centuries, the Earth had gradually experienced an increasing disorder in both nature and society caused by the fading of the divine light in human beings. Jesus' work was beginning to show signs of success in the twentieth century. Ferrier saw the changes occurring as the century progressed as signs of the increase of light. Those who actively align themselves with the effort to restore the light to human life will be endowed with a sense of purpose and an ability to communicate with the unseen (i.e., psychic abilities). According to Ferrier, the message of Jesus had been missed by the mainstream of Christianity. He intended not to create the vast earthly institution, but to restore spirituality to individuals. Thus the Order of the Cross has adopted a somewhat anti-institutional bias and devoted itself to introducing people to Jesushood, a state of spiritual realization. Jesushood leads to Christhood, a state of mystical illumination. The order is focused in a number of small groups, most in the British Isles, but some in North America and other English-speaking communities worldwide. International leadership is vested in a self-perpetuating executive council that seeks assistance from an advisory committee of representatives of the groups. International headquarters is located at 10 De Vere Gardens, London W8 5AE, United Kingdom and American headquarters at P.O. Box 2477, LaGrange, IL 60525. The order has a website at http://www.ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/GabrielBuist/OrdCross.htm. The order has published more than 50 books and booklets of Ferrier's writings and transcribed talks.

Sources:

Ferrier, J. Todd. The Logia, or Sayings of the Master. London: Percy, Lund, Bradford and Co., 1916, 1926.

——. The Master: His Life and Teachings. London: Order of the Cross, 1913.

Kemmis, E. Mary Gordon. Shepherd of Souls: Some Impressions of the Life and Ministry of John Todd Ferrier. Santa Barbara, Calif.: J. F. Rowney Press, 1947.

Order of the Cross. A religious movement or fellowship founded in England in 1904 by J. Todd Ferrier. The movement proclaims ‘the brotherhood of man’, the essential unity of all religious quests and the unity of all living beings in the divine.