John Sebastian Marlowe Ward
Encyclopedia
John Sebastian Marlow Ward (22 December 1885, Central America
– 2 July 1949 Cyprus
) was an English
writer on Freemasonry
and spiritual
matters.
He was born in what is now Belize
. In 1908 he graduated from the University of Cambridge
with honours in history, following in the footsteps of his father, Herbert Ward. who had also studied in history before entering the priest
hood in the Anglican
Church, as his father had done before him.
John Ward became a prolific and sometimes controversial writer on a wide variety of topics. He made contributions to the history of Freemasonry and other secret societies. He was also a psychic medium
or spiritualist, a prominent churchman and is still seen by some as a mystic and modern-day prophet.
's Victoria and Albert Museum
.
After the First World War he accumulated a significant private collection of antiques and when from 1927 onwards he began to form the "Confraternity of the Kingdom of Christ", together with his second wife Jessie, he would frequently return from a day in London with their car laden with numerous historical pieces for the collection. A thirteenth-century tithe barn
, painstakingly taken down, transported in pieces and re-erected at Barnet
, just outside London, was filled with priceless antiques and opened as a church in 1930. On the same property an open-air museum, consisting of replica period buildings, filled with genuine antiquities was also constructed and became a major tourist attraction. This Folk Park, as it was called, was one of the first of its kind in the world. Much of the collection was reluctantly sold but the rest still survives under the custodianship of the present members of his community at the Abbey Museum in Caboolture, Queensland
, Australia
.
He saw Freemasonry as the successor of the ancient traditions of learning, and sought to convince his fellow masons to use that position to promote inter-religious harmony. His views remain controversial within Freemasonry. In 1987 the British
Grand Lodge
informed its members that "J.S.M. Ward's handbooks have no official standing and are not issued by Lodges to candidates. They were personal and very idiosyncratic interpretations of the history and meaning of the Craft rituals".
Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War Ward took a teaching job in the Far East
. There he found many opportunities to continue his researches into the supernatural until poor health forced his return to England early in 1916. His poor eyesight had prevented him from joining the army, but the family had been represented on the Western Front
by his younger brother, Reginald (Rex) who was eventually killed on Good Friday
, 1916. This led Ward to undertake what he saw as his first helping mission in the afterlife. The account of how he first sought out the spirit of his dead brother and then assisted him to become established on the "astral plane
" is the subject of his second spiritualist book A Subaltern in Spirit-Land also published in 1917. Although less well-known than his Masonic works, both of these books are still advertised for sale on the internet, in German as well as in English sites. According to another site, a Japanese edition is planned for 2010.
Ward's later spiritualist writings have tended to become linked with his Christian religious work and perhaps for this reason have been less widely read. In The Psychic Powers of Christ, Ward seeks to demonstrate that many of the "miracle
s" of Jesus Christ can be understood as psychic phenomena, which though greater than normal, were nevertheless of a similar nature to the recorded exploits of Eastern holy men and western mediums. This book, which clearly provides a link between Ward the spiritualist and Ward the Christian Mystic is still available, but mainly through the various Church groups that claim to be continuing his spiritual work.
, but have also been interpreted as predicting the Second World War, the end of the British Empire
, the end of white rule in South Africa and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism
.
His other mystical experiences included claims of visits to the saintly and angelic realms, and visions of the more distant future. He predicted a number of terrible events preceding the second coming
of Jesus, including a devastating biological attack on New York
. He saw the second coming of Jesus as a quite literal "establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth". To him, Christ was coming to judge mankind, as had long been foretold, yet he also predicted that although many would fail that test, many more would pass and although some of those would pass immediately to Heaven, most would be permitted to continue their lives on earth under his benign rule. He went on to say that through mysticism he had been able to "track" the gradual descent of Christ as he passed steadily through the various celestial realms on his way to earth.
Although neither Ward nor his successors have ever stated an exact date for the arrival of Jesus on earth, they have consistently maintained that the event is relatively close. Unlike most Christian groups they do not expect that they will be the only ones saved. They hold that all good souls, whether Christian or non-Christian, will receive the approval of Christ. Also, they say that some will be condemned to Hell
and others will go to Heaven
but that most will be permitted to enjoy the benefits of his reign on earth. Ward's followers also believe that Christ's coming will not mark the ending of the world, but merely the ending of this age and that after his time on earth is completed, a New Age
will follow.
When he eventually did become a priest, he was as unconventional in that role as in his other fields of interest.
Although never ordained in the Anglican Church, in 1927 Ward, believing himself to be called by God to help prepare the world for the return of Christ
, started a religious community dedicated to that end. Initially this was formed within the Anglican Church, but when some of his views offended certain senior officials, Ward first joined and later came to lead a small Christian group that had originated in the Far East. As Archbishop of the Orthodox Catholic Church in England he remained a controversial figure throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s. During this period he ordained several priests, including three from within his own community who were to continue his work after his premature death in 1949.
Gerald Gardner
, later one of the founders of modern Wicca
, was one of his closest friends and supporters.
He had already suffered a slight stroke before leaving England and eventually died from a more massive attack on 2 July 1949. He was buried in the local cemetery of Ayios Nicholas, near Limassol
, in an unmarked grave that he afterwards came to share with two other members of his community.
His teachings and episcopal succession were continued by his community under the leadership of his wife Jessie and the clergy that he had personally ordained. Today there are a number of semi-independent groups generally called the Orthodox Catholic Church that have links with Ward.
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
– 2 July 1949 Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer on Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
matters.
He was born in what is now Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
. In 1908 he graduated from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
with honours in history, following in the footsteps of his father, Herbert Ward. who had also studied in history before entering the priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
hood in the Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
Church, as his father had done before him.
John Ward became a prolific and sometimes controversial writer on a wide variety of topics. He made contributions to the history of Freemasonry and other secret societies. He was also a psychic medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
or spiritualist, a prominent churchman and is still seen by some as a mystic and modern-day prophet.
Interests in history and antiques
It was also in 1908 that he published his first book, a short history of church brasses. His collection of some 1500 brass rubbings is now in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
.
After the First World War he accumulated a significant private collection of antiques and when from 1927 onwards he began to form the "Confraternity of the Kingdom of Christ", together with his second wife Jessie, he would frequently return from a day in London with their car laden with numerous historical pieces for the collection. A thirteenth-century tithe barn
Tithe barn
A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing the tithes - a tenth of the farm's produce which had to be given to the church....
, painstakingly taken down, transported in pieces and re-erected at Barnet
Barnet
High Barnet or Chipping Barnet is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, North London, England. It is a suburban development built around a twelfth-century settlement and is located north north-west of Charing Cross. Its name is often abbreviated to Barnet, which is also the name of the London...
, just outside London, was filled with priceless antiques and opened as a church in 1930. On the same property an open-air museum, consisting of replica period buildings, filled with genuine antiquities was also constructed and became a major tourist attraction. This Folk Park, as it was called, was one of the first of its kind in the world. Much of the collection was reluctantly sold but the rest still survives under the custodianship of the present members of his community at the Abbey Museum in Caboolture, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Involvement with Freemasonry
Today John Ward is most widely known for his many books about the history and inner meanings of Freemasonry. These date mainly from the 1920s but most are still in print and available in a number of different languages. In them he traces the origins of modern Freemasonry back before its official 18th century beginnings to the far distant past. He believed that the movement had links with spiritual groups and secret societies in the ancient world as well as more recent institutions such as the Chinese Hung Society. His book on the Hung Society remained the source of articles in the Encyclopedia Britannica until long after his death and he remained listed among that encyclopedia's contributors, until late in the 20th century.He saw Freemasonry as the successor of the ancient traditions of learning, and sought to convince his fellow masons to use that position to promote inter-religious harmony. His views remain controversial within Freemasonry. In 1987 the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Grand Lodge
Grand Lodge
A Grand Lodge, or "Grand Orient", is the usual governing body of "Craft", or "Blue Lodge", Freemasonry in a particular jurisdiction. The first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717 as the Premier Grand Lodge of England....
informed its members that "J.S.M. Ward's handbooks have no official standing and are not issued by Lodges to candidates. They were personal and very idiosyncratic interpretations of the history and meaning of the Craft rituals".
Involvement with Spiritualism
Ward's activities as a medium and spiritualist brought him into conflict with many traditional churchmen. He had been brought up as an Anglican and officially remained a member of that church until 1934. Long before then, however, his wide-ranging spiritual interests had led him to seek for enlightenment in many other areas. According to his spiritualist book, Gone West, published in 1917, his first real link with the "other world" came in a dream early in December 1913 that predicted the death of his uncle H.J. Lancaster who died on 5 January 1914.Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War Ward took a teaching job in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. There he found many opportunities to continue his researches into the supernatural until poor health forced his return to England early in 1916. His poor eyesight had prevented him from joining the army, but the family had been represented on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
by his younger brother, Reginald (Rex) who was eventually killed on Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
, 1916. This led Ward to undertake what he saw as his first helping mission in the afterlife. The account of how he first sought out the spirit of his dead brother and then assisted him to become established on the "astral plane
Astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
" is the subject of his second spiritualist book A Subaltern in Spirit-Land also published in 1917. Although less well-known than his Masonic works, both of these books are still advertised for sale on the internet, in German as well as in English sites. According to another site, a Japanese edition is planned for 2010.
Ward's later spiritualist writings have tended to become linked with his Christian religious work and perhaps for this reason have been less widely read. In The Psychic Powers of Christ, Ward seeks to demonstrate that many of the "miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s" of Jesus Christ can be understood as psychic phenomena, which though greater than normal, were nevertheless of a similar nature to the recorded exploits of Eastern holy men and western mediums. This book, which clearly provides a link between Ward the spiritualist and Ward the Christian Mystic is still available, but mainly through the various Church groups that claim to be continuing his spiritual work.
Prophet and mystic
Among his supporters Ward is revered as a prophet and mystic or even as a saint. Most of his prophetic and mystical writings date from the 1930s and 1940s and include a series of ten apocalypses that he claimed to have received in early 1934. These are comparable in some ways to references in the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, but have also been interpreted as predicting the Second World War, the end of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, the end of white rule in South Africa and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
.
His other mystical experiences included claims of visits to the saintly and angelic realms, and visions of the more distant future. He predicted a number of terrible events preceding the second coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
of Jesus, including a devastating biological attack on New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He saw the second coming of Jesus as a quite literal "establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth". To him, Christ was coming to judge mankind, as had long been foretold, yet he also predicted that although many would fail that test, many more would pass and although some of those would pass immediately to Heaven, most would be permitted to continue their lives on earth under his benign rule. He went on to say that through mysticism he had been able to "track" the gradual descent of Christ as he passed steadily through the various celestial realms on his way to earth.
Although neither Ward nor his successors have ever stated an exact date for the arrival of Jesus on earth, they have consistently maintained that the event is relatively close. Unlike most Christian groups they do not expect that they will be the only ones saved. They hold that all good souls, whether Christian or non-Christian, will receive the approval of Christ. Also, they say that some will be condemned to Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
and others will go to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
but that most will be permitted to enjoy the benefits of his reign on earth. Ward's followers also believe that Christ's coming will not mark the ending of the world, but merely the ending of this age and that after his time on earth is completed, a New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
will follow.
Founder of a religious community
Although descended from a line of priests, (both his father and grandfather were Anglican clergymen) neither Ward himself, nor his younger brother Rex, initially showed any desire to enter the Church. Even after Rex's death Ward turned to Spiritualism rather than to the traditional Christianity of his father, with the aim of helping his brother in the afterlife.When he eventually did become a priest, he was as unconventional in that role as in his other fields of interest.
Although never ordained in the Anglican Church, in 1927 Ward, believing himself to be called by God to help prepare the world for the return of Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, started a religious community dedicated to that end. Initially this was formed within the Anglican Church, but when some of his views offended certain senior officials, Ward first joined and later came to lead a small Christian group that had originated in the Far East. As Archbishop of the Orthodox Catholic Church in England he remained a controversial figure throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s. During this period he ordained several priests, including three from within his own community who were to continue his work after his premature death in 1949.
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brousseau Gardner , who sometimes used the craft name Scire, was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and...
, later one of the founders of modern Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
, was one of his closest friends and supporters.
Move to Cyprus
Eventually a legal and media campaign caused him to lead his community from England. They moved to Cyprus in 1946, where they established themselves as a self-supporting religious community.He had already suffered a slight stroke before leaving England and eventually died from a more massive attack on 2 July 1949. He was buried in the local cemetery of Ayios Nicholas, near Limassol
Limassol
Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the...
, in an unmarked grave that he afterwards came to share with two other members of his community.
His teachings and episcopal succession were continued by his community under the leadership of his wife Jessie and the clergy that he had personally ordained. Today there are a number of semi-independent groups generally called the Orthodox Catholic Church that have links with Ward.
Works
- The Entered Apprentice Handbook
- The Fellow Crafts Handbook
- The Master Masons Handbook
- The Higher Degrees Handbook
- Brasses (Cambridge University Press, 1912)
- Fairy Tales and Legends of Burma (London: Blackie & Son, 1916)
- Gone West: Three Narratives of After-Death Experiences Communicated Through the Mediumship of J. S. M. Ward (London: W. Rider & Son, 1917)
- A Subaltern In Spirit-Land. A Sequel To "Gone West" (London: W. Rider & Son, 1919. Republished by Kessinger Publishing Company, 2004. ISBN 1417950420)
- Freemasonry and The Ancient Gods (London: Simpkins, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co, 1921)
- Textile Fibres and Yarns (London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1924)
- An Interpretation Of Our Masonic Symbols (London: A. Lewis, 1924)
- Who Was Hiram Abiff? (London: Baskerville Press, 1925; reprinted in 1986 by London: Lewis Masonic, 1986. ISBN 0853181489. And by Kessinger Publishing Company, 1990. ISBN 9780766104518).
- An Explanation of The Royal Arch Degree (London: Baskerville Press, 1925)
- The Hung Society, or, The Society of Heaven and Earth (with W.G. Stirling). Three volumes. London: Baskerville Press, 1925-1926.
- Told Through The Ages: A Series Of Masonic Stories (London: Baskerville Press, 1926)
- The Moral Teachings of Freemasonry, Incorporating Masonic Proverbs, Poems and Sayings (London: Baskerville Press, 1926)
- The Psychic Powers of Christ (London: Williams and Norgate Ltd, 1936)
Further reading
- Geoffrey Ginn, Archangels & Archaeology: J. S. M. Ward's Kingdom Of The Wise (Sussex Academic Press, 2011) ISBN 1845194926
External links
- The Life of J.S.M. Ward This is a brief internet account of Ward's life, provided by one of the churches derived from him.
- J.S.M. Ward and the Abbey of Christ the King. Unsympathetic to Ward this includes a number of spelling and historical inaccuracies, as well as controversial allegations against him.
- History of the Abbey Museum Recounts the story of Ward's archaeological collection.