Greater World Christian Spiritualist
Association
British Spiritualist organization founded in 1931 as the
Greater World Christian Spiritualist League. It grew out of the
Zodiac Circle, which was organized in the early 1920s around
the mediumship of Winifred Moyes. Moyes was a channel who
transmitted teachings from the entity Zodiac, who claimed
he was a temple scribe at the time of Christ. These teachings
were at first transmitted to a small home circle held on Sunday
evenings, but the movement grew rapidly to claim a membership
of twenty thousand in Britain. Moyes was president of the
league until her death in 1957, after which F. M. Tolkin became
president until 1963, when he was succeeded by Margaret
Hoare.
In addition to the weekly newspaper The Greater World, discontinued
in 1989, the association also published The Childrens
Greater World and in 1933 launched French (Le Monde Superior)
Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology 5th Ed. Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association
661
and German (Die Größere Welt) editions. The newspaper was replaced
by a newsletter.
Members of the association must subscribe to eight basic beliefs,
arising from the teachings of Zodiac (1) I believe in one
God, who is Love; (2) I accept the leadership of Jesus Christ;
(3) I believe that God manifests through the illimitable power
of the Holy Spirit; (4) I believe in the survival of the human
soul and its individuality after physical death; (5) I believe in
the communion with God, with his angelic ministers, and with
the souls functioning in conditions other than the Earth life;
(6) I believe that all forms of life created by God intermingle,
are interdependent, and evolve until perfection is attained; (7)
I believe in the perfect justice of the divine laws governing all
life; and (8) I believe that sins committed can only be rectified
by the sinner himself or herself, through the redemptive power
of Jesus Christ, by repentance and service to others. There is
also the following pledge I will at all times endeavour to be
guided in my thoughts, words, and deeds by the teaching and
example of Jesus Christ.
The league is now administered through the Greater World
Spiritualist Association Trust and has a board of literature responsible
for official publications. In 1961 the league affiliated
with the National Federation of Spiritual Healers.
Very early in its life the league was involved in social work.
In 1937 the league organized a convalescent home for elderly
women at Leigh-on-Sea, and more recently added another at
Bridlington, Yorkshire. The leagues night shelter for homeless
women in Lambeth, London, was destroyed by German bombs
during World War II, but a new shelter and rest home was
opened at Deptford in South London in 1948. That shelter
continued its work until 1955, when a new law made it an offense
for women to be on the streets at night without a lodging.
A night shelter opened in Leeds in 1935 and continues as a
home for women and children.
The London headquarters at 35 Conway St., London, W1P
5HA, includes a sanctuary and a church with accommodation
for nearly 150 people. Services, lectures, healing meetings, and
circles are held regularly. There is also a Greater World Healing
Fellowship, concerned with spiritual healing through accredited
healers. Each of the affiliated churches throughout
Britain has at least one medium. Affiliated congregations are
also found in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand.
The association offers a diploma to mediums who meet the
leagues standards and for long-standing service to the league.
Website httpwww.greaterworld.com.
Sources
Edmunds, Simeon. Spiritualism A Critical Survey. London
Aquarian Press, 1966.
