John Wroe (19 September 1782 – 5 February 1863) was a British evangelist who founded the Christian Israelite Church in the 1820s after having what he believed were a series of visions.

Biography

Wroe was born, on 19 September 1782, in the village of East Bowling, near

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, West Yorkshire to a worsted manufacturer and farmer, and baptised in the town. After a rather scanty education, he entered his father's business, but later took a farm. He married and brought up a family of seven children. In 1819 Wroe became ill with a

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

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 The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

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 some months. A short time later, Wroe started having visions, and often became blind and unable to speak — on one occasion remaining blind for six days. During these periods, Wroe said, many remarkable events were foretold and revealed to him: the Spirit told him to relinquish his worldly employment, so he devoted his life to travelling and preaching, where he gained many followers and persuaded them that he was a messenger of God. Wroe, although often persecuted and threatened, travelled throughout Europe including Gibraltar, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. He later travelled to the United States, and Australia. The Christian Israelite Church was originally set up in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

, Lancashire and from 1822 to 1831 the church's headquarters were in the town. In the 1820s the church trustees wanted to turn Ashton-under-Lyne into a "new Jerusalem". They 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 A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

. 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 behaviour, but the charges were dismissed. The church spread to Australia, where it is still active. Wroe died in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, on 5 February 1863, aged 81, leaving the church affairs in the hands of his trustees.

Cultural depictions and legacy

Wroe’s life was the basis of a novel, ''Mr Wroe's Virgins'' by Jane Rogers. In 1993 Jonathan Pryce featured as Wroe, alongside Kathy Burke and Minnie Driver, in a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

mini-series adaptation of the novel directed by Danny Boyle.

References

Bibliography

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External links

John Wroe
at ODNB
John Wroe on utopia-britannica

Christian Israelite Church

* ttp://www.cichurchhistory.com History Website of the Christian Israelite Church {{DEFAULTSORT:Wroe, John 1782 births 1863 deaths 19th-century apocalypticists 19th-century Protestants Adventism Clergy from Bradford English evangelists Prophets Founders of new religious movements