John Todd Ferrier (7 November 1855 — 31 August 1943)Kemmis, E. Mary Gordon (1947). ''Shepherd of Souls: Some Impressions of the Life and Ministry of the Reverend John Todd Ferrier'', p. 88. J.F. Rowney Press was the founder of the Order of the Cross,. The Order's aims and ideals'state that it is an informal spiritual fellowship, "having for its service in life the cultivation of the Spirit of Love towards All Souls: helping the weak and defending the defenseless and oppressed: abstaining from hurting the creatures, eschewing bloodshed and flesh eating and living upon the pure foods so abundantly provided by Nature: walking in the Mystic Way of Life whose Path leads to the realization of the Christhood and sending forth the Mystic Teachings unto all who may be able to receive them - those Sacred interpretations of the Soul, the Christhood and the Divine Love and Wisdom for which the Order of the Cross stands". Ferrier considered that compassion towards creatures was essential to realise 'Jesushood' within the soul. He was a proponent of

Christian vegetarianism Christian vegetarianism is the practice of keeping to a Vegetarianism, vegetarian lifestyle for reasons connected to or derived from the Christianity, Christian faith. The three primary reasons are Christian spirituality, spiritual, Nutrition, n ...

Biography

Although biographical details are sparse, in 1947, E. Mary Gordon Kemmis wrote a biography and her memoirs of Ferrier: ''Shepherd of Souls: Some Impressions of the Life and Ministry of John Todd Ferrier''. Ferrier was born in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1855. An early publication of some of his works, "Sacrifice a necessity; or the atonement in the light of our Lord's teaching, and the unfolding of the sacrificial idea", summarised eight lectures he delivered in 1885 at the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

in Preston where in 1888 he was reported to be a pastor. He was minister at

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It lies just outside the Lake District. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast. It is served by Wigton railway st ...

from 1882 to 1883, then at Grimshaw Street, Preston, from 1884 to 1891; for the subsequent twelve years, until 1903, he was a minister in Park Green Congregational church in

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

, England. In 1903 Ferrier authored a book, ''Concerning Human Carnivorism''. It was reprinted as ''On Behalf of the Creatures'' in 1968. Ferrier argued that Jesus was a vegetarian who espoused

Essene The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''ʾĪssīyīm''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') or Essenians were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd centu ...

-like

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

. He became increasingly dissatisfied with the traditional Christian attitude toward animals. For this and other reasons he left the church, and, via the

Order of the Golden Age The Order of the Golden Age (OGA) was an international animal rights society with a Christian, Theosophical and vegetarian emphasis, which existed between 1895 and 1959. History The Order of the Golden Age (OGA) was conceptualised in 1881 by ...

,Calvert, Samantha (2012)
''Eden's diet: Christianity and vegetarianism 1809 – 2009''
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Birmingham (extensive material on Ferrier), accessed 29 May 2018 in 1904 (1907 according to another source) founded the Order of the Cross. Some confusion over the date of establishing of the Order of the Cross may derive from its early publications containing the phrase "Formerly The Order of the Golden Age". In 1905 The Order of the Golden Age issued a disclaimer regarding the claimed overlap of the two Orders, and -following some discrete diplomacy- after 1906 the two became more widely recognised as distinct. In the informal spiritual communion of the Order of the Cross, the members are both

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

. Ferrier often spoke in defence of 'the creatures', and stated that a true Christian should be vegetarian. In his writings (over 40 volumes) he emphasised the underlying unity of all religious aspirations and suggested that many traditional Christian teachings are allegorical and universal in nature.

Selected list of Ferrier's works

*''The Mystery of the Light Within Us'' *''Life's Mysteries Unveiled'' *''The Master, Known Unto the World As Jesus the Christ: His Life & Teachings'' *''Spiritual Healing'' *''Isaiah: A Cosmic and Messianic Drama'' *''The Minor Prophets'' *''Ezekiel: A Cosmic Drama'' *''Logia: or Sayings of the Master'' (4th Revised edition) *''Divine Renaissance'' *''The Pathway to Peace'' *''The Message and the Work'' *''The Prophecy of Daniel'' *''The Christ Festival'' *''On Behalf of the Creatures: a plea historical, scientific, economic, dynamic, humane, religious'' *''What is a Christian'' *''Sublime Affirmations''

Notes

References

External links

*The

Anna Kingsford Anna Kingsford (; 16 September 1846 – 22 February 1888) was an English anti-vivisectionist, Theosophist, a proponent of vegetarianism and a women's rights campaigner. She was one of the first English women to obtain a degree in medicine, aft ...

website.
''John Todd Ferrier'' About the Author
''orderofthecross.org''
Order of the Cross
top level of website ''orderofthecross.org''- 'The Order of the Cross is a spiritual fellowship that embraces a life of love and light, compassion and peace. The sanctity of all life is honoured by members who are vegan or vegetarian and embrace the ideal of a pacifist way of life.' See also: 'The Order of the Cross was founded in 1904. The founder of this informal Fellowship, John Todd Ferrier, brought through a recovered Message of Love, Peace, Joy and Hope using the spoken and written word.' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrier, John Todd 1855 births 1943 deaths 19th-century Congregationalist ministers 20th-century Congregationalist ministers Christian vegetarians People from Greenock Scottish vegetarianism activists