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327:. There they established a regular program of private study and meditation. They eventually erected a large building for their meetings; some say they lived there communally, but others that they lived separately in caves and other rude shelters and cabins. They created a school for neighborhood children, held public worship services, and shared their medical knowledge. A few newcomers, including Conrad Matthai and
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376:(Nuremberg, 1684), and another four are from other German sources dated 1690 and later. The harmonies show considerable musical talent and skill. The English translations in the collection are attributed to his disciple Christopher Witt, an Englishman who joined the mystics. Witt is said also to have built them a pipe organ, said to be the first privately owned organ in North America.
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from 1694 until his death. It is reported that they lived communally, though they also spent time in solitary meditation in caves and small cells scattered about their common living quarters. Though no sign or revelation accompanied the year 1694, the faithful, known as the
Hermits or Mystics of the
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had been founded in 1682, but the city and the
Province of Pennsylvania had quickly become a tolerant haven and refuge for many pietist, communitarian, or free-thinking groups who were leaving the Old World for the congenial religious climate of the British colony. Kelpius and his followers crossed
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by
Jonathan D. Scott has a quite different tone. Scott imagines Kelpius shortly before his death offering this advice to a fellow seeker of wisdom: "... how precious are friendships and how difficult are goodbyes! ... grow into a full life of joy as well as wisdom. ... I beg you not to defer your
215:, mystic, musician, and writer. He was also interested in the occult, botany, and astronomy. He came to believe with his followers – called the "Society of the Woman in the Wilderness" – that the end of the world would occur in 1694. This belief, based on an elaborate interpretation of
288:, where his name was Latinized to Johannes Kelpius according to the custom of scholars of his days. By the age of 22 he had taken a master's degree in theology and published several works, including one in collaboration with Johannes Fabricius. At the university he had been drawn to
372:. The 70-page hymnbook which he is believed to have composed is the earliest extant musical manuscript compiled in the thirteen British colonies. It is likely that he wrote the text, though the tunes are mostly based on German songs; four come from Christian Knorr von Rosenroth's
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Kelpius was a musician, and he and his followers took with them instruments that became an integral part of church life. Kelpius was also a composer, and is sometimes called the first
Pennsylvanian composer, based on his unproven authorship of several hymns in
300:, a mathematician, astronomer, and cleric, whose pastoral position had ended in 1685 due to his prediction of the imminent advent of a heavenly kingdom, as well as his criticism of the state church. Zimmermann was himself attached to the ideas of the mystic
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Little is known of his death except for an account from years later which states that
Kelpius had believed that he would not suffer physical death, but be translated to another existence. The same account suggests that Kelpius possessed the legendary
350:
Richards' book includes both the German original and the new
English translation. It also contains background materials that help explain the pamphlet and put it in its historical context.
357:, also home to Kelpius's journal, two collections of his original hymns, and other research source material. It's said to have been moved to the State Museum of PA located in Harrisburg.
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were
Heinrich Bernhard Koster, Daniel Falckner, and Johann Gottfried Seelig. They disembarked at Bohemia Landing, Maryland, and proceeded to Philadelphia and Germantown. On arrival in
827:
Kelpius, Johannes. "A Method of Prayer. A Mystical
Pamphlet from Colonial America." Edited and translated by Kirby Don Richards, Ph.D. Philadelphia: Schuylkill Wordsmiths, 2006.
824:. (Though a novel, notes support the historical events and separate them from created or imagined events. Evokes the context of Kelpius' life in a clear and meaningful way.)
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Kelpius was the subject of one of the first oil portraits in the thirteen
British colonies; the painting was by Christopher Witt and was housed in the
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His literary legacy is a collection of original hymns, a journal that includes many of his correspondences, and a book on prayer and meditation,
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A Method of Prayer. A Mystical
Pamphlet from Colonial America: Books: Johannes Kelpius and Kirby Richards; Ph.D., Kirby Don Richards; Ph.D
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first published in English in 1761, and republished in 1951. A modern translation has been completed by Kirby Don Richards,
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223:, given its reputation for religious toleration at the edge of a barely settled wilderness, was the best place to be.
304:. After Zimmerman's sudden death, shortly before the group's departure for the New World, Kelpius became the group's
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is located by a small tributary stream of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia's present-day 1,372-acre (5.55 km)
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676:"A Short, Easy and Comprehensive Method of Prayer: Johannes Kelpius [1673 - 1708] On-line Manuscript"
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The travel diary of Kelpius has been preserved. Some of the forty or so who traveled with him aboard the
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joined the group, but the community began to decline, especially after the death of Kelpius.
956:, containing hand-written hymns by Kelpius and others, is available for research use at the
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Wissahickon, continued to live in celibacy, searching the stars and hoping for the end.
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borrowed from one of Lippard's short romances to include Kelpius in his 1872 poem
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life in expectation of some promised tomorrow, for our gift is the present."
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Kelpius has featured in a few scattered references in American literature.
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calls Kelpius's followers "the monks of the Wissahikon" in his 1847 novel
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Claus Bernet (2004). "Johannes Kelpius". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.).
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passtheword.org A Short, Easy, and Comprehensive Method of Prayer
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A Method of Prayer. A Mystical Pamphlet from Colonial America.
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874:(in German). Vol. 23. Nordhausen: Bautz. cols. 778–786.
502:"The Mystical Early Pennsylvania Settler Who Lived in a Cave"
319:(which barely had 500 houses at this time) they moved to
292:, initially a reaction against the formalism of orthodox
817:. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr, 2002.
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American documents incorrectly placed his birth in 1673
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Kelpius was born Johann Kelp in 1667, near the town of
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533:"They Believed What? Eight Philly Religious Fanatics"
870:
Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL)
857:- notes Kelpius Spring by so-called Cave of Kelpius
851:- notes Kelpius Spring by so-called Cave of Kelpius
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A Short, Easy, and Comprehensive Method of Prayer,
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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447:Shattering the heavens before the dread eclipse.
840:- historical organization based in Philadelphia
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420:Snake-like in shade, the Helmstadt Mystic hid,
244:Cave of Kelpius located near Wissahickon Creek
440:Till the great angel, striding sea and shore,
418:Deep in the woods, where the small river slid
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443:Shall bid all flesh await, on land or ships,
228:the Atlantic and lived in the valley of the
954:Johannes Kelpius collection of German hymns
897:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
815:Pennsylvania: a History of the Commonwealth
813:Miller, Randall M and William Pencak, eds.
436:Whereby he read what man ne'er read before,
438:And saw the visions man shall see no more,
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989:German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
855:1876 map of Wissahickon / Fairmount Park
849:1871 map of Wissahickon / Fairmount Park
433:Of Wisdom, vouchsafed to his eyes alone,
425:Reading the books of Daniel and of John,
994:German-American culture in Philadelphia
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861:photo of the so-called Cave of Kelpius
607:"The Monks of the Wissahickon: Part 1"
407:Or painful Kelpius from his hermit den
369:The Lamenting Voice of the Hidden Love
617:from the original on 14 December 2021
568:from the original on 14 December 2021
512:from the original on 14 December 2021
474:Hatmaker, Julia (22 September 2017).
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974:American Christian religious leaders
745:. Middletonbooks.com. Archived from
445:The warning trump of the Apocalypse,
422:Weird as a wizard, over arts forbid,
411:Dreamed o'er the Chiliast dreams of
409:By Wissahickon, maddest of good men,
47:adding citations to reliable sources
431:Morning-Redness, through the Stone
984:German Christian religious leaders
958:Historical Society of Pennsylvania
531:Hingston, Sandy (30 August 2015).
355:Historical Society of Pennsylvania
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1009:People from colonial Pennsylvania
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611:Schuylkill Valley Journal Online
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500:Simon, Ed (27 September 2016).
34:needs additional citations for
1049:18th-century Christian mystics
1044:17th-century Christian mystics
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654:"I Love My Jesus Quite Alone"
558:"Kelpius & Hermit's Cave"
696:Kelpius, John (2006-11-06).
205:[ˈjo:hanəsˈkɛlpi:ʊs]
158:Principality of Transylvania
999:Musicians from Philadelphia
822:The Woman in the Wilderness
16:German born American mystic
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1024:Transylvanian Saxon people
948:The Legend of Wissahickon
743:"Woman in the Wilderness"
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979:German Christian mystics
808:Grove Music Encyclopedia
674:Pass the WORD Services.
221:Province of Pennsylvania
1029:Wissahickon Valley Park
923:40.023544°N 75.200665°W
640:March 23, 2006, at the
454:Woman in the Wilderness
394:John Greenleaf Whittier
298:Johann Jacob Zimmermann
254:Wissahickon Valley Park
190:Unknown in Pennsylvania
1004:People from Sighișoara
938:New info on birth date
724:. Explorepahistory.com
562:Friends of Wissahickon
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390:The Rose of Wissahikon
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928:40.023544; -75.200665
891:"Kelpius, John"
806:"Kelpius, Johannes".
537:Philadelphia Magazine
282:University of Altdorf
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208:; 1667 – 1708) was a
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943:Monks of Wissahickon
399:Pennsylvania Pilgrim
313:Sarah Maria Hopewell
43:improve this article
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799:Philadelphia portal
605:Tyson III, Joseph.
380:Literary references
337:philosopher's stone
280:) and attended the
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58:"Johannes Kelpius"
820:Scott, Jonathan.
678:. Passtheword.org
588:"Middleton Books"
230:Wissahickon Creek
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170:(1708-01-01)
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41:Please help
36:verification
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1039:1708 deaths
1034:1667 births
926: /
621:14 December
572:14 December
542:14 December
516:14 December
485:14 December
325:Wissahickon
308:or leader.
302:Jakob Böhme
294:Lutheranism
968:Categories
914:75°12′02″W
911:40°01′25″N
753:2014-08-20
728:2014-08-20
707:0978899806
682:2014-08-20
461:References
452:The novel
321:Germantown
274:Sighişoara
176:Germantown
146:1667-01-01
69:newspapers
286:Nuremberg
266:Schäßburg
154:Schäßburg
99:June 2020
638:Archived
615:Archived
566:Archived
510:Archived
480:pennlive
429:Behmen's
413:Petersen
306:magister
900:. 1892.
722:"Image"
290:Pietism
284:, near
278:Romania
213:Pietist
83:scholar
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210:German
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361:Music
90:JSTOR
76:books
952:The
876:ISBN
702:ISBN
661:2009
623:2021
574:2021
544:2021
518:2021
487:2021
427:And
260:Life
165:Died
140:Born
62:news
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