- Panacea Society
The Panacea Society is a religious group based in
Bedford ,England . The Society was founded by Mabel Barltrop in 1918 at 12 Albany Road, Bedford. Its inspiration was and is the teachings of the Devonshire prophetessJoanna Southcott (1750 - 1814). Barltrop took the name Octavia and believed herself to be Southcott's child, the Shiloh of her prophecies. With 12 apostles the Society (then called the Community of the Holy Ghost) began.The Society's headquarters is The Haven, a formidable Victorian mansion close to the remains of
Bedford Castle . Another property - a semi-detached house in Albany Road - is maintained as a residence for The Messiah following upon thesecond coming .A central purpose of the Society is to persuade 24
Anglican bishops to open Southcott's Box of Sealed Writings and to this end advertisements have been placed in national newspapers from time to time. The Society claims the box is secreted in England, others have claimed it was opened in 1927 & found to contain a brokenhorse pistol and a lottery ticket.In the 1930s about 70 members were said to be living in the Bedford community. In 1967 the Bedfordshire Times reported about 30 members living there. [http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/bedford_news_panacea_one.htm] However the Society has a worldwide membership and maintains a healing ministry that was initiated in 1923 and made available to the public a year later.
Though small in size, the Society is understood to be wealthy, owning tracts of land and properties in London, Bedford and elsewhere. In 2004 its net assets were reported to the [http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=227530 Charity Commission] as around £20 million. In 2002 the Society was ordered by the Charity Commission of England to auction off many of their assets or risk losing their favourable tax benefits as a charity in law. The auction sale in 2004 took five days.
External links
* [http://www.panacea-society.org/ The Society's website]
* [http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=227530 Details on the Charity Commission website]
* [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/critic/feature/0,1169,1160457,00.html Report on Channel 4's 2003 documentary]
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