"And the woman
fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they
should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days."
-Book of Revelation
12:6
It was based on these words that a young man and his
followers made a home in the woods along the Wissahickon Creek to wait out the
end of days. The year of the end was prophesides to be 1694 and the man’s name
was Johannes Kelpius. It was among the trees in what would later become
Philadelphia that he led a small group of worshipers known as the Society of
the Woman of the Wilderness.
Born on January 1st in 1667 Kelpius was raised in
the same village as Vlad Tepes (also known as Vlad the Impaler). Unlike the
famous Transylvanian dictator however Kelpius entered into a more academic life
studying at the University of Altdorf in Nuremburg. At 22 he had already
achieved a masters in theology and had published several works. As his studies
grew he started to become disillusioned with Lutheranism as his beliefs had
become in line with Pietism, a movement within Lutheranism that stressed the
importance of biblical doctrine and the reformed emphasis on individual
piousness. He became a follower of
Johann Jakob Zimmerman, one of the early practitioners of Pietism. When
Johannes was 26 he became the group’s leader following Zimmerman’s death. Soon
after taking leadership he and his following of forty men left for the New
World.
Now known locally as ‘Hermit’s Cave’ it was the center of
Kelpius’ ministry where his society huddled in prayer and devotion as they
waited the end to come. To them it was
believed that the gates of Heaven would open in the wilds. The group settled in
PA for it’s reputation for religious tolerance. Once here they settled near
Wissahickon creek for it’s remote location, clean waters and it’s position on
the 40th parallel. The number 40 held special mystical meaning to
the group.
As 1694 came and went no such End Times happened,
apocalyptic or otherwise. From here the Society stayed on the lands until
Kelpius passed away in 1708. In the intervening years between 1694 and 1708 the
group lived communally, living their lives off the land and in devotion to God.
It wasn’t too long after his death that the Society of the Woman of the
Wilderness disbanded, the only remnants that they ever existed the eponymous
Cave of Kelpius.
Today the cave itself is a minor tourist attraction at best
or a curiosity at the least. Most of the visitors are hapless hikers and
wanderers who happen upon the site rather than those intendents on making the
journey. To the traveler on a search for the cave you’ll be in for a bit of a
hike. The beginning of the trail is on
just off of Ridge Avenue. From there you follow the trail down a steep
incline that snakes to the right once you hit the bottom. Head straight a ways
until you come across an almost unassuming cave accompanied by a ten foot bone
white obelisk raised in honor of this bit of obscure Pennsylvania lore. Unfortunately,
if you’re looking to pay respects to Kelpius himself you’ll find no luck as the
location of his final resting place has been lost to history.
-
Gh0stM1ck out
Tonight’s Article was written to ‘In The Line of Fire’ by
CONFRONTATIONAL.
Sources:
http://www.ushistory.org/oddities/kelpius.htm
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